The printing industry was using paper for void fill and water activated paper box sealing tape, long before they became trendy and popular again. Perhaps it was out of appreciation for paper as a valuable, versatile and renewable resource, or maybe because they were simply smarter than the rest of us and understood the economic benefits of using paper based packaging products.

Five Printer Shipping Box Sizes Now in Stock!

We are very pleased to be able to offer five printers box sizes in addition to our ever growing list of standard stock sizes. The following Globe Guard 100% PCW recycled content boxes are now in stock and available in the following sizes:

• GG11 – 11.25” X 8.75” X 6” high, 32 C Kraft, Plain RSC shipping box
• GG44 – 11.75” X 8.75” X 4.75” high,  32 C Kraft, Plain RSC shipping box
• GG45 – 11.75 x 8.75 x 8.75” high, 32 C Kraft, Plain RSC shipping box
• GG46 – 17.25 x 11.25 x 8” high, 32 C Kraft, Plain RSC shipping box
• GG50 – 11.25 x 8.75 x 4” high, 32 C Kraft, Plain RSC shipping box

Additional Green Packaging Supplies for Printers

At our GlobeGuardProducts.com store you will also find a nice selection of packaging paper for wrapping, interleaving or void fill applications. Our products include industrial tissue sheets, 30# newsprint rolls, the ever popular 40# Kraft; 50# recycled gray bogus and even 60# heavy duty indented Kraft rolls for the toughest applications. Most are available in 24” wide rolls as well as 36” wide rolls. If you need a paper that is not in stock, let us know and we’ll get it for you.

Most printers still use reinforced paper tape because it does the best job of holding heavy cases together. We stock plain, our own Globe Guard print and we are a leading distributor of custom printed water activated paper tape. We can quickly and easily print your logo, web site or message on your tape for security and branding purposes.

Most of Our Products Were Once a Specific Customer Request

We have rapidly and steadily increased our list of stock products and are eager to add even more. Usually all that is necessary is a customer who takes the time to tell us what they need and it becomes a stock item for all to use. Our willingness to add new sizes or grades applies to boxes, stretch film, mailers and even packaging papers.

Regular ISP readers probably get tired of hearing it but I too have to remind myself that we are adding new readers all of the time who may not realize that over half of what we do is custom grade, custom size or custom print. Browse through the pages of this blog and you will see we are leaders in custom printed and branded sustainable packaging products.

Please let us know how we can best help you deliver a greener and lower cost package to your customers.

We are proud to announce that Mark Harrell and his company, Bad Axe Tool Works, is the first 2010 recipient of the highly coveted Globe Guard Eco-Consistency Award. The fact is that they have been on our green radar screen for some time — ever since we highlighted their very sustainable packaging in an ISP post last June.

Even at that time, we knew Mark and Bad Axe were special. However, we had no idea just how committed they were to walking the eco-walk until we saw their new and improved Web site and a surprising addition they chose to make.

The Globe Guard Eco-Consistency Award Cannot Be Bought

Please note that most Globe Guard Eco Consistency Award winners are not customers. In fact, the only two recipients during all of 2009 were not customers at all: They were Home Depot for their plastic flower pot recycling program and Unilever for their club store Axe Deodorant three-pack.

There are so many companies that fall short in terms of eco-consistency that we feel obligated to point out the ones that do try harder and are successful.

When the Packaging Application Gets Tough, the Tough Turn to Globe Guard

Mark Harrell makes best-of-class cutting tools so sharp edges are a desired end result on every product, not just an occasional packaging problem. At the same time, Mark also understands that his customers care about the environment and expect their suppliers to respect eco-friendly solutions in everything they do. This philosophy, combined with a tremendous personal commitment and belief, is why Mark works so hard to make sure his packaging is effective and as green as possible.

Green and Proud of It

We were blown away when we saw the “About my green packaging” page on his new and improved Web site. After all, we have a lot of great customers who are eco-consistent all the way through their secondary packaging, but none (that we know of) devote a page to it on their Web site. Please note that we are only one of three vendors Mark utilizes to get the job done in a very green way.

