Posted by Jane White on | Comments Off on Discover How Folding Cartons Can Optimize Your Warehouse Spacing and Save You Money
Clamshell packaging takes up much more storage and shipping space than a ship-flat PET folding carton. For example, a standard shipping carton could hold 500 clear hinged take-out clamshell containers, whereas the same sized PET ship flat folding carton could fit 700 into the same shipping carton, a 40% increase!
Benefits of Utilizing Space-Saving Folding Cartons
Using folding cartons in your warehouse operations offers several benefits. First and foremost, these cartons are designed to be compact and easy to store. Paperboard or clear PET folding boxes occupy minimal space when not in use. This means you can maximize the available storage area in your warehouse and make the most of your square footage. Additionally, folding cartons save space, which makes them easy to handle and transport. You can transport more and ship less often, saving money and creating fewer CO2 emissions. This can save you time and effort when moving and organizing your inventory.
Another advantage of using folding cartons is their versatility. These cartons can be used for various purposes, such as packaging, protecting, and displaying different types of products. They are custom-manufactured in different sizes and shapes, allowing you to choose the most suitable option for your specific needs, such as custom retail packaging. Whether you need to package small or large products, folding cartons can accommodate a wide range of items. This flexibility can help streamline your warehouse operations and improve overall efficiency.
Rent hikes on Warehousing Space
An issue many companies are facing right now, especially in North America, is rent hikes on warehousing space. Space savings and reduced warehouse storage are needed, and ship-flat folding cartons are the economic choice.
Some things to consider:
The combination of increased demand for E-commerce, limited supply, rising construction costs, and investment interests in warehousing properties has led to a significant demand for warehousing space and an increase in rent prices.
There is an abundance of office space available right now because so many people are working from home, but with the increased popularity of online shopping, there is also a high demand for warehouse space.
Warehousing rent hikes are making it difficult for companies to keep their warehousing space. One way they can reduce their warehousing footprint is to switch to packaging that takes up much less space. PET folding cartons use approximately 40% less warehousing space than most styles of clamshells!
Maximizing Storage Efficiency
One of the key benefits of using folding cartons is that they allow you to maximize your storage efficiency. By using cartons that can be folded flat, you can stack them neatly and save valuable space in your warehouse. When not in use, these cartons can be easily stored on shelves or racks without taking up much room. This means you can store more inventory in the same area and increase your storage capacity without the need for additional warehouse space.
Reducing Shipping Costs
Shipping costs can significantly impact your bottom line, but using folding cartons can help you reduce these expenses. The compact nature of folding cartons allows for efficient packaging and shipping. These cartons take up less space in shipping, so you can fit more products in each shipment. This can help you optimize your shipping volume and reduce the number of shipments required. For example, hinged PET clamshells take up 40% more space than clear folding PET boxes, so your shipping costs alone would be nearly 150% more per year using the clear plastic clamshell packaging.
Additionally, folding cartons are lighter than other traditional packaging materials, such as wooden crates or metal containers which are sometimes chosen in an attempt to be more sustainable. Using folding cartons can lead to lower shipping costs, as saving space generally incurs lower transportation fees. By choosing paperboard or PET folding cartons for your packaging needs, you can save money on freight charges, and improve your overall shipping efficiency and reduce CO2 omissions!
Saving Space Is a Sustainable Packaging Practice
In today’s environmentally conscious world, implementing sustainable packaging practices is essential for businesses. Folding cartons save space and offer a sustainable packaging solution that can help reduce your carbon footprint. These cartons are typically made from recyclable materials, such as PET, PCR PET, or paperboard, which can be easily recycled after use.
By choosing space-saving PET folding cartons, you can contribute to the circular economy by reducing waste and promoting recycling. These cartons can be reused multiple times before their lifecycle ends, further minimizing environmental impact. Additionally, PET folding cartons require less energy and resources to produce compared to other packaging materials, making them an eco-friendlier choice. PET is the most recycled plastic in the world. While PET is easily recycled. In contrast, clear clamshell packaging is typically made from thermoformed plastic, which is not easily recycled and usually ends up in landfills.
Space-Saving Benefits of PET Folding Cartons:
In summary, there are many benefits to using PET folding cartons,
Save warehouse space / save on warehouse costs!
Ship more volume and ship less often, saving money on shipping.
Ship less often and reduce CO2 omissions to increase your company’s sustainability rating.
Posted by Jane White on | Comments Off on Switching to Window Boxes from Clamshells for Sustainability
Many consumer brand companies have mandated reduced plastic use in order to achieve their sustainability goals. Although such a broad blanket statement is not always in the best interest of our environment when taking into account all the factors going into the environmental footprint of a package from raw material production to recycling or end of life for the material, it is the directive handed down to the packaging engineers due to social appearances.
