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. (more…)

The corrugated industry has experienced three significant price decreases since the first of the year. As a result, we have reduced our prices on Globe Guard eco friendly content corrugated boxes. What is a tough time in the corrugated business can be a great time for a green minded company to change over to green boxes and reduce their cost in the process.

Why is Sustainable Packaging Less Expensive Now?

Linerboard pricing has been on a slow decline since the fourth quarter of 2008. Even though our boxes are made of 100% PCW and not new linerboard, there is a direct correlation between the two. Remember a linerboard decrease only affects less than one half of the overall cost since it does not directly impact labor, transportation, etc. As a result, it takes a while for small incremental linerboard decreases to add up but today you could see pricing that is 5 to 6% lower than it was just a few months ago. That is not a huge drop but I am sure everyone could use some good news in times like this.

The Green Packaging Outlook Short Term

Indications are that the free fall of board pricing is far from over. Some industry experts are predicting pricing could drop another 5 to 10% before the bleeding stops. Of course there are no guarantees one way or the other, but with many corrugated sheet plants and converters reporting decreases in business of 10 to 15%, the market is becoming incredibly competitive. Oh, you may also be interested to know that another major influence is corrugated exports, which are down 40% from where they were a year ago. All things considered, the downturn in pricing is likely to continue.

The Green Packaging Outlook Long Term

Long term most industry people agree corrugated manufacturers will do what they and every other industry have ever done in times like this. They will control and limit capacity. A few unprofitable plants have already shut down and others have cut back production because it makes no sense to make what you cannot sell. The law of supply and demand is there to protect the interests of the seller as well as the buyer so we can be sure this decline will come to an end one way or another. (more…)

Once in while you get very lucky and find a great vendor partner in your own back yard. That is the case with General Converting, Inc.,  a terrific company in neighboring Bolingbrook, IL that specializes in “green” paperboard packaging. They perfectly complement what we do in corrugated board and we have been fortunate enough to work together on several recent projects. I had the pleasure of interviewing their General Manager, John Barry and he openly shared his valuable knowledge and insight with our readers.

DS: John, can you tell us briefly what General Converting does?

JB: General Converting is a premier designer and manufacturer of folding cartons for a wide variety of industries, including food, confections, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, automotive, media, entertainment, pet supply, etc.  We focus in high quality, high graphic content cartons.

DS: Please tell us how long your company has been engaged in sustainability and why you feel it is important.

JB: Our company has been interested in recycling since it was started 27 years ago.  However, we became much more interested in overall sustainability about 4 years ago and have been aggressively pursuing a smaller carbon footprint since that time.  Just this year we have become SFI, PEFC and FSC certified.  We are also pursuing LEED certification and hope to become platinum certified by next year.

DS: Your website and brochures indicate your products are made with 100% renewable (wind) energy. Those of us who have visited your beautiful facility have not seen the windmills. Please explain how that works. (more…)

It may sound like the title to an unusual movie or book, but the fact is that today it is not at all uncommon for an eco conscious e-commerce company (seller) to utilize a fulfillment company, third party logistics (3PL) company, or contract packager to fill, package and ship their customers’ orders. Outsourcing the fulfillment portion of the order process is an excellent way to minimize costs and focus on sales and marketing but it does have a potential down side, especially if the fulfillment company (shipper) does not share the same green values as the seller.

The Biggest Risks of Using a Third Party Shipper

What you sacrifice when you turn fulfillment over to another company is control. For example, the people filling your valuable customer’s order are not your employees -  in fact they may not even be the employee of the company you are utilizing. More and more shipping companies use temporary labor services to satisfy their customer’s packaging requirements which can vary greatly with seasonal or other volume surges,  so the phrase “here today and gone tomorrow” certainly applies. In other words, there is little or no accountability for the person actually pulling and packing the order for you and for your customer.

Another potential casualty of working with a third party shipper may unfortunately be eco-consistency. The eco friendliness of the packaging materials and the techniques being used, as well as the ultimate appearance of that package shipping to the customer, are completely in someone else’s hands. As a consumer, we all have been on the receiving end of a product that is over packaged, under packaged, or one that uses an excess of packaging materials we hate. For me,  it is foam peanuts of any size, shape or color. The shipper is setting the quality AND green standard for you in the eyes of your customers but remember – while the shipper is invisible to the customer,  you are not. When things go bad, you get the blame whether you deserve it or not.

Packaging Sustainability and the Third Party Vendor Can Be a Beautiful Thing

We have been fortunate to be the supplier of choice in several of these seller/shipper situations and can tell you that when they work, they work great. One recent situation developed because the customer/seller introduced and recommended us to their fulfillment company. Obviously we had to overcome the relationships the shipper had with their existing packaging suppliers but eventually they saw the many benefits to their customer as well as with other present or potential customers. Today, being a “green fulfillment house” has many advantages as they soon realized when they quickly picked up another, substantial “green” client. (more…)

In February 2009, Summit Publishing Company launched  GreenerPackage™ , a Knowledge Exchange for Sustainable Packaging. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Christine Smallwood, director of business development for GreenerPackage, to learn more about this new initiative by the publishers of Packaging World magazine.

