Kakao tackles climate change with eco-friendly packaging of consumer goods

SEOUL -- The ecommerce wing of South Korea's web service company  Kakao will take its first step to go green by using eco-friendly packaging materials. The company aims to reduce about 32 tons of carbon dioxide by starting with character goods that are popular among young female consumers.

Kakao Commerce said in a statement on June 5 that the company would replace vinyl and plastics used in the packaging and delivering of character goods with environmentally-friendly paper by July. "We defined our new climate movement as the 'warm gift for the people and Earth," a Kakao official was quoted as saying.

Many South Korean companies have accelerated their green movement to solve problems related to climate change. Bottled water companies were active in releasing label-free polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for easy recycling so that consumers do not have to remove labels made of a thin sheet of plastic.