One way of moving in this direction for many products, while still maintaining the significantly increased shelf attention of visual packaging, is to switch from a thermoformed clear clamshell to a recyclable window box; a paperboard carton with a removable recyclable PET window.
Eco-Friendly Material
Choosing a window box can often offer a more sustainable packaging solution. Window boxes can be made from materials such as recycled paper or cardboard, with a post-consumer recycled PET window, both of which can be recycled again after use, reducing the overall environmental impact, and promoting a circular economy. By choosing these eco-friendly materials, consumer brand companies can align with the demand for more sustainable packaging solutions.
Recycling vs. Landfill
Window boxes with removable PET windows are designed to be easily separated for recycling. The PET used for windows and folding cartons is the most easily recycled plastic on the market today. Choosing the right substrate and plastic for your packaging needs makes an impact. Choose a plastic that has a lower recycle number such as PET which is a “1” versus perhaps a mixed plastic which may be a “7”. Items with a “1” within the recycle arrows are highly recyclable, whereas a 7 would be much more difficult and likely, not recycled and will end up in a landfill. Having said that, there is a train of thought that if material is destined for a landfill, it is better to have something like plastic in a landfill that will take many years to very gradually breakdown, say some pressure-treated lumber that will decompose much quicker while releasing the pressure treatment chemicals into the surrounding soil as it does so, or even worse, batteries releasing chemicals and acids if they are not disposed of properly.
Versatility and Customization
Window boxes offer a high level of versatility and customization options. These packaging solutions can be designed in various shapes, sizes, and styles to suit different product requirements. The presence of a transparent window on the box allows customers to see the product inside without opening the packaging. This not only enhances the overall visual appeal but also helps in building trust and increasing sales.
Moreover, window boxes can be printed for branding, and personalized with logos, beautiful graphics, and product information. This customization capability allows businesses to create a unique and memorable packaging experience for their customers.
Enhanced Product Visibility
One of the key advantages of window boxes is the enhanced product visibility they offer. The transparent window allows customers to get a glimpse of the product before making a purchase. The window can be a simple clear front panel, or it could be a much more interesting rigid window that wraps around two, three, or even all four sides and corners of the carton. This feature is particularly beneficial for items that rely on visual appeal, such as bakery products, cosmetics, fragrances, high-end door handles, gift sets, or even food products where the window box may serve as secondary packaging that still shows the convenient primary package of the food or beverage inside.
Convenience and Ease of Use
Window boxes provide convenience and ease of use for both businesses and customers. The design of these boxes allows for easy access to the product, eliminating the need for excessive handling and potential damage. Customers can quickly and effortlessly retrieve the item they desire without any hassle or “wrap rage” sometimes associated with clamshell-style packages.
Furthermore, window boxes are often designed with user-friendly features such as easy-open tabs or resealable closures, making them convenient for storing and reusing. This added convenience enhances the overall customer experience and encourages repeat purchases.
From a brand owner’s perspective, the fold-flat properties of a ship flat window box can also mean less storage space and trucking space required as compared to a molded clamshell.
Reduced Environmental Impact
Opting for window boxes contributes to a reduced environmental impact compared to clamshells. As mentioned earlier, window boxes are commonly made from recyclable materials, which helps conserve natural resources and reduce waste. In addition, the ship flat and lightweight nature of these boxes reduces transportation emissions and energy consumption during shipping.
By choosing window boxes, you play a part in promoting sustainable practices and minimizing the carbon footprint associated with your brand’s packaging. Smart Packaging Design for Sustainability such as Printex Transparent Packaging’s Eco-Smart Window Package makes recycling easy! This not only benefits the environment but also aligns your business with the values of eco-conscious consumers. Contact our team of specialists today for a quote on your next sustainable packaging project.
Most consumers care about the environment. It is now our job to help the consumer achieve their goals of recycling packaging through sustainable design and messaging.
Recycling presents exciting challenges for designers to innovate and constantly challenge the boundaries between functional, aesthetic and environmentally conscious design. Packaging design with recycling in mind needs to meet the needs of all stakeholders in the supply chain.
Raising awareness:
People care about the environment and want to recycle but raised awareness does not teach the consumer how to recycle. Litter is a people problem. There is a gap between technology and people’s habits. We can improve recycling efforts with smart packaging design that facilitates recycling and makes recycling easier for the consumer!
