21 Oct 2010 Globe Guard Paper Mailer Envelopes – Now Reusable!
Posted at 14:07h
in Inside Sustainable Packaging
Reusable packaging in every form is more popular than ever, and now our paper mailers are reusable too. These heavy duty paper mailers are available gussetted and custom printed but now they can also be manufactured to be easily used a second time.
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.
We enjoy creating eco friendly printed, die cut containers, but they are not exempt from many of the same potential costs and problems of non-green die cut designs and solutions.
During a recent phone conversation with a potential new client, I could hear the disappointment in my contact’s voice when I informed him he would probably have to invest several thousands of dollars in printing plates and cutting dies even before his first box was cut or printed.
This situation was unique and extreme because we were talking about an oversized, 12” tall, stackable display tray that would be palletized for a large retailer. The two-color copy the customer wanted printed on each panel of course added some cost, but not as much as you might expect. As I have said many times, ink is cheap, but set up time and plates are not. This unfortunately also holds true for cutting dies for new package designs, whether the container being designed is a counter top display, tuck mailer, tray or special shipping box. 
The new box that eBay has created for their customers to reuse is an excellent concept and it could not come at a better time. People are more focused than ever before on all of the “three R’s” of sustainability,” but especially the one I often refer to as “the other R” or “the forgotten R,” which is “reuse.” Don’t be surprised however if it is not necessarily accepted and heralded in the packaging community as it already has been in green circles. Even though I agree it is a great idea whose time has come, it also is a perfect example of how difficult it is to create a truly green package.
What’s Wrong with the eBay Reusable Box?
Extra Tall and Extra Long Shipping Boxes Now Available[/caption]
What does one have to do the others, you might ask when a blog post title more resembles that of a yet another Harry Potter movie. The items are a small sampling of products that will fit into our new extra long stock shipping boxes. We have just added a 4” X 4” X 36” and a 4” X 4” X 48" to our assortment, allowing us to provide a sustainable packaging option to customers selling and shipping long, thin items.
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For a long time we’ve tried to keep the bundle sizes on our 
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Earlier this year, January 13th to be exact, I posted an article complaining about some 
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For certain customer applications such as those requiring a white exterior on the box, no one is able to provide a product that is 100% PCW recycled content or even 100% recycled content. I have written several times on how a white exterior on any box requires a virgin (white) outer sheet so the greatest possible recycled content is 60 to 70%. It is important to note that this is still considerably better and greener than the average, “standard” box which is typically 30 to 40% recycled content.
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Customers who use corrugated mailers often do so because they are looking for something a little more attractive than the average RSC style box. For those customers, appearance is every bit as important as function. Most customers are willing to forgo the outer, white (virgin) exterior in the interest of sustainability but they are not eager to compromise on appearance. We have determined that our 100% recycled content board enables us to die cut mailers just a little cleaner and neater so that is what we prefer to utilize for any die cut design.