Over on our main website, salazarpackaging.com, we recently added a post—in honor of Earth Day—that covered the importance of redesign as it relates to making your packaging more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Many of our customers and prospective customers come to us in search of not only experience, packaging expertise and a proven history of beautiful and eye-catching custom prints, but also because of our track-record when it comes to eco-friendly and sustainable products. It is not at all uncommon for many of the first questions we receive from inquiring customers to be centered around eco-friendly aspects of our processes and materials. Below are just a few of these questions and our answers, as well as some elaboration as to why they are in fact sustainable by industry standards.
What types of inks do you print with? This question can be answered a number of different ways, depending on the packaging product in question. When it comes to corrugated products (RSCs, die cut mailers) the answer is almost always water-based inks. Water-based inks are simple to store, easy to clean, and print beautifully on corrugated. The same is true of our unpadded paper mailer envelopes. For paperboard products, we do have the ability to print with soy inks. Both are certainly better alternatives in terms of environmental impact than petroleum/oil/solvent-based inks, which we never use. Ultimately, ink is only as eco-friendly as the way it is used, and how it is disposed of.
Are your products recyclable? Biodegradable? Compostable? All of our paper products are 100% recyclable, whether custom printed or not. Corrugated mailers, RSCs, unpadded and padded paper envelopes, paperboard cartons and rigid mailers would all fall into this category. Many of our products are biodegradable and compostable as well, but it will always depend on the specifics of the project. You can always ask, and we will find out the answer for you.
Are your products made of recycled or PCW content? Again, almost all of our paper products are made of recycled content. On unpadded paper mailers, this will range from a minimum of 50% (white) to 100% (kraft) content. On corrugated mailers and RSCs, the range is about 37-63% recycled content on average, although 100% recycled content is available at certain minimums and potentially higher pricing. Rigid mailers and paperboard are 100% recycled content, as long as they are CCNB or TBC board, and typically about 85% PCW. We also offer new unpadded paper mailers that are 100% PCW content, which can be custom printed or purchased without printing here.
Do you offer FSC certified board? For corrugated, it can certainly be requested, with the understanding that higher minimums and pricing may apply. For paperboard, it is highly likely that the board we are using is already FSC certified, but we could of course verify ahead of an order once we know the specifics of your project (size, board color, thickness etc).
Do you offer any packaging that eliminates waste/materials? Our new Ta-Da Box™ is a great example of packaging that eliminates waste. You can read more about that unique design concept here. We also have the ability to make a mailer box or envelope resealable, which is great for reusability and ecommerce returns. RSC boxes are also a great alternative to mailers, and will save substantial board and costs for most applications that are tall, greater than 4’’ in height, typically. Indestructo style mailers are another alternative option that can save a great deal of board used.
When it comes to packaging design and innovation, we are almost always at the forefront and constantly dreaming up new ways to deliver that all-important WOW factor while being as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible. Please reach out to us via the links or number below to see how we can best assist you with your packaging needs.
Please Contact Us Today
As always, if you have any questions on any of our products or services, one of our branded packaging advisors is standing by to assist, with decades of experience behind them. Want to know more about custom packaging options? Please call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us via email at www.SalazarPackaging.com.
Related Posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/eco-friendly-direct-to-consumer-dtc-packaging-made-in-america/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/earth-day-message-sustainable-packaging-the-forgotten-r/