This annual show held in Chicago attracts the best the industry has to offer from around the world. Everything from cooking utensils to products designed to make clean up easier is on display, as is the packaging these manufacturers hope will catch our eye and motivate consumers to buy their product from an ever crowded competitive field. There has been a growing trend to make these products as well as the packaging “greener” for a very eco conscious market and I was eager to see if the trend continued.

IHA Promotes Green to the World

One of the many things the International Housewares Association does to educate industry people and visitors in the area of sustainability is to sponsor an exhibit on sustainability which is divided into two categories. One is for green products and the other is green packaging. For the second year in a row, I have served as a “reviewer” of the packaging entries to help determine just how green the packing examples being submitted, truly are.

The State of Green in the Housewares Industry

I visited the show last week and was a bit apprehensive because of all the bad economic news we all hear and see on a daily basis. I was concerned that this downturn in the economy would serve as a good excuse to stray from green and revert back to old, unhealthy eco habits. I am very pleased to say that green awareness and interest continues to grow steadily and the entries in both the product category and packaging category were outstanding and made it worth the trip to McCormick Place on a Sunday afternoon. (more…)

In my opinion, there are some concepts and ideas in sustainability that are still not as well understood and accepted as they should be. Back in November, 2007 I wrote an article for Sustainable Is Good titled “The One Material Myth” .

The theme of that article was that in many cases, a combination of two, easily separated and sorted materials is a much better sustainable solution compared to one material that is not as eco–friendly or as easily recycled.

The key to that theory and statement is “easily separated and sorted”. Recently I have been seeing a rash of two material packaging products being sold under a green flag that are absolutely terrible in terms of sustainability. They are virtual green dead ends because the final outcome will always be a land fill.

Eco Dead End Products

A terrific example of this is the cushioned or lined mailer envelope. The make and model is not important or whether the mailer is lined with foam or a bubble product. If the liner is fused to the paper, no one is going to separate and recycle either material so the whole mailer winds up in the trash. The mailer in the photo brags about its 100% recycled paper with 25% PCR. Don’t get me wrong.  I think it is wonderful that they are using recycled content paper. However I know the unsuspecting public is buying this product, thinking they are doing a good thing for the environment and not even realizing that since it is lined with a plastic bubble cushion inside, it cannot and will not ever be recycled. (more…)

As we have mentioned before, we enjoy helping customers switch from pressure sensitive tape to water activated tape (WAT) because we are convinced it is a more eco friendly and usually, a better way to seal a box.

WAT Dispenser Cost Can Be an Obstacle

I think most people realize paper water activated tape is a more sustainable than plastic pressure sensitive tape and the reasons are well documented, including several times on this blog. Up to now, we offered two WAT dispensers, both of excellent quality but the prices have been $395 for the semi-automatic unit and $995 for our electric unit. This has often been a major problem for low volume customers or even larger volume tape users with multiple packing and taping stations.

An Unfair Comparison of Tape Applicators

“But my plastic tape supplier gives me my tape guns for free”.  I have heard this many times and am amazed some people still don’t realize they are paying for those “free or low cost” pressure sensitive tape applicators, in any number of ways – (more…)

It probably sounds strange coming from us because we are so outspoken critics of waste and we encourage using less whenever possible. However, the first objective of being a sustainable (green) business is to be a sustainable (viable) business. At times like this, saving money is a necessary objective for financial and even practical reasons. It does not help the green cause if a eco minded business goes broke because it failed to reduce costs whenever possible, without compromising their green values.

Last week I received a call from a company that uses four different size plastic slip sheets as inter-leavers during their manufacturing and in plant material handling. The sheets are placed between products to prevent abrasion but are removed and discarded when the product is packed into individual boxes. Their goal was to be as green as possible and ideally to reduce the cost of these, single use disposable sheets.

