From seaweed to shrooms, sustainable packaging is trending, but your wallet might disagree. Most come with a hefty price tag… except Made From Stone, where stepping up your sustainability game doesn’t cost extra.

Switching to sustainable packaging sounds like a no-brainer, but for many businesses, the cost is a major barrier. This month, we’re exploring the real price of plastic alternatives and what’s behind it. It turns out, doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest (or the cheapest) path forward. Some of the most innovative alternatives include bioplastics, mushroom-based packaging, seaweed-based packaging, and cellulose-based films. Here’s a quick breakdown:

The Alternatives and Their Price Tags

Bioplastics are compostable and renewable, offering a more sustainable option than traditional plastics, but they come at a cost—typically 2 to 5 times more—due to high production expenses and limited composting infrastructure. Paper-based packaging is both recyclable and biodegradable, yet it’s less durable and more resource-intensive, making it 1.5 to 3 times more expensive. Seaweed-based materials are a zero-waste, even edible alternative, but they remain in early development stages. Seaweed packaging sounds amazing, but is it worth 20× the cost? Mushroom-based packaging is another innovative solution that is low-energy and compostable, but its slow production process and niche availability push costs to 4 to 10 times more. Lastly, cellulose films offer transparency and compostability, but their sensitivity to moisture and limited supply make them 2 to 6 times more expensive.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find packaging alternatives that are cost-competitive with plastic. Even post-consumer recycled plastic incurs an additional cost over virgin plastic. Businesses will begin to prioritize sustainable plastic alternatives when they truly become alternatives—with no financial sacrifice.

While many sustainable packaging companies strive toward cost-competitiveness in the long run, Okeanos is already there. Our Made from Stone technology
reduces up to 70% of virgin resin in packaging and aims to always be 10% below virgin resin costs, proving that sustainability and savings can go hand in hand.

Get a head start on your company’s plastic reduction goals today. We can help!