With sincere hope and belief that our readers are not going to shoot or even blame the messenger, I have to let everyone know that we received our first price increase notice (this round) earlier this week. Yes, this follows two previous increases earlier this year in March and June, and I will not attempt to justify this unprecedented third increase in one year, but rather deliver an advance warning and perhaps some cost-reducing options.

How to Minimize the Impact of this Increase

First and foremost, buy ahead of the rush and before the increase takes hold. All indications point to this increase being implemented the third or fourth week of September. If you are in a position to do so, I suggest ordering the boxes you will need through the end of the year, ASAP. For many of our e-commerce customers, this increase comes before the busiest time of their year so getting ahead of it may really help your year-end profitability.

Is available space an issue? Talk with your suppliers about holding product for you to minimize the space required and maximize the cost savings. For example, we have been known to hold stock product for future release and have even agreed to hold custom (customer specific) product under the right conditions.

Other Ways to Reduce Your Corrugated Costs

1. Use less corrugated by downsizing your shipping boxes. If you have not reviewed and right sized your packaging, there is no better time to do so. Please see this ISP post on downsizing your shipping boxes

2. Are you using the most efficient and cost effective style of box for your application? RSC versus die cut mailer, RSC versus tray or sleeve, are just a few of the options available to you. Many people use RSC style boxes even though they may not be the lowest cost option.

3. Replace corrugated shipping boxes with other options such as paper or plastic mailer envelopes. Here is another ISP post about mailer envelopes.

4. This could be a great time to consider reusable packaging options, especially if you are in a “closed loop” scenario where it is easy to justify the initial higher cost. Here is an ISP post discussing several reusable packaging options.

What Can We Look Forward to in 2011?

Like most of our lives and businesses these days, it will all come down to the economy. If the economic signs are improved, you may see this trend of higher prices continue. “Get while the getting is good” appears to be the new strategy so you may see another small increase in early 2011.

On the other hand, if holiday spending is a bust and if the economy tanks after the holidays, you may even see a small price decrease as a hungry corrugated market attempts to create tonnage rather than margin.

Bottom line: no one knows for sure, but I can pretty much guarantee that paper based packaging is NOT going to become less expensive in 2011. How much more expensive it becomes is the big unknown but every shipping box used will be more expensive than it has been.

Please contact us if you have any questions or a desire to develop a cost containment strategy for your packaging materials.

Our Sustainable Shipping Boxes and Recycled Mailers Are Now More Sustainable

Continuous improvement is a well worn phrase that means a lot of different things to different people. Even though the packaging industry is launching brand new green products on an almost daily basis, this post is more about redesign and enhancement of existing products, rather than new product innovation.

Here are two perfect examples of manufacturing taking a good, green product and making it better and greener.

Globe Guard 100% PCW Corrugated Board

Our manufacturer is not eager to share details but the structure of our board has been “re-arranged” to provide a stronger and thicker outer sheet to our boxes and less “wash boarding”. Not to be confused with Dick Cheney’s favorite past time, water boarding, wash boarding is when the vertical fluting on board is visible through the outer liner sheet.

Keep in mind that our 32 ECT board is still 32 ECT so there was no weakness being addressed or strength gained. This is an improvement made to provide a little more outward/in puncture resistance and for cosmetic reasons. Our boxes look better for a longer period of time and possibly improve the possibility of them being re-used. Re use is good and this is a significant green improvement to what was already an excellent, industry leading product.
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I think most would agree that corrugated board is one of the greenest packaging materials currently available. You can buy it with a high or 100% recycled content and when it is no longer needed, it can easily and readily be recycled to serve another day and another packaging application.

Partitions have been rediscovered by the green and packaging communities as a great way to solve a packaging or damage problem, while reducing material and labor costs when compared to other product protection options. Best of all, it can all be accomplished with undeniably eco friendly, corrugated board.

Corrugated Partitions – Not Just for Liquor Bottles Anymore

Historically corrugated partitions have been a mainstay in the liquor and bottled beverage industry because they do such an excellent job of separating and protecting one product from another. Obviously bottle to bottle damage is virtually eliminated and other benefits are also enjoyed.

