09 May 2019 Sealable, Easy Open Features on D2C e-commerce shipping boxes
Posted at 21:19h
in Information Center
I should probably thank USPS for the continued interest in e-commerce boxes that have a peel and seal adhesive strip and an easy open perforated tear strip, because they have been offering these to the public for years. After all, many of the people we...
BEFORE THE GGRBS IS USED.[/caption]
Decades ago, when I first entered the warehousing and distribution industry, one of the very first things I was taught is that it does not cost much to keep stored product “in good order.” On the other hand, not keeping inventory in neat, organized condition can prove very costly in the form of picking mistakes, damage, lost product and even pilferage. In addition, when boxes on shelves look good, the entire warehouse appears cleaner and better managed. 
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.
I have visited some of the cleanest, neatest, pick-and-pack fulfillment warehouses in the country, yet I have never seen one that does not create and accumulate dust. Between paper dust from boxes, paper void fill and from the products themselves, or even from fork lift use, slow moving or seasonal products can look very old and very dirty in no time at all.
We’ve all seen open boxes in a warehouse covered with dust, but what we don’t always see is the products within or how often they have to be discarded because they are no longer sellable. Or, worse yet, when customers complain because they received the item they ordered and it looks soiled or used. 
Unless this is the first time you have visited our blog, you already know we are avid proponents of reusing and recycling packaging. That is especially true of our corrugated products that offer the most in recycled content, because no one has figured out how to improve on 100%.
The one area of sustainability that we have yet to master is that of “upcycling,” which is recycling a product and making it even more valuable than it originally was. I sincerely appreciate and respect people who are able to take empty juice pouches and turn them into fashion handbags or use empty wine bottles to create beautiful table lamps out of what might otherwise end up in a landfill. However, Mark Langan, with a lot of talent and time, is able to take corrugated board and turn it into beautiful works of art. 
Today, there are few companies selling products wholesale or in brick-and-mortar retail outlets that are not also offering their products directly to consumers via the internet. This relatively new market provides tremendous sales opportunities as well as challenges because the packaging required for this type of customer seems to fall somewhere in between usual retail and wholesale requirements.
“I want something more than just a shipping box!”
That is a common request by packaging customers and design clients who understand their web customer is technically a direct retail customer who is NOT carrying his product (and packaging) home. The product is being shipped via UPS, FedEx or USPS, so the packaging needs to be more durable than what is typically found on the retail shelf level.
Sellers of green products have the additional requirement of making the packaging they are shipping into their customers’ homes as minimal and green as possible. We refer to it as being “eco consistent” when our products, marketing and packaging all communicate the same green message and standards. 
More than a year ago, Packaging Digest published this article about some