Ship It Green With USPS
Will you be an airline traveler this holiday season who has to pay for checked bags? Cut-back on your packing by shipping your gifts to their destinations early.
The United States Postal Service makes it easy to order supplies online so you can prepare your shipments at home. The added benefits of greening your shipping practices this holiday season is easier than you might think:
The Box
Clear out cluttered spaces by reusing sturdy boxes from home or work, and if you find yourself without one, try contacting a nearby grocery store or hardware store to have them set aside boxes that otherwise would be tossed in the trash. The next time you are out doing a round of errands, stop by and pick them up. Your friends and family might have extra boxes around the house also.
Another option is the USPS’ Priority Mail and Express Mail boxes and envelopes, which are 100 percent recyclable and free of charge. Because of their Cradle to Cradle certification, the USPS is able to prevent approximately 15,000 metric tons of carbon emissions from being released each year with the use of 500 million of Priority Mail and Express Mail packages annually.
Ordering is easy. The USPS has boxes ranging in sizes from a CD to a poster tube to a shoebox and beyond, so you will have no problem finding a box that fits your shipping needs.
Packing Materials
Prevent waste by pulling and reusing packing materials from shipments you received recently. Saving
packing peanuts, bubble wrap or shredded materials for future shipping gives these items a second chance and stops you from buying new materials.
USPS has over 200 C2C certified supplies to green your shipping this holiday season
You can also create your own cushion from items around the house such as clean egg cartons, newspapers, old magazines, shredded paper or discarded advertisements.
Labels
Save yourself a trip to the Post Office with Click-N-Ship from the USPS. Using this feature, you can print postage-paid shipping labels for your shipment from your home or office printer. You can print your own label (preferably on recycled paper) and affix it to your package.
In addition, you can order free Priority Mail labels or purchase return and mailing address labels online.
Postage
Purchasing postage no longer means driving to the store or Post Office and having to wait in line. You can order stamps over the phone or online. USPS stamps are made with soy-based inks and contain biodegradable and nontoxic adhesives.
Greening your shipping practices is easy and convenient, and if you don’t have time for ingenuity, leave it to the USPS to take care of those details for you.