During a round table discussion at a sustainability conference I attended last week, a few people mentioned that sometimes companies are reluctant to bring too much attention to their sustainability initiatives. The reasons cited included the possibility of raising unrealistic expectations, inviting criticism, starting something that can’t possibly finish, etc. That is part of the reason we love companies like Bad Axe Tool Works. They eagerly and enthusiastically put their green solutions on display and challenge others to follow their example.

Excellent work, Mark Harrell and Bad Axe Tool Works! Thank you for your eco-consistent green message and for the great plug for our Globe Guard products.

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…)

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…)

It probably sounds strange coming from us because we are so outspoken critics of waste and we encourage using less whenever possible. However, the first objective of being a sustainable (green) business is to be a sustainable (viable) business. At times like this, saving money is a necessary objective for financial and even practical reasons. It does not help the green cause if a eco minded business goes broke because it failed to reduce costs whenever possible, without compromising their green values.

Last week I received a call from a company that uses four different size plastic slip sheets as inter-leavers during their manufacturing and in plant material handling. The sheets are placed between products to prevent abrasion but are removed and discarded when the product is packed into individual boxes. Their goal was to be as green as possible and ideally to reduce the cost of these, single use disposable sheets.

Application Analysis

After a review of the use, customer expectations, etc., we discovered an important piece of information. To avoid dimensions, let’s say they use a “small” sheet, a slightly larger “medium”, a substantially oversized, “large” sheet and an even a slightly larger “extra large”. Four sizes and the relatively small volume on each are almost identical. We also determined that for no good apparent reason, they were using a high quality, high clarity, food grade, low density polyethylene virgin resin formulation. (more…)

These days, it is increasingly difficult to sell products solely on the basis of their “greenness”, particularly if the green product in question is more expensive than the non-green alternative.

And even when your green product is less expensive, that may not close the sale. Customers are looking for total value. There is simply too much bottom-line pressure in our recessionary market for customers to think otherwise. Are you communicating the total value of your eco friendly product to your prospect? For example, does your product … (more…)

The world of packaging is changing very rapidly and what was not green a year ago may be very sustainable today. A recent customer project has motivated me to do some research in an effort to update my knowledge base in this rarely used but usually fairly effective and efficient form of packaging.

What is cohesive packaging?

Unlike an adhesive product that is designed to stick to everything, cohesive material will only stick to itself. Most often a product is “sandwiched” between two layers of the cohesive material forming a fairly secure seal around the perimeter of the product but not sticking to the product. Most often this method of packaging is used to ship books, CDs, DVDs and other relatively flat products through the mail stream. (more…)

It would be a beautiful and greener world if these two goals could be met as one and the same, but unfortunately life and being green are not that simple. So as a business person, serving a predominantly green customer base, which way do you go?

Survey after survey indicates consumers are indeed willing to give up some degree of convenience in exchange for greener packaging but are they willing to forgo safety, security, freshness, or even product cleanliness? In most cases the answer is no, especially if there is a good option available. There is indeed a limit to how much most consumers are willing to sacrifice for the environment.

At the risk of further angering packing peanut manufacturers, a perfect example of this dilemma is foam peanuts, shells, or any other shape of this controversial product. I recently met with a customer who proudly proclaimed he was using an eco-friendly foam peanut product that would degrade in water. In over thirty years I have never won an argument with a customer so there was no way I would debate the merits of the product, or the science behind it. I am sure his void fill product will indeed dissolve if exposed to water, and I have no idea on the content of the watery goo that is sure to result in the process or where it winds up in the environment. (more…)

Reason #1 -This environmental interest is generational.
We baby boomers generally have some mild eco interest; the Gen X population is much more involved and concerned, while the Gen Y age group is downright passionate about it. Combined this fact with the green initiatives by big business and the corporate world, and understand we are witnessing a dramatic, decisive and irreversible trend, not a passing fad. (more…)