The Ins and Outs of Gift Boxes
Though gift boxes aren’t only utilized during the holiday season, the increase in shopping during those few months directly affects the amount of packaging we purchase.
According to the National Retail Federation, in 2008, the average U.S. consumer was expected to spend $832.36 on holiday-related shopping and an additional $119.83 on themselves. A percentage of these purchases went towards gift wrap and boxes. Getting more out of your boxes, through reuse and recycling, can save money and resources.
The Materials
Paperboard is manufactured in two forms: unbleached and bleached. Unbleached paperboard is predominantly made from unbleached kraft fiber and may contain some recovered fiber. Examples of this type of packaging are 12-pack beverage carrying cases and folding cartons.
Bleached paperboard is made from 100 percent virgin, solid bleached sulfate pulp (SBS). This type of paperboard packaging is the most common and often houses:
- Cartons and boxes for milk, juice and other beverages
- Dairy products
- Meat products
- Fast food packaging
- Frozen food boxes
- Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
- Toys
Reuse
Reusing gift boxes can be as simple as re-gifting or as complicated as building your own from cereal boxes. Paperboard is a versatile product, so you aren’t restricted to just gift-giving. Use those old boxes to create:
- A picture frame
- Coasters
- 3-D ornaments
- Unique supplies for art pieces or collages
- Housing for a child’s dioramas
Recycle
Eighty-seven percent, or 268 million, of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling programs, making recycling paperboard is an easy option. While most curbside programs accept paperboard, packaging with a wax cover, such as beer bottle packaging and upscale soda bottles, is restricted.
Paperboard is made from sustainable, farm-raised wood fiber. The forestry products industry plants 1.7 million trees each day, exceeding the number of trees harvested to create paperboard. Recycled paperboard is often collected and returned to paper mills for paperboard production.
- "The Sustainability Advantage of Paperboard Packaging" Paperboard Packaging Council http://www.ppcnet.org/TheIndustry/Sustainability.aspx.
- "Did you Know..." PaperRecyclers.org http://paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/stat_intro.html.
- "Paperboard" American Forest and Paper Association http://www.afandpa.org/ourindustry.aspx?id=275.
- Burge, David. "Most consumers have spent $816 buying gifts in \'07" Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Inc. http://www.consolidatedcredit.org/press/Most-consumers-have-spent-816-buying-gifts-in-07.aspx. El Paso Times.
