InsideOutdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2018 18 vinyl from billboards, as well as up- cycled zip-ties. LimeLoop claims that by replacing traditional shipping methods with its solution, about 1 billion trees and 200 billion gallons of water can be saved in just a year. Custom-fit boxes The days of using big, bulky boxes are coming to an end. Companies are now making a concerted effort to match their shipping containers more closely to the size of their products, to maximize space during transit. One company that is do- ing this is Keen Footwear. According to the company, all of Keen’s orders are now spe- cially shipped to make the most efficient use of space possible. Keen’s strategy is to use dif- ferent sized shoe boxes for all of its models. So a size eight shoe, for instance, will have a different box than a size 12. Amazon is another compa- ny that is taking this approach. The retail giant is now using a system called Box on Demand to ensure that products are shipped in appropriate-sized containers. The company switched to this system after receiving an overwhelming amount of feedback from customers complaining that they were receiving small items in large box- es — a move that Amazon maintains was done strategically to prevent items from being damaged during shipping. With Box on Demand, you install the company’s machine into your ship- ping facility and purchase your own fanfold. This allows you to design and create customized boxes on-site as you need them. Beyond Styrofoam and plastic One of the easiest ways to make your shipping practices more sustain- able is to look past traditional packing materials — something that is sure to be a hit with customers. “Our main focus has been on not using plastic bubble wrap or other forms of plastic or Styrofoam in our shipping or packing processes,” ex- plained Mike Lewis, director of brand activation & digital strategy at Zeal Op- tics. “We are focusing on reducing the footprint of the goods we’re shipping, including using paper-based packaging for the products we’re shipping, and FSC paper in that packaging. We also try and consolidate shipments as much as possible to reduce the carbon foot- print, and cost, of shipments.” As Lewis explained, this is a work in progress for Zeal as the company is continuously looking to discover new strategies and materials to offset its en- vironmental impact. “It’s easy to replace Styrofoam with a variety of materials,” Lewis said. “There are now envelopes that use recycled fabrics and wool for padding, which are compostable; corn-based, compostable foam peanuts for packing; and recycled paper, which we primarily use to pad product in boxes. These materials hon- estly work better than typical Styrofoam, as there’s no mess and foam shrapnel when unpacking the boxes. Additionally, we’ve shredded outdated catalogs in the past, as well as used paper bound for recycling to pack boxes as a creative, on-brand way to reuse materials.” Ultimately, as Lewis pointed out, no shipments today are truly sustain- able. But there are options available that can help make a difference. “Every package relies on fossil fuels for transportation and energy to create the packing materials,” Lewis added. “That said, the options on the market are every bit as good as legacy petroleum- based packing materials, and are becom- ing increasingly competitively priced.” Offsetting emissions Another idea to consider is to offset the carbon emissions that your com- pany produces during shipping. Kleen Kanteen is one company that is currently doing this. The com- pany recently partnered with Green Mountain Energy Company to offset the emissions for all orders placed and shipped in its online store. Kleen now uses the World Resources Institute’s Greenhouse Gas Protocols to determine the average carbon footprint of a shipment, factoring in maximum possible distance, aver- age weight and mode of transpor- tation for each product. Kleen off- sets 50 pounds of carbon dioxide for each shipment, which is what three trees will typically absorb during the course of a year. In just one year, the company says, this amounts to planting about 150,000 trees, recycling more than 1 million pounds of newspaper or not driving 2,250,000 miles. Tentsile is also taking a simi- lar approach. The company is working with Weforest.com and matching every five trees that customers plant. “At Tentsile, we do our best to mini- mize waste wherever we can when shipping our products,” commented Tentsile global marketing director Kirstie Grego. “We use recycled card- board boxes to package our Tree Tents and work hard to ensure that there is as little plastic waste inside the box as possible.” Tentsile is also taking a bold stance against plastic wrap. “Last year we stopped using plastic wrapping on our ratchet straps, and decided instead to make container bags for them out of tent offcuts,” Grego added. “We calculated that this saved tens of thousands of bits of plas- tic from landfills. We’re also conscious that the fewer unnecessary materials we use in shipping, the less waste our customers have to deal with – helping them to leave no trace when enjoying the great outdoors.” m The Advocates When it comes to packaging, what do you find the MOST irritating or annoying? Source: Shorr Packaging Corp. Girls’ Rating of Their Top 10 Most Enjoyable Outdoor Experiences in Girl Scouts Source: Girl Scout Research Institute 13% 19% 55% 4% 8% Damaged packaging but not the item Ecessive packaging Packaging that is hard to open Non-recyclable packaging Ugly packaging Camping Playing Outdoors Field Trips to Outdoor Places Swimming Outdoors Ou door Cooking Horseback Riding Archery Walking Outdoors Environmental Volunteering Canoeing/Kayaking 72 60 58 78 55 73 64 38 42 54 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Enjoy a lot Enjoy Other resp nses