During a recent interview I was asked what I thought was the most valuable feature of our new patent pending Globe Guard Reusable Box. After I thought about it for a moment, I quickly replied that because it can be turned inside out, it has the unique ability to convey two completely different “looks”. Not so much from an appearance standpoint (used versus new) but from a functional perspective as well.

Intra Company Shipments and Labels

The more we speak with people about their intra company shipping, the more we realize the importance of distinct and obvious labeling. When a product ships from one facility to another, it frequently requires identification or designation as having changed because it was machined, finished, tested or simply transferred. That is usually accomplished with an oversized label.

The world of adhesive labels is a mile wide with a wide variety of stock and adhesives, but it is not uncommon for a 8” wide X 6” high label to cost $.20 to $.30 depending on type and of course quantity. That price can rise significantly if the label is custom printed with artwork or colors. It is also not unusual for even larger and more expensive labels than 8” X 6” to be used on oversized boxes because most often the label is being used to cover up previous labels and old/outdated information.

Revealing the “Inner Box”

At minimal additional cost, a Globe Guard Reusable Box can be custom printed on the inside as well as the outside. Ship-to, product code, status and other variable, changed information can be clearly and consistently communicated. It can be spot printed or even flood printed in a completely different color to make it stand out in an inventory or sorting scenario. (more…)

First let me say I love Kohl’s retail stores. If you are looking for almost any brand name product ranging from clothing and bedding to luggage and small kitchen appliances, Kohls’ makes it difficult to pay “full retail price” with their never ending sales and promotions. They are terrific but when they stretch the green truth, I feel a strong obligation to call them out on it.

The Ready to Reuse Shopping Bag

At first glance it looked like a great idea. A reusable shopping bag that thanks to a unique design and a well placed snap, neatly folds up into a compact little package. I am sure we all mostly agree the use of reusable shopping bags is probably a good idea so anything that will make them easier to carry and use can only be a plus. Add some green graphics, some cool green buzz words and voila, you have a … plastic bag.

“The Devil Is in the Details”

Was one of my grandfather’s favorite sayings and an eternal, indisputable truth. No matter what the subject or when it is being said, the small unobvious details are often where the truth or lack of it can be found.

A close look at the small tag, I found deep inside of the bag told me so much more than the colorful bag or the outer tag so prominently displayed. The bag is 100% polypropylene, which of course is nothing more than plastic. This particular bag, like most that are used to help “save the earth”, is imported from China. I think most of our readers know how I feel about importing products like this from the other side of the world, especially when over 10% of our own population is unemployed.

Putting that carbon footprint and exporting jobs issues aside, here are some other things that are likely to go unnoticed by the average reusable bag buyer.

• There is no indication of recycled content. That is not good.
• There are no instructions for the ultimate disposal of the bag. It will eventually have to be discarded, but how?
• The tag clearly indicates it is not for use with food but can’t we assume people shop for groceries more often than they do for sox and underwear? Shouldn’t that important information be somewhere where people are more likely to see it?
• Since it is likely to be used for grocery shopping, wouldn’t it be great if it was washable? Google “reusable bag germs” and get ready to be shocked.

Am I Anti Reusable Bag? (more…)

When we first designed this new product, we anticipated a great deal of interest from companies doing fulfillment. After all they, like most companies in business, are being asked to perform new and in many cases, unanticipated services for their customers and their customers’ customers.

Fulfillment to Correct Mistakes and Problems

Unfortunately one of the types of service required at times is what can only be referred to as “damage control”. Basically, something went wrong and someone has to fix it.

Manufacturers and marketing companies are not in the business of correcting problems so more often than not, those duties are out sourced to a fulfillment company. The problem becomes a little more severe when it is an eco friendly company that is in that position because after all, fixing a mistake typically leaves an even bigger carbon footprint behind. Add the fact that usually the high cost of recalls and similar problems are not budgeted for, and the fulfillment service company has to respond quickly, efficiently, economically and in an environmentally responsible way.

The Advantage of a Two Way, Reusable Box

Today product replacement is not enough. When there is a problem, let’s say a product recall or replacement, companies have to do product exchanges, in part to confirm the new product has been delivered but also to get the incorrect or faulty product off the street and back in their own hands. This may be for legal or PR reasons or possibly for testing, reclaim, and recovery or even to be able to file a claim against a vendor or other company involved in the problem. A box that is 100% recycled content and has the ability to make two trips can be an invaluable asset to help rectify the problem.

