The previous blog touched upon eco-friendly packaging solutions. Here’s an excerpt from marketing materials we distributed along w/ our go-green packaging solutions during Q1 2008.
Eco-Friendly Features:
- Forestry Stewardship Counsel (FSC) Certification – (from the FSC website) FSC Is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests. Carrying the FSC-certification logo on your print products tells the world that you support the highest social and environmental standards in the market where you use paper. Your purchase of FSC-certified paper and print products contribute to conservation, responsible management, and community level benefits for people near the forests that provide your paper. (for more information, please see http://www.fscus.org)
- Tree-Free Paper (made from mineral composite!) – i-Pak DVD discovered this solution by chance at a trade show for a completely different industry. We are working with them to provide a lower volume solution that can be applied to jobs from clients in the entertainment and educational industries. The paper is of the highest quality, and has a velvety feel and touch.
- Post Consumer Waste (PCW) papers and cases (from 10% to 50%) – Wherever possible, we try to find paper with higher PCW content, without compromise to the quality of the print. PCW in paper content is typically 5-20%, yet every little bit helps. For DVD cases, especially black color cases, we are able to inject cases with up to 40-50% PCW materials WITHOUT compromising the integrity or smell (yes, as in odors sensitive to ones nose) of the case.
- Environmentally friendly, recyclable adhesives – Unlike the conventional pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs), recyclable adhesives are more dissolvable in water, which is the principal medium used for dissolving paper back into pulp. This makes a better recycle product and lowers the cost of the paper recycling process.
- Soy-based inks – Soy inks is environmentally friendly because it takes less energy manufacture than petroleum-based inks, and theoretically, makes paper its printed on more recycle-friendly. Soy ink also possesses lower level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which helps reduce air pollution. Some say soy inks results in sharper and brighter color images. The main challenge with soy ink is finding printers who use it on a regular basis. We have located printing partners who are committing to this route.
- Compostable, corn-based label films – While looking over the entire manufacturing line we noticed that a stream of waste was being generated from our labeling process. The label backing film is made from paper with a thin film or a clear film, which we discovered was not recyclable. Luckily we came across a company that produces labels on a corn-based film which was not only recyclable, but also compostable. So theoretically, we can put it into any compost pile and watch it turn into plant nutrient in 3-4 months.
