Much of the attention on sustainable secondary packaging is rightfully given to using too much of a given packaging material. A compounded example is using a box that is oversized for a shipment, thereby also requiring more void fill product than necessary. We have all seen the examples of bad packaging posted here on ISP and on other excellent green focused sites like Sustainable is Good.

We like to scrutinize not only the quantity of packaging also the quality of the packaging being used for a specific application. Some of this is for good environmental reasons but it is important to note that it often results in a lower cost to our customers, and today, that is a very good thing.

Typical Examples of Over Packaging

These include some of my all time favorites that can often be found in many mail rooms and shipping areas.

• Using cushioned mailers for products that do not require cushioning such as soft goods, textiles, paper products, etc. I have written many times on bubble and foam mailers that are destined to wind up in a land fill because the plastic and paper used to make the mailer are laminated together. Both packaging materials are recyclable in theory only, since they cannot be separated and effectively recycled.
• The use of white corrugated and envelope mailers of almost any type and configuration. Why do customers pay more for a product that is less eco friendly, looks less eco friendly and will arrive at its destination looking worse due to its white surface?  When a client wants to be “obviously” green and reduce costs, this is usually one of the first areas we look at and change.
• Utilizing Tyvek, Nylon reinforced and other premium or reinforced mailer envelopes.There are some marvelous materials being used for applications that do not require them. They usually have excellent specific properties such as moisture protection or puncture resistance but are also not recyclable because of the composition and structure.

Why Do Companies Over Package? (more…)

I am very happy to announce I am now blogging for Packaging Digest, one of the media leaders covering the packaging industry. Writing for them is a terrific opportunity to reach a different, substantially larger audience and I invite and encourage you to check out their excellent online and print publications.

The Increasingly Crowded Green Blogosphere

The world of eco focused internet blogging has become very crowded as more people and companies are writing about packaging OR about sustainability. Green is an increasingly popular topic because readers are eager to better understand sustainability. Packaging will always be a green focal point for consumers so the growth in interest is to be expected.

In our work as well as in our writing, we strive to be a place where people with an interest in sustainability AND in packaging can learn more about the people and products impacting both.

That is our overall objective on Inside Sustainable Packaging and will be our goal for Common Sense and Sustainability, our new featured blog on Packaging Digest. (more…)

Though the above title may sound like yet another edition of the Star Wars series, this post is actually about the number of very good companies that are now producing “stock” molded pulp products. In the past the words stock and pulp were never used in the same sentence unless you were talking about egg cartons or soft drink carriers but the number of companies offering standard, “no tooling required” packaging solutions is growing quickly.

Eco Flex Molded Pulp and Beyond

Five weeks ago we launched this new green product which is very unique in that it is flexible molded pulp able to be bent, folded, rolled and easily hand torn to size, making it ideal for a multitude of packaging applications. We still love our new Eco Flex molded pulp product but we also realize that in some situations, an application specific form fitting molded product may be better for the customer and application.

Molded pulp in any shape or form is 100% recycled content, usually newspaper PCW and it is also “obviously” green. We believe the clarity of that green message is becoming more and more important and quite frankly, very few products fall into that category of being undisputedly green. There is often debate on almost any imaginable packaging product one could offer or use, but I have never heard two green minded individuals argue over the merits of molded pulp packaging.

Where’s the Adventure in Stock Molded Pulp Packaging

The adventure comes from a manufacturer guessing at what sizes customers could potentially want and making a substantial investment in a mold to create it. In all honestly, it is usually not as wild of a guess as it may appear because there may be a customer or two with ready business that take some of the risk out of the decision.

In many industries, there are indeed common or standard sizes that often repeat. In the glass jar and candle businesses for example, it is not at all unusual to see 1”, 2” 3” and 4” diameter candles and standard wine bottles tend to have the same shape and size. Tooling can also get very creative so that a single cavity may be able to accommodate various diameters of products.

How Does This Impact Your Green Packaging Efforts? (more…)

Cornerboard is that L shaped laminated paper board product usually placed on the vertical corners and or possibly on the horizontal top corners of a strapped or stretch wrapped pallet.

Some may wonder why we chose that particular “ancillary packaging” product to highlight on a blog focused of sustainability but cornerboard is indeed functional, and offers benefits in several key areas. Even though it usually results in a better looking, “squarer” pallet of product, it is anything but decorative or excessive. We believe corner board can be very sustainable in its construction and in its use.

Reducing Corrugated with Eco Friendly Cornerboard?

Customers are often able to substantially reduce the thickness (and cost) of their boxes by adding cornerboard to their pallets. Board weight of corrugated boxes is usually determined by the “worst case” scenario, even though those challenging circumstances (for example, double stacking of pallets) do not always occur. Why not use a lighter board for your boxes and add the support with corner board when it truly is necessary? (more…)

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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…)

We have been very successful recently helping customers convert from plastic to paper box sealing tape, especially custom printed paper tape. These conversions are usually quite painless after the customer invests in a good water activated tape dispenser and concludes that 3” wide paper tape is NOT necessarily more expensive because it is wider, than the obviously narrower 2” plastic tape they are accustomed to using.

How to Compare Radically Different Packaging Tapes

The normal tendency when comparing paper to plastic tape cost is to determine a common unit of cost for easy comparison. Since plastic tape is sold in cases of rolls that usually specify yards per roll and paper tape is typically sold in cases of rolls that are measured in feet per roll, a little math is required, but very little. It is relatively easy to arrive at a cost per foot for both tapes but that is only part of the story. The real cost is yet to be determined because the person using the products rarely uses the same amount of both products. (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.
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Eco Friendly, Sustainable Corrugated Boxes

Eco Friendly Shipping Supplies

Special Deals on Packaging Supplies

and 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…)

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Timothy Johnson takes a high altitude look at developing a sustainable strategy within large corporations.

Jackie DeLise explains how less packaging can be more with a great real life example.

Here’s a UK perspective on automobile sales trends from Eco Street. Interesting to see which models are selling and which are not. (more…)