One of our favorite blogs is Sustainable Is Good because they do an exceptional job of exposing examples of over packaging. This photo ran on SISG a couple of months ago, much to the embarrassment of Amazon. Obviously someone at Amazon made a mistake and shipped out an order for ten thin books, in ten separate boxes complete with tape and void fill. That was a plain and simple error on someone’s part and I am sure “inspector #25” or “packer #17” heard about their lapse in common sense. As bad as mistakes like that can be for the companies making them, what is even worse is deliberate lapses in basic concern regarding the importance of secondary packaging, especially when it is done by companies that should know better.

I believe that now more than ever, a green company making a green product MUST be consistent throughout their entire customer serving process, including the secondary packaging they ship out. Here are some reasons why. (more…)

Here’s a comprehensive look at sustainable packaging from a marketing perspective, by Jackie DeLise at Sustainable is Good. Her lexicon of sustainable terms is concise and very useful.

From the Packaging Network, a sustainable rundown on PACK EXPO, confirming Joe Angel’s (VP and Publisher of Packaging World) interview comments that 2008 will be the greenest PACK EXPO ever.

The Green Routine explains that most plastic bags are made from natural gas, not oil. The author is not a fan of plastic bags, but observes that natural gas, much of which we produce domestically, is better than oil, which is mainly imported. (more…)

As consumers and people concerned with the environmental waste problem, secondary packaging should matter to all of us but I believe it is especially important for every traditional or e-commerce retailer of green products, to understand why it is important to them.

During a recent presentation to some new e-commerce green store owners, I offered this list of reasons why: (more…)

I recently met with a large, very eco minded client and I brought up our Globe Guard 100% recycled (PCW) corrugated boxes. She became very interested and indicated she had some doubts about the boxes her current supplier was delivering to her company. The boxes were being touted as “up to 50% recycled content”. We agreed that phrase was carefully crafted for maximum flexibility and minimal responsibility. That specific claim really guaranteed nothing in terms of quantity of recycled content and also did not provide any indication of what type quality of waste is being used to make her boxes.

Not All Sustainable Packaging Is Created Equal

This is not an isolated case. Now that the world is going green, suppliers of packaging products are doing everything they can to put an acceptable if not deceptive green spin on their current products. Being in the business I tend to notice these things and have seen corrugated boxes with large logos printed on them that say something like: “100% recyclable” Don’t most people know that all corrugated is 100% recyclable? Is this a statement that is provide to remind the customer of the box’s recyclability? Or is it intentionally deceptive because many people assume that “recyclable” and “recycled” are interchangeable terms? I can tell you that numerous times, I have met customers who thought their boxes were made of recycled content and were not. (more…)

I am often asked what secondary packaging is and why I spend so much time writing and talking about it. Before I try to define it, let me say that the reasons I choose to focus on it are because I believe secondary packaging is a major contributor to our waste problem, because it tends to fly below the eco conscious radar, and quite frankly, because no one else is talking about it.

Primary packaging products are the ones designed for retail applications and usually make direct contact with the product being sold. It may be a paperboard carton, a glass jar or a plastic bottle. Even though we do some basic primary package design in select areas such as shrink over wrap or bagging, there are scores of excellent eco focused blogs, magazines and packaging designers that are almost 100% focused on the primary packaging you see on the retail shelf. Perhaps it is this high consumer visibility as well as volume, that makes it deserving of all the attention it receives. (more…)