A polish tech start-up has been granted a loan worth €7.5 million (£6.6m) from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the development of a marketplace for customised and sustainable packaging that can replace the use of plastics.

Through its online platform, Packhelp allows customers to design and order their own custom-branded packaging made from certified materials that don’t harm the environment, encouraging businesses to boost their own green credentials.

It works as a technology-enabled, online marketplace that aggregates orders from small and medium-sized companies and connects them to printing houses.

Since its inception in 2015, Packhelp has sold around 26 million boxes and served 36,000 customers across 38 countries.

All of its packaging is certified with the Forest Stewardship Council’s FSC mark, which ensures products come from responsibly-managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

The financing from the EU bank will enable the company to invest in research and development of its products, with every single cardboard product in the range expected to be made from a maximum of 80% recycled cardboard.

Last year, Packhelp teamed up with One Tree Planet, an organisation dedicated to planting trees and reforestations projects around the world, to give consumers the change to plant trees with their packaging orders.

They calculate how many trees are used for each order and plant additional trees to more than offset the amount used.