Application Analysis

After a review of the use, customer expectations, etc., we discovered an important piece of information. To avoid dimensions, let’s say they use a “small” sheet, a slightly larger “medium”, a substantially oversized, “large” sheet and an even a slightly larger “extra large”. Four sizes and the relatively small volume on each are almost identical. We also determined that for no good apparent reason, they were using a high quality, high clarity, food grade, low density polyethylene virgin resin formulation. (more…)

In fact our green idea is fairly small and is only 15.75” X 14.25” X 9” high at its greatest dimensions. Some might even call it compact, so it can more easily be utilized in a small home or business office environment.

What we offer is a rather unique recycling tote constructed out of Globe Guard 100% recycled content corrugated. It is neutral, natural brown Kraft colored in color so it does not clash with any décor. We realize competitive products are often bright colored plastic but ours is not designed to double as a highway traffic control device. Furthermore, if you are one of the many people who advocate the limited use of plastic, isn’t it a bit inconsistent to utilize a plastic recycling bin for your paper waste?

If you are a regular reader you know we like to have fun with our topics and we are most definitely enjoying this one. In fact I am going to state that when designing our recycling tote, we strictly adhered to the following three R’s: (more…)

Here’s good news for a struggling economy – sustainable packaging should never involve spending more money. Quite often, making secondary packaging more eco friendly is simply a matter of taking advantage of old ideas.

Box sealing tape is a good example. Most shippers use an RSC style corrugated box and use multiple strips of paper or plastic box sealing tape to secure it for shipment. Because an RSC box has two flaps that meet in the center of the box along its length dimension, a good deal of tape is required for the job.

But what if, instead of an RSC, you used a full overlap (FOL) box or a tuck-in folder? Pictured below is a tuck folder. An FOL is similar in concept, only the flap doesn’t tuck in.

With these box styles, one or more “L-Clips” of filament tape can be used to seal the box for shipment. Not only does the L-Clip sealing method reduce packaging material use, it speeds up the case sealing process and is easier for the recipient to open. (more…)

Good news! If you’re looking for authentic eco friendly packaging at a low cost, check out our brand new e-commerce site, www.GlobeGuardProducts.com. We built the store for entrepreneurs and small companies who take sustainable packaging seriously.

Better news! If you order before April 30, 2009, you’ll get an extra 10% discount! (Details at the end of this post.)

Keeping It Real

One of the things I most appreciate about this relatively new expression is that it seems to transcend age. Unlike a lot of phrases that the young or old adopt and the opposite end of the age spectrum cannot relate to, “keeping it real” means pretty much the same to everyone. It has become synonymous with genuine, authentic, and telling it like it is. (more…)

Not long ago company president Dennis Salazar wrote an excellent article entitled Is There a Disconnect In Your Green Business?, which appeared on GreenBiz.com. In the article, Dennis makes several important points about the difficulties large companies encounter in converting green business initiatives into action. I highly recommend this article to business leaders – with it’s in-the-trenches perspective, it is quite illuminating.

Many fear that our economy, which is plunging into deep recession, will work against the interest of a greener business environment. The main concern is that economic necessity will cause companies to limit or eliminate green initiatives due to cost and time constraints. In times like this, the argument goes, companies hunker down and resist any sort of change. (more…)

Sustainability in packaging is not just about recyclability, recycled content or the carbon footprint left behind by the manufacturer of the particular packaging product. Especially in today’s tough economy it is increasingly about using less. People who follow this blog know we are big fans of paper – a prime example is water activated tape, because it is very recyclable and makes the corrugated box it is applied to even greener. In addition compared to plastic tape, it usually does a better job of securing the box closed for storage or shipment, with less tape used!

We believe the selection of a water activated tape dispenser is a critical decision that has long term consequences both in terms of labor, and packaging material usage. Customers and prospects are often surprised by the cost difference between a good manual WAT dispenser and an electric one. We offer one of the best in each category, competitively priced at $395 for the manual unit and $995 for the high efficiency electric model.

What’s the Difference? (more…)