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

Read the rest of this entry »

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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Green Shipping Boxes
Eco Friendly Packaging Materials
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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

Read the rest of this entry »

When you think of the term “eco power” what do you think of? Perhaps wind mills or some type of naturally produced energy. Or maybe an all natural, organic energy drink to be consumed while working out? What you almost certainly don’t think about is socks.

Eye Catching Eco Display

A few weeks ago I noticed this display while shopping at Sam’s Club. Products being promoted in a green manner always capture my attention but I guess that is the purpose of using green catch phrases like “eco power”. It leads consumers to believe that there is something uniquely green about the product being offered. I took a closer look and realized the product on display was cotton socks so of course I had to determine how Burlington was able to make any green claims about their product.

I discovered the socks were made of “rayon made from bamboo” which supposedly gave them some terrific properties to combat moisture and odor. I also noticed that the rayon made from bamboo was a mere 2% of the overall composition and the primary material being used is cotton, the non-organic variety. The labeling and display proudly proclaimed the socks were made domestically but no real indication where the cotton came from, how it was grown and how the people who harvested it were treated. Yet, that tiny bit of “natural” composition made these socks a green product?

Is Rayon Even Natural?

According to everything I have read, rayon is neither a natural or synthetic product. It is a “semi synthetic fiber”. Any number of different naturally growing plants and trees including bamboo can produce the cellulose from which you can make rayon but in my mind, that does not necessarily make the end result bamboo, or even make it green.

I had no idea that last August the FTC came to the same conclusion when they released this bulletin.

Why Is This Product Still on the Shelf?

I took this photo on Tuesday when I re-visited Sam’s Club to pick up a few items. Right in the middle of one of their main aisles was the greenest retailer in America, Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, selling a product that at best is questionably green and at worst, possibly intentionally misleading. Read the rest of this entry »

Green and organic products come in different forms and many different ways. One unique way I recently became aware of is the “affiliate marketer”, such as Erin Ely of Ely Organics who is a seller of ONEgroup products called miessence. I was intrigued by the dedication of Erin to the products she represents as well as this different “way to market” so I was pleased when she agreed to allow me to interview her.

DS: Erin, for those who are new to the term “affiliate marketer” can you please explain that to our readers? Also, please explain how it differs from traditional distributors or redistributors of product who buy and resell?

EE: An affiliate marketer is someone who does not manufacture their own product. I do not manufacture the miessence products, I sell them. I am like a conduit for people to find the products. I advertise and bring business to the ONEgroup as an affiliate and I am paid a percentage of my sales. I do not stock or ship the miessence products myself, that is all done by the manufacturer, ONEgroup.

DS: Please tell us about ONEgroup and your relationship with them.

EE: ONEgroup is a company that is called a multi-channel enterprise. Their business model includes network marketing, direct sales, and traditional retail. My website is like a portal to my “parent” site where orders are taken and processed. This is an affiliate marketing type of relationship.

DS: Does the fact that ONEgroup is Australian-based create any unique issues from an order process and fulfillment perspective? Read the rest of this entry »

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
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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:

Anyone who’s been around the packaging industry for any length of time knows that the holiday season and New Year’s are traditionally followed by a price increase in basic packaging commodity products.

Price Increase Notifications and “Feelers”

A few manufacturers were quick to put through their small increases immediately after the first of the year. Other manufacturers such as corrugated tend to do a lot of talking about it first, especially when a market is considered “soft”.

In other words, business is not as strong as the industry wants and the mills are torn between a need to increase profitability but of course they also can’t afford to lose any business in the process. Last year (2009) was one with in some cases, multiple price decreases and overall business down from the previous 2008, so it is understandable if the price increases being contemplated and discussed for 2010 are coming across as rather timid.

Are Price Increases Positive Economic Signs?

As much as I hate to admit it, I am quite sure they are. Even though some would love to see another year of multiple price decreases on commodity products, I believe that is called deflation and many economists agree long term that can be every bit as damaging to us and the economy as the opposite concern, inflation.

We all hate to spend more on the products we buy but a slightly different way of looking at this is the sheer fact that companies are considering price increases indicates they are optimistic and eager to grow and prosper. That is in all of our best interests and a true indicator that things are looking up. For example, a strong corrugated industry typically reflects an increase in manufacturing and consumer spending because in either case, a corrugated box is being made and used.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

My best guess, and it is just a guess, is that we will indeed see small increases this first quarter from almost every product sector in the packaging industry. I think in most cases the increases are warranted and needed.

Whether or not we see another series of increases later this year will depend on how well the overall economy is doing. A strong rebound will likely result in additional price increases later this year. On the other hand, a price decrease of any size would probably indicate our problems are much bigger than we would like.

Here is to a prosperous 2010 to all, even if that means more price increases in the third or fourth quarters of the year!
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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

We are always looking for ways to help our customers reduce or minimize cost and recently we had two situations where we literally had to think inside as well as outside the box in order to get the job done.

New Products and Unique Packaging

Sometimes the challenge is how to economically create custom packaging for a new and unique product and not break the bank doing it. In other words, protecting a product during shipment and making it affordable, even when the volume is relatively small. One way to do it is to combine stock and custom products rather than working with all custom items and eliminating some or the entire cost of dies and tooling.

Here are two recent examples:

Custom partitions and pads with stock RSC shipping boxes

Pente5 is a fast growing manufacturer of organic extracts which are all packed in glass bottles. They needed to create a four pack shipper case as well as a six pack shipper case for a new product launch.

We had no choice but to create custom pads and partitions for them but we intentionally designed them to fit two of our stock boxes. The finished product turned out great and we were able to avoid a higher cost custom box. This also minimized the amount of inventory they would have to buy and stock for their new product. Read the rest of this entry »

That seems like quite a claim and I have to admit I did not believe it but recently I received an egg, light bulb and a brick packed in the same box. I was surprised to find the light bulb and egg in perfect condition, completely unaffected by the heavy three and one half pound brick that accompanied it.

Expand On Site

That is where the name came from and it answers one of my biggest complaints about most loose fill products. They tend to be bulky, take up a lot of space and are usually very expensive to ship. Many loose fill users fail to include the inbound shipping costs when they are calculating the cost of other void fill options such as foam peanuts. Those loose fill products tend to take up a lot of space in your facility so you order less and that means a higher cost per unit as well as additional shipping costs.

Expandos on the other hand ship in as a fan folded bundle of sheets. They are processed through a machine and the unique triangular pieces are formed. Each bundle as shown in the photo is able to make up to 25 cubic feet and they do an exceptional job of blocking and bracing because of their unique design and shape.

Are Expandos Green?

If they weren’t they wouldn’t have caught my attention or be featured on this blog. The product is made from recycled industrial waste and SFI material. In addition they are also 100% recyclable but they are also reusable an indefinite number of times. They are light weight for a paper product and surprisingly clean compared to other paper options.

Expandos also solve problems and reduce or eliminate damage and that too is eco friendly when you calculate and include the high environmental cost of product replacement, reshipping, etc.

What is the Cost Compared to Other Products?

Prices for this product are based on usage and annual volume so an analysis of the application is necessary. That is also the time to factor in the cost of leasing or buying the Expander machine to be able to make Expandos as needed. Please check out the video and information available at: http://www.expandos.com/about_expandos.asp.

If you are interested in the product, and would like a no cost application analysis, please contact us directly at info[at]SalazarPackaging.com.
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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