In a continuous effort to serve our customers better, we have added four new sizes to our Globe Guard corrugated box line.

1. GG23 – 8” X 6” X 3” – is an ideal size for shipment of small products
2. GG02 – 8.75” X 8.75” X 24” – a perfect box for tubular products or 24” long rolls of anything with an OD of 8.5” or less
3. GG25 – 13” X13” X13” – because sometimes a square foot is just not enough space
4. GG21 – 14” X 14” X 14” – another addition to our fast growing selection of “cube” boxes

100% PCW Boxes and Sustainable Packaging Products Are Still Our Focus

Globe Guard boxes remain the most popular and eco friendly corrugated shipping containers for eco minded companies shipping to eco minded customers. We were the first to make 100% PCW boxes available to everyone, with our low prices and one bundle (25 boxes) minimum order quantity. Our customers agree that eco consistency is important, especially when shipping out green products to often skeptical and rightfully demanding customers.

One Site, Many Sustainable Packaging Solutions

www.GlobeGuardProducts.com is a unique site with a large variety of packaging products, all with a keen eye on sustainability. Whether a product is made of recycled material, PCW material or is recyclable, biodegradable or compostable, its sustainable profile is an important part of the product description. At a time when green washing is so pervasive, we are authentic and can prove it. (more…)

Regular readers of ISP enjoy reading and learning about the interesting people we have encountered in the vast and fast growing green community. One of our favorites is Rick Smith and his Green Field Paper Company. They have received national newspaper and magazine coverage so for Rick to take a few minutes from his busy schedule to chat with us is very much appreciated.

DS: Rick, please give us a little background on you and your company, including how you became interested in treeless and other sustainable papers.

RS: I used to be a bean counter, serving as CFO for several companies with the last few being in the medical device industry.

My entrepreneurial spirit kicked in several years ago and I decided to buy or start a business. I looked at many businesses and in many industries. I believed that, when I identified one that I could be passionate about, I would pour my heart and soul into it.

I credit my wife, a realtor, with finding Green Field. I had all but given up the search when on a whim she searched the multiple listings under business opportunities. She came across a business for sale in “specialty/recycled paper” and a “famous product line”.

We set up an appointment, fell in love with the products, and made an offer. That was in early 2005.

The Company had been around since 1992 and always offered sustainable papers from organic cotton to denim to hemp to handmade using 100% post consumer. The signature paper was Grow A Note® with seeds embedded right in the paper.

DS: I would guess most people don’t even realize the treeless paper options available. Can you please give us a quick recap?

RS: Tree free paper as defined is paper made with no virgin wood pulp. Our handmade papers are made from 100% post consumer pulp whereas our Hemp Heritage paper is 25% hemp fiber and 75% post consumer. None of our have dyes nor bleach added.

DS: Your Grow-a-Note Papers were featured in Time Magazine. Can you please tell us more about that particular and unique product? (more…)

I often describe the world of packaging as being a mile wide and I operate in a narrow strip which is called secondary packaging where function is usually much more important than appearance.

My guest today, Robby Meadows, the founder and Marketing Director of Nashville Wraps works the other end of the same packaging world where function is of course important but much of the focus is on the esthetics.

Nashville Wraps is the leader in the area of decorative, retail and gift packaging and I am glad to announce they are now making our Globe Guard corrugated boxes available on their internet web store to all of their eco minded customers. I am equally pleased to introduce Robby to our readers.

DS: Robby, Nashville Wraps is over thirty years old so please give us your background and tell us how you got started.

RM: My background is in sales and graphics. The company started in 1976 during the time of polyester prints in women’s fashion. We found a source for the paper used to make those prints and turn it into repurposed gift wrapping paper. So you might say our first products were recycled/reclaimed paper.

DS: Give us an idea of the types of products people are likely to find on your store.

RM: An extensive array of decorative gift and gourmet food packaging, from gift wrap to bakery boxes.

DS: Tell us about your Green Way product line and what led you to develop a private label brand of green products.

RM: We are astute trend watchers and saw the grassroots green movement coming many years ago. We knew it would stick since it wasn’t a government program Aside from that it just seemed the right thing to do and we led our suppliers and paper mills into changing their production.

DS: I believe your green initiative goes way beyond the products you sell. Can you please give us an idea of the other things you have done to make your company greener? (more…)

(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. (more…)

Back on March 26th we published an article on this blog talking about sustainable packaging dead ends. In it I described a personal pet peeve which is single use products that are destined to end up in a land fill. It only adds salt to the sustainable wound for me when the manufacturer leads customers to believe that they are doing a good, green thing.

An Imperfect Sustainable Packaging Example – Cushioned Mailers

We have all used them at one time or another but cushioned (foam or bubble) lined paper mailers feature two excellent materials. Unfortunately they are laminated together and cannot be separated for easy sorting and recycling. Since the outer layer is paper, they are likely to hold up for only one trip through USPS, FedEx, or UPS so it is usually a prompt and short trip to your local land fill. Think about the millions of these that are used for home or office and you can see how easily the problem is compounded.

A Near Perfect Sustainable Packaging Solution – Globe Guard 100% Recyclable (Plastic) Cushioned Mailers

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 (more…)

Much of the attention on sustainable secondary packaging is rightfully given to using too much of a given packaging material. A compounded example is using a box that is oversized for a shipment, thereby also requiring more void fill product than necessary. We have all seen the examples of bad packaging posted here on ISP and on other excellent green focused sites like Sustainable is Good.

We like to scrutinize not only the quantity of packaging also the quality of the packaging being used for a specific application. Some of this is for good environmental reasons but it is important to note that it often results in a lower cost to our customers, and today, that is a very good thing.

Typical Examples of Over Packaging

These include some of my all time favorites that can often be found in many mail rooms and shipping areas.

• Using cushioned mailers for products that do not require cushioning such as soft goods, textiles, paper products, etc. I have written many times on bubble and foam mailers that are destined to wind up in a land fill because the plastic and paper used to make the mailer are laminated together. Both packaging materials are recyclable in theory only, since they cannot be separated and effectively recycled.
• The use of white corrugated and envelope mailers of almost any type and configuration. Why do customers pay more for a product that is less eco friendly, looks less eco friendly and will arrive at its destination looking worse due to its white surface?  When a client wants to be “obviously” green and reduce costs, this is usually one of the first areas we look at and change.
• Utilizing Tyvek, Nylon reinforced and other premium or reinforced mailer envelopes.There are some marvelous materials being used for applications that do not require them. They usually have excellent specific properties such as moisture protection or puncture resistance but are also not recyclable because of the composition and structure.

Why Do Companies Over Package? (more…)

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of The Natural Abode as a Globe Guard corrugated box distributor to serve the states of Washington, Oregon, northern California, Idaho, Montana, and Idaho.

The Natural Abode is well established, four year old company and is very familiar with packaging from a user’s perspective. They are also a Green America member, very involved in the green community and their facility in Moscow, Idaho makes them centrally located for the geography they plan to cover.

What This Means to You, the Green Packaging Buyer

We know you expect price and quality and we know our Globe Guard products will not disappoint you in either category. We have also learned that your concerns include product availability, shipping costs and of course, carbon footprint. Shipping low cost, commodity packaging products cross country no longer makes sense and our job is to get the product where you need it, quickly at a reasonable cost, and with absolute minimal carbon footprint left behind. Intelligent logistics and distribution is the key and we are confident The Natural Abode will enable us to meet and exceed your expectations.

Fast, Economical, and Reliable Deliveries to the Pacific Northwest (more…)

With many prices rapidly escalating including almost everything remotely related to plastics, it is nice to be able to share some good news with you. We have dramatically reduced the price on our Globe Guard eco friendly paper labels PLUS are also offering a special discount of 10% for the months of July and August when you use promo code LABEL.

PCW Never Looked So Good (more…)

I have often described green as a fast moving, irreversible trend that will only grow in strength with each new generation.

In fact, the word and name green – or greene, if you prefer the silent “e” – has been around for some time, one could even say for generations. To solve this little quiz, you may need help from an older or younger generation because the questions and answers range from pop culture of the 40’s to now. So, if you find yourself with some time to spare this holiday weekend and are willing to focus on colors other than red, white and blue, please enjoy.

Warning: Answers appear at bottom of the post, so don’t peek under the Big Green Question Mark.

The Green Culture Quiz

1. Mean guy from Pennsylvania – __________ Greene
2. West coast punkers of the 90’s – Green ______
3. Mellow sounding unity advocate in 1972 – _____ Green
4. Crime fighter and Kato’s buddy – Green _______
5. TV westerns were a bonanza for him – ________ Greene
6. Mid 60’s TV series featuring transplanted NYC couple – Green ___________
7. Premier funny man of the 70’s – _________ Greene
8. Baseball hall of famer _______ Greenberg
9. 40’s and 50’s actor – ___________ Greenstreet
10. Went home with Oscar in 1941 – _______ Green _____ ______ _______
11. Justice League member and superhero – Green ___________
12. They were eco before eco was cool – Green___________
13. 70’s movie NOT a favorite of AARP – __________ Green
14. Hitters nemesis in Boston – the Green ________________
15. Acclaimed 1999 Tom Hanks movie – The Green __________
16. Favorite breakfast food of Theodor Seuss Geisel – Green ______ ___ ______
17. 1968 John Wayne film The Green ____________
18. NFL rival of the Chicago Bears, the Green ______ __________
19. Captain Kangaroo sidekick, Mr. Green ________
20. Former Fed Chairman and economic guru ______ Green______
21. Popular “chick flick” _________ Green __________

Answers appear below the Big Green Question Mark

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