Cool, Sustainable Packing and Shipping Solutions for Earth Day
Nobody will ever call Paper Doll an outdoorsy person. I’m as indoorsy as you can get. People shout about being “at one with nature” but I’m definitely at two with nature; we couldn’t be less compatible. When I saw this video, I thought, yeah, that’s me. (OK, it’s Retta. But philosophically, it’s me.)
So, in a “Ground Control to Major Tom” way, I definitely recognize that Earth is the only home we have, and with Earth Day 2024 just a week away, I’ve had some paper-related sustainability issues on my mind. In particular, after recently helping a client try to downsize, corral, and store packing and shipping materials that had taken over space in her home, I started looking at how we could reduce mess but be more planet-friendly.
TRADITIONAL SHIPPING AND PACKING SUPPLIES
When I was in college, Paper Mommy regularly sent me care packages: mail and magazines I’d received at the house, homemade baked goods and packaged snack surprises, articles from our hometown newspaper, and stick-figure cartoons she drew of herself with curly hair and big feet, signed off with funny and loving captions.
I’d pick up my package downstairs in the student union and then my friends and I would head upstairs to the dining hall, where I’d perform a show-and-tell of all the contents. There was always so much packing material that we all had a blob of it to throw in the trash along with the remains of our dining trays.
While the items in the care package were still memorable, the packing material wasn’t. She might have used bubble wrap, but this was definitely decades before we all had those plastic “air pillows” that come in our Amazon boxes. I suspect Paper Mommy alternated crumpled newspaper and styrofoam peanuts, depending on what she was shipping.
Newsprint
In the olden days, newsprint was commonly used as a packing supply. Newsprint is inexpensive, low-quality, absorbent paper; it’s made from coarse wood pulp and primarily used for printing — you guessed it — newspapers. So, people just crumpled their news and sports sections after having read them and turned them into box filling. (Sometimes Paper Mommy included the comics when she sent care packages so I could smooth them out and read the funny papers as an added treat.)
Printed newspapers are dying, so most people are unlikely to have enough on-hand to pack items for shipping. Unless you’re already a daily subscriber, it’s not an optimal solution. And you’re not going to want to buy weeks and weeks of newspapers in advance of packing delicate items for a move.
You can buy rolls or stacks of “clean” newsprint paper without ink. This is often used as packing paper for shipping and moving, and there are environmentally-friendly versions. For example, you can purchase pads of it, like this package of 360 sheets of Tree House paper. It’s soft, clean newsprint made of recyclable materials.
Alternatively, you can get a sturdier (I think of it as “crunchier”) type of sustainable, environmentally-friendly paper. It’s easy to find industrial-grade Kraft paper on a roll at Amazon and big-box stores.
Kraft paper photo by Marian Gutierrez under CC0
EcoEnclose sells custom-branded paper made of recycled and post-consumer content, from readily renewable raw materials that can be regrown, and it uses no synthetic fibers. Their curbside recyclable products include 100% recycled packing paper, Kraft paper, and “bogus” paper on rolls. (No, bogus paper isn’t fake paper. It’s paper that’s made from a variety recycled paper materials, including newsprint, recycled Kraft paper, chip board, and corrugated paper. Because it’s kind of a mutt, it’s both softer and less dense than other kinds of packing paper.)
The problem is that even sustainable packing paper is bulky. It comes on rolls or in thick, folded stacks, and while it’s useful when you’re packing for moves, it’s not particularly convenient to keep large amounts on hand for when you’re shipping occasional packages. (On the plus side, any excess is a great resource for crafts and painting if you’ve got tiny humans at home.)
Packing Peanuts
Traditional foam packing peanuts are bad for the environment and had the annoying feature of being very staticky. If someone sent you a package full of packing peanuts, no matter how carefully you removed the contents from the box, bits of foam stuck to the item and spilled out onto the floor, sticking to the carpet and sometimes making you look like you rubbed a balloon on your head.
Nowadays, you can purchase environmentally-friendly versions, which are starch-based and biodegradable, disintegrating in water; some even have an anti-static feature. You can find the modern versions in traditional peanut or noodle-shapes and at least one company, Bubblefast!, makes a line of FunPak holiday-themed foam peanuts.