What is a Knowledge Exchange?

A Knowledge Exchange is a place where ideas can be shared.

How does GreenerPackage hope to serve as a Knowledge Exchange?

By tapping into the expertise of others. First, we formed an Expert Network, which has served as our Advisory Board since we germinated the idea of GreenerPackage. These individuals, recognized as leaders in sustainable packaging, have been a compass that has kept us true to our original ideals, which are to further sustainable packaging.

Who are the members of your Expert Network?

Representatives from Costco, SC Johnson, Estee Lauder, Unilever, Frito-Lay, Stoneyfield Farm, GlaxoSmithKline, General Mills, ConAgra, Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft, Marks and Spencer, Sears and Walmart; plus members of the consulting and academic communities – a sort of who’s who of sustainable packaging. But more importantly, people who are living and breathing the complex challenges associated with sustainable packaging and who are examining the myriad of ideas, processes, and solutions that are being brought to market everyday to make sustainability part of the traditional business model in the global marketplace.

How was the idea for GreenerPackage born?

My colleague, David Newcorn, Vice President/eMedia for Summit Publishing Company is a former writer and editor of Packaging World magazine. During his professional journey – moving from editorial to eMedia – David picked up and read the book, Cradle to Cradle, and was inspired to write a cover story for Packaging World featuring McDonough and Braungart. This spurred the formation of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Soon after, David became a thought-leader in eMedia.

It was David’s original idea to create GreenerPackage a few years later, after several successful website launches.

What was your role in the process? (more…)

It sure can be and it can also be environmentally and socially responsible as well.  We are very pleased to announce a temporary addition to Globe Guard Products.com. Through a special, limited agreement with a top tier, well respected manufacturer, we are very pleased to offer eight of their eco-friendly decorative packaging products on a close out basis.

Decorative sustainable packaging that is more than pretty on the outside

All 100% natural and renewable materials were used on these products and the term “hand crafted” truly applies to them with all of the manufacturing performed off shore in a totally committed, fair trade environment.

The products include -

• Three different, beautiful handmade gift boxes, all made out of treeless paper.
• A black Abaca bag with a bamboo lock
• A very unique twine basket.
• A beautifully crafted wooden tray that is perfect for product presentations.
• Two different size, handmade, lightweight embroidered bags. Every bag has a unique and different embroidered design and the detailed work is rare in a product in this price range.

Where and how is decorative packaging used? (more…)

We are very proud of the terrific variety of eco friendly packaging products we have accumulated and offer our customers, but this may be the greenest product yet. We believe our Eco Flex Molded Pulp is the most versatile product available today and is the ideal product for many interior packaging, cushioning and even void fill applications.

Sustainable Packaging – Reality and Perception

One of the things that’s most appealing about molded pulp is that there are few products as universally accepted as being eco friendly. Molded pulp is instantly recognized for what it is – paper that has been recycled and molded into a usable and re-usable form. We are all familiar with it as custom molded edge or corner caps on fragile, expensive household products or even as soft drink carrier trays. This is a product that is as green as it looks and customers love it because it is so obviously eco friendly.  Molded pulp also has the added benefit of being very light weight so inbound and outbound shipping costs are minimal.

The down side of molded pulp packaging has always been the undeniable fact that someone has to create a steel mold to manufacture molded pulp and the tooling costs can be quite expensive. That has historically meant the only companies able to afford it and receive the many benefits molded pulp offers, are large volume manufacturers of products such as housewares and consumer electronics, or restaurant/food service suppliers. (more…)

The packaging industry has always been great about finding new ways to utilize old products and designs. I guess that would qualify as a form of recycling and we are all for it! The photos below show a design that has been referred to as a pillow pack box or even as an apple pie mailer because the shape is reminiscent of the container McDonalds once used on their apple pie desserts. In any case, we are finding it to be a sweet design for a variety of packaging and mailing applications and very eco friendly.

What Makes These Mailers Sustainable?

Our Globe Guard Pop and Load Mailers are made out of our 100% recycled content corrugated board or 100% recycled content paper board, and of course they are 100% recyclable after their use. However, they are also sturdy enough that they are often re-used for a second, third or return shipment, which makes them even better than any single use envelope or box.

The material (board) composition is far from the only reason these mailers are excellent green packaging:

• The unique shape “pinches” the product n place, immobilizing it and eliminating the need for costly or time consuming void fill
• The contoured shape creates excellent crush zones on all four corners, protecting the product and eliminating the use of cushioning materials.
• It requires a minimum of tape to seal it and usually one small tab of tape does the trick. This saves tape and labor and also improves the likely hood the mailer will be re-used.

Why “Pop and Load”?  Many Reasons, Including Labor Savings! (more…)