Plus Packaging

How ethical is Plus Packaging?

Plus Packaging is a packaging company which has fallen below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Packaging Ratings Table. While Plus Packaging performs well across several individual criteria, its overall performance does not meet the standard required, though the gap is narrow enough that targeted improvements could bring the company above the threshold.

What does Plus Packaging do?

Plus Packaging Ltd is a family-run packaging and warehouse supplies wholesaler based in Liverpool, now in its third generation of family ownership. The company supplies packaging materials and warehouse essentials to businesses of all sizes across the UK, including e-commerce, retail, and distribution customers. Its product range includes cardboard boxes, postal packaging, bubble wrap, pallet wrap, protective packaging, stretch film, and tape.

Why does Plus Packaging fall below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s benchmark?

Plus Packaging’s below-benchmark performance is driven by two key poor ratings. Most critically, the company receives a poor rating for its environmental report. For a family-run business with over 30 years of trading history and a long-established customer base, the absence of a published environmental report represents a straightforward gap to address. Unlike larger corporate structures, Plus Packaging has no complex reporting hierarchy to navigate. Publishing a clear and accessible environmental report that sets out the company’s sustainability commitments, carbon footprint, and waste reduction practices would be the single most impactful step Plus Packaging could take to improve its ethical standing and demonstrate accountability to its customers.

Plus Packaging also receives a poor rating for vegan options, indicating limited focus on plant-based or vegan-certified packaging solutions within its product range. The packaging sector has seen considerable growth in sustainable and plant-based alternatives to conventional packaging materials, and expanding into this area would both improve the company’s ethical rating and align with growing customer demand across its e-commerce and retail customer base.

Beyond these poor ratings, Plus Packaging’s toxic chemicals policy and fossil fuels ratings are both acceptable rather than good, indicating further room for improvement in chemical management and energy commitments.

It is worth noting that Plus Packaging achieves good ratings across several criteria, including pollution prevention, animal welfare, responsible marketing, political donations, and armaments, and has no documented public record criticisms. As an independent, family-run business without external shareholders or multinational parent company pressures, Plus Packaging is well placed to make the targeted improvements needed to reach the benchmark. The below-benchmark performance reflects gaps in formal reporting and product range rather than fundamental ethical failings, and targeted action in these areas could realistically bring the company above the threshold.

Consumers seeking packaging solutions that meet The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark are encouraged to consult our Ethical Packaging Ratings Table and our guide to ethical packaging, and prioritise brands that hold Ethical Accreditation. Several higher-ranking alternatives in this sector have achieved independent ethical verification and represent stronger choices for ethically conscious consumers. Our how we rate page explains the criteria used to assess all brands in this sector.