31 Dec 2010 I Am the Perfect Sustainable Package
Posted at 08:33h
in Inside Sustainable Packaging
I don’t want to end 2010 with a depressing topic, but like many people, I too tend to get reflective this time of year as I review the passing year’s accomplishments and failures. It is also an excellent time to list the objectives I hope to be able to achieve in the next twelve months, of course assuming I live long enough, which is actually the point of this slightly different (for me) blog post.
A Season of Losses
Over the course of the last two years I have lost my father who gave me life, my mentor who gave me a career, and several close friends. It is sad to witness the passing of friends and family because each one is significant and diminishes the richness and fullness of our lives. To everything there is a season, and it appears I have entered the season when I am separated from some of the people I love and respect, at least temporarily if you believe in an afterlife, and gratefully, I do.
Every bundle or pallet load of Globe Guard boxes we ship out is wrapped in our Globe Guard stretch film. Occasionally, we receive an email or call asking us how we can possibly wrap and ship a product as green as our Globe Guard 100% PCW, recycled content boxes in an un-green material like plastic. For the benefit of those who wonder but don’t ask us, here are a few reasons why we do what we do.
Globe Guard Stretch Film is Oxo-Biodegradable
In other words, it is not a typical or average plastic product. We usually attach a note to each bundle or pallet load reminding customers that the film is above all else recyclable. That is not always the case with bio plastics, but our formulation does not prevent the film from being recycled after use. If it does unfortunately end up in a land fill, the film is formulated to breakdown in a fraction of the time other, standard plastics will degrade. 
A few months ago, we warned you that the corrugated industry was attempting to push through their third price increase of this calendar year. The market softened, and enough customers complained that the third increase planned for 2010 was “postponed indefinitely.” Now we have a similar situation developing on most plastic packaging products.
The “Plastics Are Made From Foreign Oil” Myth
According to industry experts, more than 70% of plastic packaging products are made of resin that is made from domestic, natural gas, and NOT from foreign oil as many believe. Having said that, a little surge in winter resin pricing is considered normal, but this has been a steady, year-long climb. What is happening here is not related to the seasonal fluctuations of the same natural gas product used for heating many of our businesses and homes during the winter. To the contrary, in 2010 we have seen several increases on almost every plastic packaging product with no price downturn at all.
The several increases we have seen this year appear to be related to “high feedstock prices, strong resin exports and unplanned outages.” Translated into simple English, much like the paper and other industries, there is too little raw/base material manufacturing competition, creating an environment where price can be controlled by a handful of very large corporations. There is nothing illegal or perhaps even unethical about that; it is basic business 101 – control the supply and you control the price. 
No matter what you call it, it is the packaging that is inside the box being shipped. Its usual purpose is to immobilize and/or separate the product(s) being packed to prevent shipping damage.
Today, we all have a wide variety of eco friendly material options including molded pulp, biodegradable air inflatable plastic products, a fast growing selection of renewable bio foams, paperboard and corrugated partitions, as well as die cut corrugated solutions. Over the course of the next few weeks I will be spotlighting some of the newest and most innovative ideas available to the green minded shipper.
The Application Still Determines the Best Solution
As you have probably heard me say before, in almost any possible area of packaging, it all begins with a good application review and analysis. Beware of any supplier that has only one solution to offer because they are obviously forced to make their one and only solution work, whether or not it is truly the best for your needs. An application review is typically fairly basic and usually begins with these five important questions:
1. What is being shipped? Are we talking about one heavy retail display unit per box or a dozen glass bottles of an expensive health supplement?
2. How is it being shipped? A case shipping individually via UPS, FedEx or USPS, or cases stacked on a wooden pallet shipping to major retailer’s DC?
3. How many are being shipped? Is this a onetime need to pack 300 units for a promotion or are a million packages being shipped over the course of the next few months?
4. Where and how is the product currently being damaged in shipment? Usually we are called in to fix a design that has already being proven deficient.
5. How important is the green factor to you and your customers? Will they accept a plastic or foam solution, or do we have to work with paper based products? 
It is not at all uncommon for an application or product to be able to ship out in either a die cut mailer box or a Regular Slotted Container (RSC) style shipping container. Both are quite effective and can be as eco friendly as the corrugated board that is used to make them. In some cases, the choice comes down to customer preference, but there are definitely some distinct advantages to each design.
The Advantages of an RSC style shipping box design:
1. In most cases, unless an RSC is extremely small, it does not require tooling such as a cutting die.
2. Usually an RSC is less expensive because it consumes less board.
3. It is easier to erect compared to some complicated die cut designs. 
Why Globe Guard Paper Mailers?
For green minded customers who will not accept plastic products, Globe Guard 50% recycled content paper mailers have been a very effective way to mail or ship relatively flat products such as books, photos, etc. The gussetted, three-dimensional mailer envelopes are ideal for thicker, bulky soft goods like tee shirts and reusable bags.
Even though they are paper, they offer enough water resistance for most applications and are strong enough to hold up through USPS, FedEx or UPS shipping.