The Globe Guard Reusable Box Can Be a Chameleon

With our ability to print the patent-pending, Globe Guard® Reusable Box inside and out, we can easily provide a different look to help customers determine if the contents are the product being replaced or the replacement itself. Imagine printing it red on the inside so that after it is inverted and returned, it can easily be identified and processed. This is especially important if the unhappy customer is anticipating a credit or other compensation.

There are no limitations to what can be printed on the inside, so a ship to address, return code, routing number, customer account or part number, and even a bar code can be easily accommodated.

The Globe Guard Reusable Box is a unique product to help solve unique problems for companies like fulfillment service operations. Tell us about your unusual challenge and we will help you implement a solution that has a low cost for you and the environment.
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Visit the Globe Guard ® Green Packaging Store for -

Green Shipping Boxes
Eco Friendly Packaging Materials
Special Deals on Eco Friendly Shipping Supplies

See our revolutionary, patent pending Globe Guard® Reusable Shipping Box!

Celebrate Our One Year Anniversary with 20 Percent Off All Items!

Almost one year ago, on March 18, 2009 we launched our new web site as the first green packaging store on the internet. With no existing customer base to rely on, we were convinced if we offered good quality eco friendly packaging products at a competitive price, most people would do the right thing for the environment. Gratefully, you have.

So for the entire month of March, with a $50 minimum order, any customer using promo code ONEYEAR will receive a 20% discount on all stock products on our e-commerce site. It is our way of saying thank you to the customers who have helped to make our dream, a reality.

How the Globe Guard Green Packaging Product Line Has Grown

What began as eight RSC shipping box sizes has developed into thirty-five sizes that include a wide assortment of cube boxes, long boxes and low profile boxes. Most of these additions were suggested by you, the customers who eagerly sought environmentally responsible packaging products.

In addition we are growing our list of corrugated specialty and die cut sizes to include book fold boxes, tuck mailers and front lock mailers. We create custom inserts, dividers and partitions for our stock product and can easily design a custom shipping box for the most unique and challenging applications.

Leaders in Eco Friendly Void Fill Products

We may have the widest variety of green inner packaging solutions on the internet to protect products during shipment. Our options include -

• Globe Guard Oxo-Biodegradable bubble packaging
• Globe Guard packaging papers in many grades and widths
• Globe Guard Eco Nest – a shredded corrugated loose fill product
• Globe Guard Eco Flex – an incredibly versatile molded pulp product
• Globe Guard inflatable air pillows

If these don’t do the job, we have other products available including custom corrugated and paperboard solutions.

A Lot More than Just the Best Eco Friendly Shipping Boxes

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Creating a High Profile in Low Profile Packaging

It’s no secret we spend considerable time developing and promoting our Globe Guard brand of sustainable, eco friendly packaging products. We realize one of the best ways we can accomplish our objectives is to continuously enhance its value to our customers by helping them get their packaging done in as environmentally responsible a way as possible.

Four New Boxes Added to the Globe Guard Green Packaging Web Store

We are pleased to announce the addition of the following to our Globe Guard 100% PCW, recycled content, box sizes.

• 8” X 6” X 6” RSC style, 32 ECT shipping box
• 9” X 5” X 5” RSC style, 32 ECT shipping box
• 14” X 12” X 6” RSC style, 32 ECT shipping box
• 20” X 14” X 4” RSC style, 32 ECT shipping box

We realize not everyone needs a tall or cube box so when you add these four new sizes to the variety of sizes we already have, we are confident we can fit most products and applications with the right box for the job.

Current box sizes include: 8” X 6” X 3” tall, 9” X 8” X 4” tall, 10” X 10” X 5” tall, 12” X 9” X 4” tall, and 12” X 10” X 6” tall.

Need a Unique Eco Friendly Box for a Unique Eco Friendly Product?

