Samsung's sustainability efforts in recent years have led to a few key changes to the company's manufacturing processes as well as the retail packaging of its products. And in recent news, Samsung has released a new infographic that tells the eco-conscious journey of the Galaxy S flagship series — or rather its packaging — over the past half a decade.
Samsung became increasingly eco-conscious with every new Galaxy S flagship generation it released over the past five years, so here's a quick summary of what's been going on.
Samsung's Galaxy S eco-journey so far
With the launch of the Galaxy S8 series in 2017, Samsung has removed the magnet from the packaging, it has replaced the plastic accessory tray with one manufactured from paper-based materials, and it has completely removed the plastic case that came with the included earbuds.
The following year — with the launch of the Galaxy S9 series — Samsung maintained all of the previous changes but has also replaced the plastic-built device tray to a different tray made from pulp-mold material.
The packaging for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S20 lineups went through even more drastic changes. The package structure was simplified, the accessory tie material was changed to paper, and protective films were removed from accessories. Furthermore, the accessory trays were integrated to one pulp-mold tray. Interestingly, Samsung also claims that the accessory coating was changed from glossy to matte because the latter solution is more eco-friendly.
Finally, the latest Galaxy S21 series represents another important step in Samsung's journey towards sustainability, even though it may have come at a cost for consumers. The packaging was made from corrugated carboard to reduce material waste, but more importantly, the company has removed a couple of in-box accessories — the charger and the AKG-branded earbuds – to minimize the amount of packaging necessary.
Samsung's eco-friendly efforts have led to the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) awarding the company with the Gold Tier Award for recycling of electronic waste, as well as the Champion Award for the Galaxy S10's eco-packaging. You can refer to the infographic below for more details.
