Why adding a new box to your line up is cost-effective We have a great, national reputation as the “less is more” people in packaging. We have helped companies by showing them how to take twelve different sizes of corrugated containers and trimming them to an...
Sustainability and E-commerce Packaging The impact e-commerce is having on the environment is a very hot topic and it should be as we all witness the shift from big box/ brick and mortar retail to internet shopping. Highly respected Packaging Digest and Environmental Leader both...
The convenience of buying clothing via the web is obvious since it is essentially a store that is open 24/7. Consumers also love the variety and selection of products available to them, sometimes not available in local retail stores. Add great pricing, in many cases...
Most of the people who contact us are not interested in purchasing shipping boxes, they are in search of unique marketing tools that connect them to their customer. In other words, they want their subscription or e-commerce boxes to stand out and create a memorable,...
LOHAS is a terrific organization and an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a market segment focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice. Last year, I was fortunate to serve on a panel discussion on packaging at the...
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure and privilege of working at the “Experts Booth” at the International Housewares Show where I fielded questions from visitors and exhibitors regarding ecofriendly packaging options. Even though I am sorry to report that overall the interest in sustainable...
At the recent International Housewares Show, I had several conversations with a number of people who wanted to talk about the “bad” packaging they are getting from their foreign suppliers. Well over 90% of all house ware products we all buy and use are manufactured and packaged overseas, which typically results in substantial savings for the importing USA company. However, it can also lead to major headaches and unexpected costs when the packaging that is also being imported does not satisfy varying domestic requirements.
Sustainability, when defined as something that by design reproduces itself indefinitely and never ends, is a worthy objective in almost any facet of life or business. However, I have found absolutely nothing that lives on forever the way a barter dollar does. Regardless of what you are told, this gross and corrupt example of sustainability is not for the benefit of the buyer or seller but for the organization sponsoring the program. I can’t say bartering is not good for anyone, but I can tell you how awful it was for us.
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.
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.