Packing peanuts are, by nature, space-hogging. Whereas paper rolls can be stored vertically and paper is at least somewhat tidy on its own, packing peanuts need to be contained to keep from spilling all over. If you ran a store where you needed to pack and ship inventory, you could install wall canisters — the kind grocery stores use for bulk candy and nuts — to dispense packing peanuts, but for household storage, it’s not the best alternative for packing or shipping.
Recently, I learned of a truly new product in the packing arena that’s effective, earth-friendly, and pretty cool, developed by a company you probably already know and like.
SCOTCH™ CUSHION LOCK™ PROTECTIVE WRAP
Before we get to the new product, I have to give credit where it’s due. In the past few years, I’ve been a huge fan of Scotch™ Flex & Seal Shipping Roll (as I described in How to Organize and Track Your Packages and Mail). I particularly loved it because it allowed me to rid myself of a clutter of Amazon boxes I’d held onto for shipping weirdly-shaped items.
The Flex & Seal is cool because you just need to cut it to fit what you’re shipping, fold it over so the grey sides stick together, and press the edges to seal it up. For a full-on packing experience, it’s super-cool, especially when you need to ship something weirdly shaped. Plus, the roll is fairly compact, so it’s easy to store. To be clear, I’m not giving it up.
However, unfortunately, the Flex & Seal Shipping Roll just not super-duper for the environment. It’s made of plastic, and plastic comes from petroleum, and petroleum comes from dead dinosaurs. And, while the dinosaurs probably don’t mind, the impact on our environment (i.e., our carbon footprint) makes creating such products not so fabulous for our long-term prospects to avoid ending up like dinosaurs.
So, it’s cool and convenient product; just not the best for the planet.
Generally, it’s hard to find packing solutions that are useful, easily stored, and environmentally friendly. But 3M, the purveyor of so many beloved consumer products, from Post-it! Notes to Command hooks to Scotch tape, didn’t stop with Flex & Seal. It’s “not for nothing” that 3M’s motto is “Science. Applied to Life.”
Thus, 3M’s Scotch™ has come out with Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap.
OK, that was fast. And weird. Did you get all that?
How Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap Works
I’m sure you’ve heard of origami, the artsy folding of paper to create cool shapes like swans. Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap uses kirigami, a variation of origami that involves both the folding AND cutting of paper.
Think of those paper snowflakes kids make in elementary school, where you fold and cut a regular piece of paper and it magically turns into a symmetrical snowflake. This product uses the same principles to quickly make a 3-D textured material out of flat, 2-D paper on a roll.
3M is positioning Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap as “the paper that protects.” The key is that it looks and feels different from the packing paper we’re used to because their scientists have designed this weird product to “withstand the jostles of transit” by making it out of intricately cut, 100% recycled paper. All these fold-y/cut-y kirigami‘d bits interlock so they’ll wrap tightly around packed items and conform to them, making a safe little nest.
So, how does it work? Well, you could read their oh-so-serious instructional PDF — that was obviously vetted by attorneys and engineers, given that it says things like, “It does not protect against water damage, crush damage, piercing damage, or thermal damage” and:
“Expand Cushion Lock™ completely, until the fingered walls are vertical but not so much that it narrows to less than five inches in width. 150% expansion in length is ideal, but it works well between 130% – 180% expansion as well. You can also judge the length expansion by how much the protective wrap narrows when you pull on it. Narrowing to 10 inches gives about 150% expansion and is correct if it opens completely, or you can pull more until it is completely open, then relax back to the 10-inch width.”
Um, yeah, OK. Maybe just read the next few paragraphs instead.
Start by unrolling the wrap. It doesn’t look like much at first, but it stretches! So, as they warn, don’t unroll it up in the air at face- or chest-level or it’ll stretch unevenly. Instead, lay it on a flat surface like your desk or kitchen counter and unroll for a nice, even stretch.
Stretch the wrap to about shoulder width; as you stretch, it goes from a flat wrap to a 3D, textured, honeycomb appearance.
Place your item on top of the stretched surface and roll. Keep rolling. Hum “Merrily We Roll Along” if necessary as you roll the now-three-dimensional honeycomb paper around your item.
As you roll, pull more wrap off of the roll and scrunch (my words, not theirs) the wrap around whatever you’re shipping or storing. Keep rolling it up until you can’t actually see your item anymore. (Think of what a nice surprise itwill be for the recipient, who won’t immediately know what’s contained when the box is opened!)
