Globe Guard Products is pleased to announce our first ever and possibly only ever, 20% off sale.

20% is a very deep discount in the packaging distribution business but we are looking for new eco minded customers and we also realize everyone, like us, is trying to be consistently green, grow their business, and do this while reducing costs.

So, unlike large retailers that seem to have a monthly “best sale ever”, this may truly be a onetime (and week-long!) event.

• Green Packaging Supplies – Special Deal items are also 20% off!
• All stock Globe Guard 100% recycled (PCW) content boxes are 20% off
• Globe Guard paper and plastic carton sealing tapes are 20% off,  including custom printed paper tapes ordered through our web store!
• All Globe Guard recycled content packaging papers, including indented Kraft and tissue, are 20% off
• All Globe Guard 100% recycled labels are 20% off
• All Globe Guard recycled content paper envelope mailers are 20% off, and believe it or not,
• All packaging dispensers including paper cutters, stretch film, pressure sensitive plastic and water activated paper dispensers are 20% off.

And … First time Globe Guard cutomers who order next week will receive a special gift!

Globe Guard Sale Dates -

www.GlobeGuardProducts.com is 20% off starting Monday, April 20th at 8:00 AM, CST and ending Friday, April 24th, at 5:00 PM, CST.

Please use promo code EDAY for discount.
We are confident you will like our eco-friendly packaging products if you try them.

Happy Earth Day!

Image by tomsaint11 via Flickr

We spend a lot of time talking and writing about eco-consistency from a marketing and customer relations perspective, especially in how it relates to secondary packaging. We are convinced that boxes, tape and other packaging materials say something about our green commitment and that it should be consistent with our products and green messaging. Simply put, “walk the walk’.

A different type of eco-consistency also merits discussion and that is making sure our companies and all the people within them are receiving and sending the same green message the same way.

Ideally, whether our customers speak with the CEO or the order picker and packer in the warehouse, the customer gets the same green message from both. The customer should realize that sustainability is not a company promotion or event; sustainability is a culture that permeates the entire organization.

This idealistic and worthwhile goal is not always the reality, even at some of the greenest companies in America. This is the subject of an article I wrote that was just posted on GreenBiz.com and I hope you will take the time to read it and comment on it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Being Green May Help Business in Bad Times (time.com)
• Green Business Practices For Dummies Reduce the environmental impact of your business – without reducing the bottom line. (wileyptnews.com)

The standard width of pressure sensitive box sealing tape is 48 mm (2″). The standard width of paper box sealing tape is 72 mm (3″).  These standards are both compromises, and as a result, they lead to an unnecessarily high amount of packaging material entering the waste stream.

Extreme Pressure Sensitive Tape Solutions

1. For machine applied PST applications, use 36 mm (1-3/4″) wide tape. Unless the box is particularly heavy and/or subject to rough shipping conditions, the reduced width will not compromise box integrity. When in doubt, test. It is worth the time to test, though – the payoff is a 12% reduction in the amount of material entering the waste stream. (more…)

Image via Wikipedia

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…)

Printing a logo and/or a brief sales message on paper box sealing tape or corrugated boxes makes total sense from a marketing perspective.

• The cost is minimal
• The message is usually seen by several people as the package moves through the distribution chain
• Printing converts a cost of doing business (packaging) into a sales and marketing opportunity

But what about printing from a sustainable packaging perspective?

A while back Salazar Packaging VP, Lenora Salazar, observed that plain corrugated boxes are more likely to be reused than printed ones. A very, very good point! Of course the tricky question is, how does the original purchaser know whether or how many of his boxes will be reused?

While I couldn’t find reliable statistics on the percentage of corrugated boxes that are reused rather than recycled or trashed, I think it’s safe to say reuse is a small but growing trend. Some of the ways we see the reuse trend in action -

• Individuals reusing boxes they receive from e-tailers or other sources
• Moving supply companies who sell and use reused corrugated containers
• Large companies that have internal, large scale reuse programs

Bottom line – By purchasing plain corrugated boxes rather than printed ones, you will be supporting the reuse cause. While it may not have huge impact, it may have some, and some is better than none. Printed tape can get the marketing and branding job done, and probably at a lower cost.
______________________

Visit the Globe Guard Eco Friendly Packaging Store for -

Eco Friendly, Sustainable Corrugated Boxes

Eco Friendly Shipping Supplies

Special Deals on Packaging Supplies

and more!