There’s no getting around it, We have a “need for plastics”:
We need to see what we would lose if we truly eliminated plastics. There would be no computers, phones, TVs, no crucial PPE or gloves at hospitals. Even the wires that bring electricity to our homes are coated with protective plastic. Plastics are a significant part of our life and world and yet they make up less than 1% of the materials we use based on weight and waste. Because of their high popularity, usage, and unfortunate littering by some, plastic bottles are a high-profile villain in the packaging world. In reality they are considered greener than aluminum and glass when evaluating the complete product lifecycle. It may surprise you to know that aluminum and glass emit 4x CO2, greenhouse gas emissions and create 4x the amount of waste in weight* (Page 19, The Plastics Paradox by Dr. Chris DeArmitt).
Packaging is everywhere:
Packaging needs to contain and carry information about the product.
Contain the product to: • Protect the product • To display the product • To create a positive product experience when holding the package in your hands
Packaging carries information about the product: • Directions / Instructions including how to recycle • Product ingredients • Usage • Storage • Nutrition • Retail Branding • Bar code information for efficient check out
Now we need to go one step further and help the environment by designing for the end use of packaging . Easy separation of materials makes a package simple to recycle.
Design with sustainability in mind: A sustainable packaging design considers the resource consumption and its impact on the environment, as well as it’s final recycling or disposal.. PET plastic is a much greener resource to recycle than aluminum or glass. Recycling plastic saves material, saves energy, and reduces waste. For example, it has been estimated that recycled plastic requires only a tenth as much energy to make as virgin plastic. That means less carbon dioxide emissions in addition to the energy saving (usually a combination of coal, gas, oil, and nuclear)* (Page 46, The Plastics Paradox by Dr. Chris DeArmitt)
Sustainable packaging should be designed to: • Use minimum number of resources, for example, custom designed boxes • Maximize recovery of material, such as “smart packaging designs” that separate easily for recycling • Be made from materials that have already been recycled, like 100% PCR PET
Design with recycling in mind: To divert packaging from landfills a package should be designed with an end-of-life solution for the product. PET bottles can be recycled infinitely. So, to maximize recovery of material “smart packaging designs” should separate materials easily for recycling.
“Smart Packaging Design Window Box from PTP”
This eco-smart design takes the window box to the next level of Smart Packaging Design for Recycling. The package can be easily separated by the consumer for recycling. This window is designed to slide in and out without gluing, making separation easy for the consumer. Mixed packaging often ends up in landfills because the components cannot be separated easily. The clear plastic window is made from 100% Post-Consumer Recycled PET (recycled water bottles) and can be recycled over and over again. This eco-friendly design requires the separate window to be slid into place. Once the box is erected, the window stays in place perfectly – without glue! Most consumers care about the environment. It is now our job to help the consumer achieve their goals through design and messaging. For the window, Printex Transparent Packaging offers their Eco-PET Series made from your choice of 25%, 50% and 100% Post-Consumer Recycled PET.
“Smart Packaging Design Wine Twin Pack from PTP”
Another example of “smart packaging design for recycling plastic” is this Eco-PET 100 Wine Twin Pack. The Twin Pack is a clear recycled PET gusset top box that allows you to see the set of 2 different wine bottles. The eco-friendly design showcases the product and has a separate printed graphics card insert that slides in and pops open easily, for maximum branding impact. The wonderful packaging development here is the ability to produce clear PET packaging and still comply with companies’ sustainability goals while making it easy for the consumer to separate and recycle the packaging. PET can be recycled multiple times to maintain a closed loop system. Easy separation of materials makes it simple to recycle. Reprocessing existing plastics uses less energy and fossil fuels. This product allows companies to continue to utilize the benefits of clear packaging while meeting their sustainability goals. Printex Transparent Packaging is always ready to work with companies that would like to offer smart packaging designs to help their consumers contribute to the recycling loop.
“Smart Packaging Design Toothpaste Tube from Colgate”
Colgate’s designers have spent more than five years redesigning the brand’s toothpaste tubes so they can be recycled in curbside bins. the key was using a single material so they could be easily recycled. The new design layers different grades of HDPE on top of each other, which allows a tube that is more squeezable. They replaced the inner aluminum barrier with a plastic that’s compatible with HDPE recycling (the new tube is classified as #2 plastic). The cap is made from a polypropylene (or #5 plastic). In most cases, customers will be able to throw the tube and the cap into the recycling bin. But local recycling rules sometimes vary, and some recyclers prefer that consumers remove the cap before placing both the tube and the cap in the bin. Colgate says there will inevitably be toothpaste residue left in the tube, but consumers don’t need to bother cleaning it out before recycling; since toothpaste is water soluble, it will get washed out during the cleaning process at the recycling plant.*
Packaging is everywhere, with smart packaging design we can make it easier for the consumer to recycle.
