My “checkered past”.
I reluctantly admit it, but I am quickly approaching my 50th year in the packaging industry. What truly makes me cringe is the fact that for the first thirty years, I was almost totally devoted to plastic, flexible packaging. Shrink film, bundling film, pallet stretch film, etc. You name it, whether it was clear, tinted, or printed, whether it was stretchable, or shrinkable, and if it was used for bagging or bundling, I successfully took it to the packaging market. The problem is that I now realize all that experience and success was to the detriment of our planet.
In 2007, when we started our company, we had two primary areas of focus. The first was sustainability as the world suddenly decided to care about the environment. The second was and still is, branded packaging for e-commerce purposes. You may recall how popular “sub” or subscription boxes became, virtually overnight. Then of course, e-commerce really exploded with the Covid pandemic when almost all shopping had to be done over the internet.
Paper or Plastic?
That question reminds us of the decision we all had to make once upon a time, at the grocery store. Gratefully, with the popularity of reusable bags, the correct answer today is “Neither. I brought my own”. Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple when it comes to packaging, especially e-commerce packaging.
As a reformed purveyor of plastics, you’ve read my confession, and here are just a few of the problems I currently have with plastic packaging:
- Less than 5% of plastic waste ends up being recycled. That unfortunately includes increasingly popular plastic mailer envelopes.
- If they are likely to end up in a landfill, most are not
- The film formulations that breakdown often end up as plastic sand. (Google “microplastics in seafood” for a recent frightening study results)
Why We Offer Plastic Mailer Envelopes.
You may have toured our web site, and discovered we do offer and produce plastic mailer envelopes. I will admit we make them available for customers who most often have unique or special needs. To their credit, plastic envelopes provide product visibility and moisture protection and, in some applications, soft goods and clothing for example, they are the preferred material.
However, in most of those cases we can also put up a pretty good argument of why paper-based packaging (boxes or envelopes) can do as good, or even a better job, at a lower cost. Not to mention that paper can easily be printed to deliver a better, upscale customer experience. Take it from a plastics guy, the formulation and multi-layer composition of many plastic mailer envelopes is not much different from that of a good garbage bag. Sorry, but true.
Paper – the best option for many reasons!
The vast majority of the paper mailer envelopes and boxes we make are custom printed and branded. I often say with great confidence, “If you can imagine it, we can print it for you”. Everything from amazing textures and unique colors to exotic, eye catching finishes. In addition, our structural design capabilities include dividers, partitions, and custom die cut inserts to protect, contain and display any product or groups of products a customer may want to ship. In other words, we can create anything you want and need, at an attractive price, without a huge MOQ, such as 25,000 for most poly mailers. That is a great benefit, especially for a start-up company or for a new product being test marketed.
However, the best reason for using paper packaging is the fact that it is undoubtedly the greenest, most earth-friendly material choice on the planet we all want to protect. With very few exceptions, most of our paper products can be easily recycled at home, which makes it the best substrate for e-commerce, DTC (direct to consumer) applications. If it does end up in a landfill, unless it has an unusual coating or laminate, it will easily and quickly break down when exposed to moisture. Simply put, used paper packaging is more likely to be recycled into new paper packaging and even as a waste, it has a very short life cycle.
As always, our goal is to be true to the application and help guide the customer to the best solution for their specific needs and do so at the lowest possible cost Call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us through this web site. Our well trained and experienced people are waiting to help you achieve your packaging goals.
Related Posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/is-earth-day-still-a-big-deal/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/packaging-redesign-options-for-2025/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/how-packaging-can-help-reduce-your-3pl-fulfillment-cost/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/why-add-internal-packaging-in-your-e-commerce-shipping-boxes/