You’re going to use multiple layers to create a protective cushion around your shipment until the whole item looks like friendly cartoon bees will fly out and offer you honey!
Finally, box it up snugly. That means the edges of your big, blobby, honeycombish-wrapped item will touch the inside walls of the box. 3M’s scientists have tested the “nested protection” of the Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap on various fragile items including jars, ceramic mugs, and glass vases.
For what it’s worth, while the instructions focus on packing in boxes, I suspect think this would be a great way to pack gifts and purchases in your suitcase when visiting at the holidays or traveling by air!
[Finally, once you’ve boxed up what you turned into a nifty honeycombed, protective package, Scotch™ even has sustainable Box Lock Paper Packaging Tape, which comes with a “Stay Sealed” guarantee.]
On the flip side, once the item reaches its destination, unwrap and toss the wrap in your curbside recycling bin, knowing it’s entirely recyclable!
Benefits of Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap
I see three main categories of benefits to using Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap: usability benefits (it’s nerdy-cool, convenient, protective, and secure), reduced packing-related clutter, and sustainability.
Coolness and Convenience Factors
- Starts flat but expands; as you pull it, the wrap lengthens from side-to-side, but shortens and raises up, revealing a hexagonal pattern.
- Uses a honeycomb pattern so it conforms to whatever you’re sending.
- Easy to tear one-handed, so there’s no need for scissors or a blade.
- Cushion Lock™ absorbs shocks and vibrations, protecting delicate objects, making it suitable for shipping, moving, or packing items for long-term storage.
Storage Advantages
- Saves up to 85% (over other product types) on storage space.
- Here’s some wild math on usage equivalents: One thirty-foot roll of Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ can expand to do the same packing work as 75 feet of plastic bubble wrap! A 175-foot roll can expand to do the work of 435 feet of bubble wrap. 1000 feet of Cushion Lock™ will expand to equal the power of 2,500 feet of plastic bubble wrap. Whether you’re sending care packages across the state to your college kid or shipping your Etsy store products across the continent to customers, there’s a lot to be said for reducing your storage while expanding your packing power.
- Use up to 60% less to fill a cubit-foot box vs. plastic bubble and other expanding paper wraps.
Sustainability
- Made of 100% recyclable materials, which means it’s entirely curbside-recyclable after it’s been used.
- One truck of Cushion Lock™ is as useful as 10 trucks of 3/16″ bubble wrap, decreasing the carbon footprint for manufacture and retail delivery.
- Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ is the only GreenCircle-Certified paper wrap, having been rigorously tested and verified to have met the standards for sustainability.
You can purchase Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap in 12-inch wide rolls of 30 feet ($6.78), or 50 feet ($11.22), suitable for periodic shipping use. If you’re using Cushion Lock™ for packing and shipping a lot of delicate items for business, or packing for moving, you may want to power up to the 600-foot roll ($74.98).
There are also two container options if you need to accommodate a larger inventory of the wrap. The first is just a larger amount of Cushion Lock™, in a cardboard dispenser box. You can buy a 175-foot roll in the cardboard dispenser for $30.21 from Amazon.
However, if you really need to pack a lot, like if you have an online store and ship merchandise daily, there’s a more heavy-duty option. The Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap Refillable Dispenser holds up to 1000ft of the product, and has a tension-adjusting knob making it easy to get optimal tension for expansion. It runs a little under $100 on Amazon.
Empty Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap Refillable Dispenser
Loaded Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap Refillable Dispenser
The Power of Science
Paper Doll‘s knowledge of the intricacies of science begins and ends with recalling that the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. However, I find science-y things to be fascinating.
Somebody had to sit down and use too many years of math (and knowledge of origami and kirigami) to figure out how to make flat paper turn into sticky-uppy paper.
And that paper would need to cushion delicate things enough to withstand an overzealous FedEx driver tossing your shipment the way the American Tourister gorilla used to batter 1970’s luggage!
If you, too, find the science intriguing, I have two more videos you might enjoy. 3M’s Scotch™ scientists Tom Corrigan and Marcia Popa sound really proud as they describe the science behind the development of Cushion Lock™. (You can just imagine how proud their moms are, right?)
