[caption id="attachment_1052" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Customers Will Judge You by Your Packaging"][/caption] Sure, our company sells eco friendly packaging supplies but my interest goes beyond the potential business. In an industry measured in billions, there is probably enough for everyone to get what they need and what...
Globe Guard Boxes Have 100% PCW Content[/caption]
We may not have the loudest voice but we proudly claim our rightful place in the in the front row of the sustainable choir, having spent over two years singing the praises of recycled 100% PCW content corrugated board and boxes. We are helping to educate the market and the people who hear us are asking questions of their current suppliers. Quite frankly, those suppliers do not always know how to respond and counter our unique products.
An email exchange with a new reader last week served to remind me that we continuously add new readers and subscribers to our blog, who may have not read some of our older, previous posts on the subject. So every once in a while it is a good idea to recap and update. Last week I also spoke to a prospective West Coast customer who complained her current box supplier was unable to give her the same answer twice on the construction and recycled content of the boxes they are supplying her.
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Stock versus Custom Corrugated
Globe Guard Corrugated Boxes[/caption]
(Note: this post written by Dennis Salazar also appeared on Nashville Wraps blog on July 6th, 2009)
Sustainable Packaging Creates Strange Bedfellows
I may be paraphrasing the old adage about politics but there is absolutely no politics involved in the decision for Nashville Wraps to offer Globe Guard, 100% recycled (PCW) content shipping boxes to their customers. It is really all about good customer service and making it easy for customers to order and receive what they want and need.
Two Different Companies with One, Almost Identical Objective
Most people and their own customers recognize Nashville Wraps as an innovator and leader in their market of decorative, retail and gift packaging. They long ago committed to making their products and company as green as possible and made news in the green and packaging communities with their Green Way® product line.
Our company, Salazar Packaging, Inc. has been working toward the same goal in our product area of green, eco friendly packaging products for secondary (shipping) purposes. We created and trademarked the Globe Guard® line of 100% PCW boxes and began promoting them in 2007.
A Better Padded Mailer[/caption]
Before the anti-plastic people get all worked up, please keep in mind that on sustainable, green packaging, it is not always about bad versus good. Sometimes the decision is not all that simple and the choice is between very bad and perhaps, not so bad. Or in this case between completely unrecyclable and easily recyclable.
I know I would likely be escorted out of some green gatherings for using the C word (compromise) but that is the reality of current eco friendly packaging options. The key is to know what you are using in terms of content and how or if it satisfies the sustainability requirements of reuse, recycle and reduce.
What Makes These Plastic Cushioned Mailers Green
In our work as well as in our writing, we strive to be a place where people with an interest in sustainability AND in packaging can learn more about the people and products impacting both.
That is our overall objective on Inside Sustainable Packaging and will be our goal for Common Sense and Sustainability, our new featured blog on Packaging Digest.
Say hello to Bad Axe Tool Works, a company with a neat name, interesting web site and a premier manufacturer of cutting tools for woodworking and other wood related activities like pruning and clearing trees. When we met them they were concerned with preventing damage during shipment and making sure their packaging was as green as possible. Considering the incredibly sharp nature of their products, it was definitely a challenge.
One Great, Excellent Packaging Partner
Adams Foam in Chicago makes a terrific product called Green Cell Foam. The product is made from non-GMO corn, and after use, it can be recycled, composted or simply dissolved in water. It is also surprisingly tough and able to stand up to rugged applications like the one that was developing at Bad Axe Tools Works. We had conversations with the nice people at Adams Foam but nothing brings packaging people together like a good, challenging application and Bad Axe did indeed bring us together.
What it Took to Get the Job Done (See Photos Below)
They are known by many names including literature mailers, tuck and fold mailers, shipper boxes and even pizza boxes, but the corrugated die cut mailer is making a big comeback and guess what? It is greener and no longer white.
What Makes These Corrugated Mailers Greener?
In the past, virgin board was used to make these versatile shipping and storage containers but today we are making them out of recycled corrugated materials. More importantly they are being made out of 100% recycled material which means they cannot be white on the outside. Many people don’t realize it but when you give a box a white exterior, that outer layer (usually 1/3 of the overall board content) has to be virgin. If you want it white on the inside too, then 2/3 of the corrugated content must be made from virgin fibers. Remember our motto, a virgin fiber is a terrible thing to waste, especially when it is not necessary.
Why Have Die Cut Mailers Been Historically White
The theory was that they looked better, cleaner, nicer, etc. There is no argument about that when the product is shipped ... but have you ever seen one of those mailers when it arrives at its intended destination? Whether is ships via FedEx, UPS or USPS, the mailer no longer looks pristine or white upon arrival. Typically it is dirty, scuffed and even covered with fingerprints. The white outer layer looks great when it is shipped but the appearance rapidly degenerates as soon as it leaves the shipper’s facility.
What Makes These Corrugated Mailers Better?
Eco Nest Eco Friendly Void Fill[/caption]
Those are words usually reserved for describing a mattress or pillow but it this case they are also the best way to describe our new Globe Guard Eco Nest void fill product. It is very effective, undeniably green, an amazingly simple idea, and quite frankly it handles certain applications better and lower in cost than most “high tech” or “engineered” packaging solutions.
Sustainable Packaging Simplicity
Globe Guard Eco Nest is essentially nothing more that shredded corrugated board. Perhaps a little packaging science went into the determining the best width and length of the strands of corrugated board but it is as basic a concept as possible - used corrugated boxes are recycled, shredded and turned into protective, loose void fill. The product can be used over and over but when it is time for disposal, it can be recycled again and probably be used to make new corrugated boxes like our Globe Guard 100% recycled PCW corrugated boxes. The whole concept and process is so simple, it’s almost ingenious.
The Pros and Cons of Loose Void Fill
The greatest benefit by far is that loose void fill easily and fully conforms to the shape of the product being packed. That is what makes products like foam peanuts appealing from a user/shipper perspective, though perhaps not from a receiver/customer perspective. Loose fill dispenses easily and quickly, is usually light weight, and most versions are relatively low in cost.
The down side of loose fill is that it often settles and crushes, especially when used to pack dense, heavy products. It is not at all unusual to receive and open a package where the product being shipped has drifted to the bottom of the box and the loose fill packaging material has shifted to the top where it offers little or no protection. Globe Guard Eco Nest conforms and supports but does not breakdown.
What Makes Globe Guard Eco Nest Different?
When a bird makes a nest in a tree, the components, usually twigs and blades of grass, have little strength individually, however when woven and working together, they are amazingly strong and resilient. We have all seen a nest on the ground that fell from a tree due to a wind storm, and noticed it is always fully intact. That is the same concept that makes Globe Guard Eco Nest such a terrific product from a performance standpoint. The shredded corrugated strands mesh to support even the heaviest and most delicate products - even when they are shipped via USPS, UPS and FedEx.