14 Mar 2012 Good Domestic Solutions for “Bad” Imported Packaging
Posted at 12:55h
in Sustainable Perspective
At the recent International Housewares Show, I had several conversations with a number of people who wanted to talk about the “bad” packaging they are getting from their foreign suppliers. Well over 90% of all house ware products we all buy and use are manufactured and packaged overseas, which typically results in substantial savings for the importing USA company. However, it can also lead to major headaches and unexpected costs when the packaging that is also being imported does not satisfy varying domestic requirements.
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The challenge to rack displaying undergarments, tee shirts, baby clothes, gloves, socks and other non-rigid items is that they don’t always hang well. In addition, quite frankly, soft goods are not always attractive when folded into compact, space saving sell units.
Typically, you want the product kept clean but visible for color or pattern identification and ideally touchable if the softness of the product is an important feature. The easy answer is usually a plastic bag or a plastic clam shell. However, most green product manufacturers are unwilling to place their organic cotton (or any other green fabric) soft goods in any form of plastic that delivers the desired visibility but is not considered a green packaging option, and those rarely permits product touching. 
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Our new line of 
CUSTOM-PRINTED PAPER TAPE SAMPLES[/caption]
In previous posts, we have provided numerous reasons why paper tape is “greener” than plastic tape, and these include the fact that it is biodegradable and repulpable. From a performance perspective, it also adheres better to corrugated creating a stronger box, better protecting the contents from damage, tampering or pilferage. Please see the list of recent Inside Sustainable Packaging and Green Packaging Group posts on this topic at the bottom of this post.
What makes this an ideal time to use water-activated tape (WAT) or convert to it? 
We were very pleased when we found out some of our products would be featured in a leading photographic magazine because we never designed them to be photogenic. Though, after we saw our boxes in this month’s issue, we have to agree our boxes look great. Please read Robyn L. Pollman’s article,"
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The term “so good it melts in your mouth” is over-hyped and so over used it has nearly lost all meaning. However, it really is an accurate description of the candy product made by one of our newest Globe Guard customers.
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We are very quickly becoming a leading source for stock size die cut mailer boxes that can be custom printed with YOUR name, logo, return address, etc. The photos included in this post show off two of our most popular stock mailer sizes that have been custom printed to create an attractive and unique look.
What’s the benefit of utilizing a stock size?
We are able to save our customers time and money if we can avoid making a cutting die and are able to use one of the dies we already have on hand. Depending on a number of variables, a new cutting die for a mailer of this type can cost $500 to $800. What is at times even more important is that using an already made die saves time, in most cases a minimum of one week. 
Programs that send new or promotional product samples to the home have been around for a while, but in most cases they are directed and financed by manufacturers eager to get their products into consumers' hands.
Evertune is a company that has received a lot of well-deserved applause for creating an innovation that is changing the world of music. The company’s lead product, the award-winning Evertune guitar bridge, is able to keep a guitar in perfect tune