Additionally, this video from ASAP Science offers up an explanation of the science behind using kirigami for packing materials. It’s mind-blowing to imagine how the applications of this paper science could have far reaching impact for other industries and applications.
EARTH DAY 2024 READING
Finally, as we approach Earth Day 2024 next week on Monday, April 22, 2024, you may wish to explore other issues of paper sustainability and productivity:
Choosing Paper for a Healthier Planet (Paper & Packaging)
Get Ready To Celebrate Earth Day 2024! (Earth 911)
Is the Paper Industry Sustainable? (American Forest and Paper Association)
Recycled Content: The Truth About Third-Party Certification (GreenCircle)
Sustainable Paper Products: What to Look For and Where to Buy (Environment.co)
Whether you love nature or are prone to shouting at overly friendly squirrels, I hope this gave you some ideas for more sustainable and easy-to-organize packing and shipping solutions. Happy Earth Day 2024!
Paper Doll Post:
My daughter is moving to New Mexico to attend medical school. I recently purchased several of these items for our Pod moving unit to pack delicate things.
My favorite one is Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap. It is very therapeutic to expand this product. lol – 3M is amazing. It is very handy, and you are right; it will expand unevenly if not doing it on the surface of something. And I do not need a lot when I wrap things up. We shall see if it protects the items when we get there. =)
Oooh, a testimonial in the wild! I’m glad to hear that Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap worked for you. I love science-y magic like this. You’ll have to report back once your daughter unpacks.
Also, mazel tov on being about to have a doctor in the family! 😉
Wow! Leave it to you to find the new cool products. Definitely sharing this.
I get excited when I find nifty stuff like this. Thanks for reading!
Well, I have to admit I’ve never heard of Cushion Lock™. That does look like a true innovation in packaging. The peanuts make such a mess that I’m not a huge fan. I used to pack items with my plastic grocery bags, but those are no longer available in my state. So then I often use the “air packs” that come with items I receive. I think these are great, but do admit they also use plastic. They disappear to almost nothing, however, for easy disposal if you just slice them open and squeeze out the air.
This product is totally new. It seems to check a lot of boxes. I’m going to check it out as a result of your endorsement. I love that it takes up little space for storage but then expands to cover so many items. I love innovation so much!
I think Cushion Lock™ is pretty new, as I only started hearing about it in the last few months. I keep thinking that this kind of kirigami method is going to pop up in all kinds of manufacturing; it’s so neato!
If you end up using it, you should do a video for your YouTube channel, Seana!
Thanks for reading!
I LOVE all the Cushion Lock™ videos you shared! I’ve never purchased and used that product, but I have received packages with it being used. It’s terrific! There’s nothing more annoying (and not earth-friendly) than bubble wrap, non-biodegradable peanuts, or those plastic ‘pillows.’
The Cushion Lock™ does a great job projecting the objects, and it’s also so easy to undo and recycle—no chance of those staticky peanuts sticking to my pants or fingers. 🙂
And how cool are the colored tree or heart-shaped peanuts? I’ve never seen them, but now I want to ship out a package so that I can use them.
Thank you for making a seemingly plain topic so much fun. You know how to ‘bring it,’ my friend.
You’re ahead of me, then, because I’ve never received such a package. I find it totally fascinating!
I’m so glad that you liked the topic. Once I saw Cushion Lock™, I knew I had to find a way to write about it. Thank you for reading!
I’m so excited to read about this from 3M. I love their products. Did you know they are based in Minneapolis? I have them on my list to contact because of the ICD conference in Minnesota in September.
I had planned to talk to them about their fabulous Post-It Notes and now I will also talk to them about this fabulous, earth friendly packing product.
Thank you for the fabulous information.
3M is definitely one of those companies that is dependably excellent. Yes for Post-it! Notes but I’m also amazed by how well their Command hooks work. And Scotch™ Tape! And that’s just the adhesive stuff I love! So, give them my affection.
Minnesota has 3M, Smead, and one of my best friends from college. I know you’ll have a *fabulous* ICD conference.
I love the cushion lock and I’m big on recycling. I’m in pain if I can’t recycle something and try to avoid that.
Thanks for sharing all the packing ideas.
Cushion Lock™ is definitely the niftiest-looking solution I’ve found. I do love that it’s recyclable.
Thank you for reading!