06 Mar 2012 Steve’s Real Food’s New Packaging – An Eco-Friendly Packaging Solution Able to Serve as a Shipping Box and a Retail Package
Posted at 12:50h
in Inside Sustainable Packaging
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SOPHIE AND GATEWAY[/caption]
We are dog people. Our kids grew up with dogs as pets, so not surprisingly our grandkids are now growing up with dogs at their side. The dog in this picture is our beagle mix Gateway, who we picked up as a pup from a shelter almost eight years ago. Gateway has helped us raise, love and protect five grandchildren between the ages of two and five including the youngest, Sophie, who is shown in the picture playing with her “buddy” since birth.
We were very pleased when we found out some of our products would be featured in a leading photographic magazine because we never designed them to be photogenic. Though, after we saw our boxes in this month’s issue, we have to agree our boxes look great. Please read Robyn L. Pollman’s article,"
100% RECYCLED CONTENT RETAIL CARTONS[/caption]
The term “so good it melts in your mouth” is over-hyped and so over used it has nearly lost all meaning. However, it really is an accurate description of the candy product made by one of our newest Globe Guard customers.
Barbary Brix is a San Francisco-based company that makes candy the way it used to be made before high-production equipment and cost-saving recipes became the norm. Check out the delicious assortment of unique flavors they offer on their online Barbary Brix candy store. My wife was almost immediately addicted to their “Salty Dog” flavor, and as one who enjoys nuts with his caramel, I am now a huge fan of “The Prospector.” 
I’ll put it bluntly but politely - most secondary packaging (boxes, tape, etc.) we receive from overseas is not very good. People have shared countless stories with us about boxes that smell funny, are weak, thinner than expected, don’t stack well, don’t hold up in shipment, etc. And it matters little whether the packaging originates in China, India or almost any place else on the globe.
Domestically produced boxes, even boxes like our 100% recycled content Globe Guard® boxes, are better and stronger than the vast majority of corrugated boxes that are used to ship the imported products we all purchase. It is widely accepted that when the US buyer negotiates a lower price with a foreign manufacturer, one of the areas that is most easily cheapened is the packaging used for shipping it here. 
Programs that send new or promotional product samples to the home have been around for a while, but in most cases they are directed and financed by manufacturers eager to get their products into consumers' hands.
The Conscious Box is different in that manufacturers cannot “buy” their way into your home. The products are carefully reviewed and approved for their authenticity as well as for the value they deliver to subscribers. The program is also an excellent way for consumer/subscribers to learn about and try new fair trade or eco-friendly products offered by small- to mid-size manufacturers. 
Corrugated partitions are an excellent green packaging solution because, just like corrugated boxes, they typically have a high recycled content, are reusable, 100% recyclable/repulpable, biodegradable and even compostable. Also, when they are designed and used properly, they usually minimize or eliminate the need and use of other, less green, products. 
Evertune is a company that has received a lot of well-deserved applause for creating an innovation that is changing the world of music. The company’s lead product, the award-winning Evertune guitar bridge, is able to keep a guitar in perfect tune 
Unless this is the first time you have visited our blog, you already know we are avid proponents of reusing and recycling packaging. That is especially true of our corrugated products that offer the most in recycled content, because no one has figured out how to improve on 100%.
The one area of sustainability that we have yet to master is that of “upcycling,” which is recycling a product and making it even more valuable than it originally was. I sincerely appreciate and respect people who are able to take empty juice pouches and turn them into fashion handbags or use empty wine bottles to create beautiful table lamps out of what might otherwise end up in a landfill. However, Mark Langan, with a lot of talent and time, is able to take corrugated board and turn it into beautiful works of art. 
I have spent several decades in the packaging industry and almost five years specifically in the green packaging market. During that time, I have come to appreciate both innovations that may have limited appeal but solve a specific or unique problem, as well as products that may not be as newsworthy but provide a solution to a much wider group of customers.
What Is a Broad-Based Solution?
In my mind, it is a product that would have mass appeal and solve a common or very typical packaging problem. For example, when we and others began promoting 100% recycled content corrugated for shipping boxes, the concept did not win awards or grace the cover of packaging magazines, even though it could potentially benefit every single shipping box buyer and user.