I realize I am negatively paraphrasing their marketing slogan but the change is quite appropriate after reviewing the packaging of an order they just shipped to us. As a customer, I admit I love Staples but as a provider of eco-friendly packaging products, and as a citizen of the earth, they are very disappointing.  I am sorry Staples, but picking and packing an order while utilizing sustainable packaging products and procedures, quite frankly, has never been easier.

Complainants Exhibit A and B

The photo above shows the three items we ordered whose combined volume is 582 square inches. The box they used was a 16” X 10.5” X12.25” high, which provides 2,058 square inches of packing space. Because the box was almost four times larger than it had to be, 600 (un-inflated) square inches of an inflatable void fill product had to be used to fill the oversized void.  Before you think this is just another story of a packer using the wrong box to fill an order, the green “wanna be” picture gets much worse for Staples. (more…)

Joe Angel, Vice President and Publisher of Packaging World, was closely involved with PACK EXPO 2008. Here is what he had to say about the show, from a sustainable packaging perspective.

How did PACK EXPO turn out versus your expectations? Do you think this year’s show was a success?

Given today’s economic downturn, I was pleasantly surprised at the attendance of the show. While PACK EXPO was down in attendance as expected, it seemed that overall the exhibitors expressed satisfaction at the quality of leads they received. I had the opportunity to talk with with several CPG companies at the show, and there continue to be significant projects in play. Smart companies cannot afford to be stagnant and must invest in R&D. That said, CPG’s are putting a growing spotlight on operational efficiency: total cost of ownership and OEE are more critical than ever with their machinery purchases. Smarter packaging automation and smaller footprints (not just carbon) ruled the show. On the materials side, some interesting new packages, many will be profiled in a follow up report from PTIS and Packaging World, “Top Trends and Insights at PACK EXPO 2008″ (our report can be ordered here). (more…)

OK, I will admit we do not yet have an official Globe Guard Eco Consistency award, but if we did, it would be darn prestigious and we would award to Citizen Watch Company. That has to be worth something, right? The fact is that we, like so many others in the green business, are quick to criticize when companies are inconsistent in their packaging. Therefore, we should also be ready, willing and able to point out when they do something positive.

Making Sure the Packaging “Fits” the Product

Rightsizing is a given but making sure that the package is sustainably appropriate for the product you are selling is an often overlooked detail. It seems logical doesn’t it that if a watch maker creates a watch series they decide to name “Eco-Drive” it is going to appeal to people like me who believe we all use way too many battery powered items in our daily lives. We are also almost certain to scrutinize the packaging and see if it is consistent with the product it contains. (more…)

As a marketing specialist, I myself find it strange that at the same time we’re promoting Globe Guard 100% PCW content corrugated boxes, we’re writing post upon post telling people how to use less corrugated or no corrugated at all.

Well, we definitely want to sell Globe Guard boxes. Being made from 100% post-consumer waste, they are the ultimate in sustainability from a materials standpoint. But at the same time, our experience in packaging tells us this -

The biggest cost saving AND the best environmental consequences come from using less corrugated material in your operation.

That’s why we openly encourage corrugated users to use less corrugated, and offer suggestions about how to do it.

But the real mystery is this. Why do so many customers fixate on the purchase price of their boxes, when changing their box requirements will produce far greater savings? A couple reasons come to mind. (more…)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Some fear that a rotten economy will spoil the green packaging movement. The thinking goes, if people must choose between saving the world and saving their business, they’ll save their business. That’s true. However, the underlying assumption there is that green packaging is more expensive and therefore bad for business. That assumption is incorrect. Green packaging is (or should be) less expensive, and therefore more valuable than ever in times of economic hardship.

It’s important to distinguish between a packaging product’s purchase cost and cost in use. Some green packaging carries a higher purchase cost than the non-green alternative, and some green packaging doesn’t. Recycled packaging papers are less expensive than virgin equivalents. Recycled plastic materials can go either way, but are generally lower priced.

What’s more significant is the cost in use of green packaging. A green packaging strategy (and it’s important to think about packaging as a whole, not look at packaging components individually) should reduce overall cost – (more…)