• Labels are not marred or damaged in shipment because label to label abrasion is prevented.
• Stacking strength is dramatically increased, even when the bottled and cased products are heavy liquids
• Bottles and jars remain upright, minimizing the possibility of leakers

New Applications for Eco Friendly Corrugated Partitions

Recently we have had a flurry of partition projects and applications and here are a few reasons why our customers chose this solution over other options we offered:

To verify count – Products were individually wrapped with Kraft paper to avoid damage and then randomly stacked and packed in a corrugated case. Our customer was being inundated by claims of incorrect counts. Coincidently the complaints were always for under shipment, never over, so we created a 20 cell partition that separated the individual products for easy, accurate count confirmation.

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They are known by many names including literature mailers, tuck and fold mailers, shipper boxes and even pizza boxes, but the corrugated die cut mailer is making a big comeback and guess what? It is greener and no longer white.

What Makes These Corrugated Mailers Greener?

In the past, virgin board was used to make these versatile shipping and storage containers but today we are making them out of recycled corrugated materials. More importantly they are being made out of 100% recycled material which means they cannot be white on the outside. Many people don’t realize it but when you give a box a white exterior, that outer layer (usually 1/3 of the overall board content) has to be virgin. If you want it white on the inside too, then 2/3 of the corrugated content must be made from virgin fibers. Remember our motto, a virgin fiber is a terrible thing to waste, especially when it is not necessary.

Why Have Die Cut Mailers Been Historically White

The theory was that they looked better, cleaner, nicer, etc. There is no argument about that when the product is shipped … but have you ever seen one of those mailers when it arrives at its intended destination? Whether is ships via FedEx, UPS or USPS, the mailer no longer looks pristine or white upon arrival. Typically it is dirty, scuffed and even covered with fingerprints. The white outer layer looks great when it is shipped but the appearance rapidly degenerates as soon as it leaves the shipper’s facility.

What Makes These Corrugated Mailers Better? (more…)

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…)

I have come to believe that every box has a story to tell about the person or company who sent it. I am quite sure that together with the other packaging/shipping materials being used, the box sends a silent but powerful message to the recipient about the shipper.

• If you are utilizing “used/recycled” boxes are they saying you are conservative and considerate of the environment or are they screaming, cheap and uncaring about the image you project to your customers?
• If you are using boxes that are obviously too large for the product(s) being shipped, are they communicating your lack of knowledge and/or concern about the correct use of packaging materials?
• If your customer’s product arrives damaged, are your boxes saying that you would rather save a few cents than to develop a long term relationship with them?
• If you are using a standard corrugated box with any percentage of virgin fiber, are your boxes admitting you are willing to sacrifice a few trees in a misinformed effort to save some money or time?

Our Green Customers Are Not Like Everyone Else

And thank God they are not. However, this also means that we as a supplier to them, our packaging not only has to perform as well and be as cost competitive as everyone else’s, it also has to be as green as possible. (more…)

In the last week I’ve spoken with two people, one from a very large, green company and the other from a very small, green company. Both had very strong opinions about 100% PCW content corrugated boxes.

“I must have 100% PCW or as close to 100% as possible,” one said. The other said, “I recently tried 100% PCW but it failed miserably”. Both comments demonstrated a basic misunderstanding about corrugated, how it is made and how even 100% PCW it can be modified to satisfy almost any application.

I sincerely believe that the “100% PCW” requirement has in many cases become at best an ineffective guideline, and at worst a crutch for people who want to make a difficult decision, as simple as possible.  Corrugated made of PCW material is an excellent sustainable packaging solution and a critical part of a long term environmental solution, but it has to be combined with some basic product knowledge to be cost effective as well as performance effective.

Corrugated Fun Facts. OK, not fun but good to know

For over a hundred years, almost since it was first used to line and support men’s’ tall hats, corrugated board has been made virtually the same way. A sheet of corrugated board is made up of three approximately equal (by weight) components, two face liner board sheets and the medium (the fluted layer) in between the inner and outer sheets.

If you make one of those three components 100% PCW, your board is approx. 33% PCW, two PCW components would result in 66% PCW, etc. Once you go below 100% PCW content on any of the components, the recycled content gets fairly “gray” but if someone is claiming 90% PCW, that is not only unlikely, it is virtually impossible. Since there is no accurate scientific way after production to verify the recycled content percentage or type (PCW or post production) of each component, a vendor is fairly free to claim almost any PCW percentage they care to. (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…)