Startups Building a Sustainable Society (2): shizai Streamlines Product Packaging

Written by the Universe editorial team

To create a society where everyone can live in peace, startups’ initiatives including decarbonization and diversity are increasingly called for. In our first article of this series covering specific examples of ESG initiatives, we looked at the background of ESG initiatives. In this article, we will cover several startups’ initiatives tackling environmental issues.

Packaging is perhaps the most iconic symbol of waste and environmental issues that we face on a daily basis. Mandatory charging for plastic shopping bags which started in July 2020, has created an opportunity for people to think about environmental issues every time they shop. According to the “White Paper on Consumer Affairs 2022” (in Japanese), a survey by the Consumer Affairs Agency, nearly 90% of respondents in their teens and 20s said they use their own reusable shopping bags as a way to address environmental and social issues.

Lumi, a US startup, is a pioneer in the packaging and packing business. Selected by Y Combinator in 2015, Lumi has launched a packaging platform for brands. As of August 2022, it has worked with 3,800 packaging suppliers worldwide and connected those suppliers with more than 700 brands to help them make product packaging. Lumi raised USD 9 million in a round led by Spark Capital in 2018 and was acquired (for an undisclosed amount) by Narvar, a customer experience support provider, in December 2021.

Packaging is meant to be “thrown away” when the product is used. Lumi classifies its sustainability efforts into five categories (Design, Distribution, Materials, Production, and Recovery) and 20 properties.

When we look at Japan, a startup that is in the same domain is shizai.

Like Lumi, shizai is a platform player that connects brands with printing factories and primary manufacturers that produce packages, streamlining the supply chain and reducing costs by an average of 20%. One year after product release, shizai says it has a supplier network spanning over more than 500 locations with 300 businesses.

When we asked Nobuyuki Suzuki, CEO, about the environmental impact of packaging, he explained the following based on a report published in 2018 by the United Nations.

“Most of the plastic produced around the world is disposed of in landfills and in the surrounding environment. At the current rate, the world will generate as many as 12 billion tons of plastic waste by 2050.

Plastics are made from fossil fuels, and if production continues to expand at the current rate, the plastics industry is expected to account for 20% of global oil consumption in 2050. Moreover, according to a 2015 study, more than one-third of the total plastic is produced for packaging, and another data shows that 47% of plastic waste comes from packaging.”

noissue, a startup from New Zealand, is trying to produce packaging from renewable materials. It successfully raised USD 10 million in a Series A funding round last year, gaining a certain level of recognition.

shizai is also implementing similar environmental initiatives.

For example, it offers options such as plant-derived printing inks for packaging materials to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and optimized package sizes to reduce the amount of materials used.

It will be interesting to see how shizai, as a startup, will disclose these efforts for building a sustainable society.

“At this point, we are changing materials, saving resources, using a certified manufacturing method, collaborating with non-profit organizations, etc. In particular, we are replacing plastic cups with paper cups and providing packaging made with a manufacturing method that can be FSC-certified.

Plastic-free and other solutions are, of course, needed over the long run. But it is also important that the users/consumers change in terms of cost and usability. Despite the growing awareness of environmental issues, there are still many situations where eco-friendly materials cost higher than existing items.

As a young startup, we have not yet been able to share our initiatives with the public. We hope that we can spread awareness and provide information on our specific efforts along with our business partners’ approaches to environmental issues.”