Regular readers may tire of hearing this but I hope they understand we draw new readers constantly who may not have heard this before: over 50% of the boxes we sell are custom size, custom grade and/or custom printed. Unlike many internet packaging suppliers, we understand and can help customers design custom packaging for their unusually shaped or configured products. We are also experts at combining a wide variety of substrates and products to -

• Minimize cost
• Maximize recyclability
• Minimize packaging waste by weight and volume
• Maximize reusability
• Minimize the negative impact on the environment

Let us know what your toughest most difficult challenge is and we will likely help you develop a low cost, green solution.
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Visit the Globe Guard ® Green Packaging Store for -

Green Shipping Boxes
Eco Friendly Packaging Materials
Special Deals on Eco Friendly Shipping Supplies

See our revolutionary, patent pending Globe Guard® Reusable Shipping Box!

Companies ship things back and forth much more than they realize until they start evaluating where the boxes they purchase wind up going. In some cases plastic totes, metal cases or wooden crates can satisfy the need but those options tend to be expensive and are best utilized when the container is going to wind up back where it started. In many cases, a low cost corrugated container like our Globe Guard® Reusable Box is a better, lower cost and greener option.

Why Do Companies Ship Product within Their Own System?

There could be a wide variety of reasons but here are a few of the most common:

• For inventory purposes – one location’s over stock is another’s back order.
• For testing and examination – labs are often centralized even in the largest of companies so product makes a round trip after it is reviewed and approved.
• For finishing and secondary operations – not all facilities have the same capabilities requiring product to be shipped from one location to another.
• For repair and return situations.
• For de-manufacturing, rework and reclaim of company or customer owned products.

Shipments to Partners and Vendors

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In case you have not heard, we have officially launched our new patent pending product, the Globe Guard® Reusable Box. We think the packaging industry as a whole is waking up to the fact that reusable packaging can and should play an important role in our overall sustainability strategy and we are proud to be one of the companies sounding that alarm.

The Three “R’s” of Sustainability

We have been a leading advocate of the use of recycled and recyclable packaging materials for several years. Our Globe Guard 100% post consumer waste shipping boxes are a direct result of that effort and we are now literally selling our boxes everywhere from Hawaii to Maine and every place in between.

The second R in sustainability is reduce and with over fifty years of combined packaging experience, our staff has the ability to help almost any company use less packaging materials and reduce the negative impact they have on the environment. For example, people are often surprised when a supplier of boxes is so willing to show them how to use fewer boxes but that is what we do.

We believe the most ignored and virtually untapped R in packaging sustainability is reuse and that is simply because most packaging products are “use once and discard” by design. It is easy to print, “Please recycle or reuse” on any product, but it’s difficult to do when it was made to be disposable and not reusable.

The Globe Guard Reusable Box – Truly Designed to Be Reused!

My co-inventor and wife, Lenora, and I spent much time lamenting the fact that most corrugated boxes could be used again, if they did not look so awful after their first use. More than cosmetic, the re-usability was negatively affected by the tape, labels, markings and scuffs that usually cover a box after one single use.

We have seen boxes mistakenly re-delivered to the same address because an old label was read on a previously used box and we have also witnessed cost and eco conscious customers waste time and energy attempting to paint or cover over old labels and markings. Ironically that same used box usually has a clean and like new interior.

“If only there was a way to turn a box inside/out” we kept asking ourselves. We came up with a way and it is simple and extremely easy to do. Take a look at this 1.5 minute video and see how it works.

For a more detailed video and product information, visit our new Reusable Shipping Boxes website.

The Globe Guard Reusable Box Saves Money, Too!

We too operate a business in these tough times so we are well aware of the need for any packaging solution to be economically sensible as well as environmentally responsible. Simply put, our new, patent pending design essentially is one unique box that does the job of two or more boxes. It can also result in additional savings and benefits in the following areas:

• Procurement costs – buying boxes half as often results in fewer trucks to unload and fewer invoices to process and pay.
• Valuable space – in some operations space is an increasingly valuable asset and our box can dramatically reduce the amount of boxes you have to keep on hand.
• Labor on returns processing – when our box is printed inside, it becomes the outside so package processing can be streamlined and more efficient.
• Increased customer satisfaction and quicker turn around on warranty parts, service loaners or exchange programs.
• Greening up your inbound and out bound packaging in a most obvious and unique way.

Let us know if you have any questions or would like additional information on this newest product we have created to help save you money and help the environment.

The Globe Guard® Reusable Box

Green by Nature, Reusable by Design ™
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Visit the Globe Guard ® Green Packaging Store for -

Green Shipping Boxes
Eco Friendly Packaging Materials
Special Deals on Eco Friendly Shipping Supplies

See our revolutionary, patent pending Globe Guard® Reusable Shipping Box!

The world of the internet is a complicated one and it is relatively easy to wind up lost among the incredible amount of information that is now available to anyone with a PC, laptop or cell phone. Of course the objective is to be found by people looking for what you do and offer, but you also have to help them quickly or it is off to the next name resulting from their Google or other search.

A Sustainable Packaging “Fork in the Road”

We have launched a new web site, www.recycledpackaging.com, and its purpose is really quite simple. It serves only to help visitors determine which of our business web sites (www.salazarpackaging.com or www.globeguardproducts.com) is mostly likely to offer the solutions to their packaging challenges. Potential customers can easily determine if stock eco friendly packaging products are what they need or if their application demands a custom solution. We certainly appreciate and welcome all new visitors to both of our sites but for new potential customers in a hurry, we think this option will enable them to more quickly find what they are looking for.

Stock versus Custom Eco Friendly Packaging

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A recent conversation with a potential customer reminded me that three out of my last six blog posts have been about some form of interior packaging. We really are proud of the wide selection we have to offer our customers but we also understand that sometimes too many choices can lead to confusion or worse yet, misapplication.

The Product and Application Determine the Best Protective Packaging Solution

We offer so many options because every product and customer can be unique. Are we shipping organic chocolate via USPS or bottles of fish oil via FedEx? Are we shipping two or two hundred cases per day? Even two companies making the same or similar product may be best served by different void fill products. Here is a partial list of our products:

• Globe Guard Packing Papers – everything from lightweight tissue sheets to rolls of 60# indented industrial Kraft and everything in-between including newsprint and gray bogus. All recycled and each with different protective properties.
• Globe Guard Oxo Degradable Bubble Packaging – available in stock in 12” wide rolls perforated every 12” for easy dispensing and use.
• Globe Guard Eco Nest ™ loose fill– a shredded corrugated product that delivers amazing support and protection, especially for heavy products.
• Globe Guard Eco Flex Molded Pulp ™ – an “eco obvious” product that is surprisingly versatile and can be used for void fill but performs best when used for cushioning and blocking.
• Globe Guard 100% recycled plastic and Automated Packaging biodegradable inflatable air pillows – lightweight, clean, easy to use and very economical to ship inbound and outbound.
• Expandos – a very impressive paper loose fill option that we recently added to our line that makes unique paperboard pyramids on site and on demand.
• Paperboard and corrugated die cut inserts – sometimes the best option for retention and protection.
• Paperboard and corrugated partitions – nothing separates products and prevents surface to surface abrasion like a well designed partition.

Stock and Custom Packaging Solutions

Many of these products are available in a stock size or format on our web store but over half of the products we sell are customer specific. So, just because you don’t see it, please don’t assume it is not available.

Our staff has over fifty years of combined packaging experience so we are eager to discuss your specific requirements. In many cases we will be able to mock up a package with the recommended packaging and ship it back to you for evaluation.
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Visit the Globe Guard ® Green Packaging Store for -

Eco Friendly Shipping Boxes
Green Packaging Materials
Special Deals on Green Shipping Supplies

In the entertainment industry this would be considered a teaser ad but we will soon be showing the world a new patent pending product that is about to change the way we all look at packaging and reusability. We believe companies committed to sustainability are about to become greener and reduce their costs in the process.

A Few Questions to Consider:

• What if reusing packaging products was easier?
• What if one corrugated shipper box could do the work of two or more boxes?
• What if your box inventory took up half the space?
• What if you had to replenish that inventory half as often?
• What if your customer return process was more customer friendly as well as more efficient and lower cost for you?
• What if product exchanges or loaners could be accomplished with the same packaging?
• What if you could easily communicate your commitment to green with something as simple as a corrugated shipping box?
• What if your customers appreciated you shipping their orders in a box that can easily be reused, saving them money?

As they say, “stay tuned” for the answers to these and many other sustainable packaging questions. Coming soon: