Biodegradable vs. Bioplastics: What’s the Difference?

Plastic that breaks down in weeks rather than centuries sounds fantastic. As concerns over plastic waste mount, the biodegradable plastics industry is growing rapidly coming up with all sorts of alternatives. However, it’s not as simple as simply throwing these new plastics in your backyard and letting nature take its course. By now, no one [...]

 

Plastic that breaks down in weeks rather than centuries sounds fantastic. As concerns over plastic waste mount, the biodegradable plastics industry is growing rapidly coming up with all sorts of alternatives. However, it’s not as simple as simply throwing these new plastics in your backyard and letting nature take its course. By now, no one denies that humanity has a plastic problem on our hands. At FP International, we think about this issue often, keeping innovation and sustainability at the...
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8 Ways to Pack anything For Safe Shipping

While packaging can be a very expensive element of shipping a product, it’s also one your customers will notice and either appreciate or...not. When you take the time to pack your products correctly, you are not only protecting the product—you are signaling to your customer that you care about them and the experience they have with your company. 
While packaging can be a very expensive element of shipping a product, it’s also one your customers will notice and either appreciate or...not. When you take the time to pack your products correctly, you are not only protecting the product—you are signaling to your customer that you care about them and the experience they have with your company. Similarly, a broken or damaged product will set you back in more ways than one. Customers won’t want to buy from you...
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Is Package Damage Impacting Your Bottom Line?

E-commerce retailers and manufacturers put in a significant amount of effort and investment making sure the products they produce meet quality and performance goals. However, if insufficient packaging protection results in customers receiving your product in damaged, broken and/or non-functioning condition, the impact to your brand’s profit margin can be significant. 
E-commerce retailers and manufacturers put in a significant amount of effort and investment making sure the products they produce meet quality and performance goals. However, if insufficient packaging protection results in customers receiving your product in damaged, broken and/or non-functioning condition, the impact to your brand’s profit margin can be significant.  A single return can easily incur hundreds of dollars in added costs, and the loss of future orders based on an unhappy customers’ negative experience can add up to...
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Looking Ahead to the Future of Ship-From-Home

Ship-from-home is here to stay. 

The Internet—and increasingly, social media—is transforming the retail landscape, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to make a part- or even full-time income from selling merchandise of all kinds via their own websites or sites like Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon. One of the most critical elements of this burgeoning business is the shipping.

As shipping from home becomes increasingly prevalent, it’s also growing increasingly trendy—and competitive. 

Ship-from-home is here to stay.  The Internet—and increasingly, social media—is transforming the retail landscape, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to make a part- or even full-time income from selling merchandise of all kinds via their own websites or sites like Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon. One of the most critical elements of this burgeoning business is the shipping. As shipping from home becomes increasingly prevalent, it’s also growing increasingly trendy—and competitive.  A few advancements in the ship-to-home arena are already...
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Super Bowl vs. Social Media? Coca-Cola Shows Us How ...

Raise your hand if you tuned in to the Super Bowl for the commercials. No shame: You’re not alone (and with LIII snagging the distinction of lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the game’s history, we don’t blame you!). 

You may have noticed that this year Coca-Cola took a different approach to their game day advertising. Typically an industry heavyweight with several multi-million-dollar game time spots, this year the company opted to air its commercial just before kickoff rather than during the game. 
  Raise your hand if you tuned in to the Super Bowl for the commercials. No shame: You’re not alone (and with LIII snagging the distinction of lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the game’s history, we don’t blame you!). You may have noticed that this year Coca-Cola took a different approach to their game day advertising. Typically an industry heavyweight with several multi-million-dollar game time spots, this year the company opted to air its commercial just before kickoff rather than during...
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The EU’s Plan to Combat Plastic Waste

The European Parliament voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastic waste across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans. The proposal also called for a reduction in single-use plastic waste for food and drink containers, including plastic cups.

The European Parliament voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastic waste across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans. The proposal also called for a reduction in single-use plastic waste for food and drink containers, including plastic cups. The new law, overwhelmingly backed by the European Parliament asserts 10 single-use plastic products with readily available alternatives will be banned by 2021. The EU states and all residing within them are now obligated...
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Recycling’s Uncertain Future: China’s Ban On Waste I...

China has long been treated as our planet’s repository for plastic waste. The nation has accepted 45% of the world's total plastic recycling since reporting to the United Nations Comtrade Database began in 1992.

China has long been treated as our planet’s repository for plastic waste. The nation has accepted 45% of the world’s total plastic recycling since reporting to the United Nations Comtrade Database began in 1992. But alongside a new push to protect the environment, China no longer wants to be the world’s trash can, or even its recycle bin. China passed their “National Sword” policy banning plastic waste from being imported beginning in January 2018, signaling to the rest of the...
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California Plastic Laws: What You Need To Know

Even before plastic straw bans grew trendy, California was at the forefront of using less plastic and promoting more sustainable living. California pioneered a statewide ban on plastics beginning in 2016, when the state became the first in the U.S. to ban most stores from providing customers with single-use plastic bags, following a successful referendum. [...]

Even before plastic straw bans grew trendy, California was at the forefront of using less plastic and promoting more sustainable living. California pioneered a statewide ban on plastics beginning in 2016, when the state became the first in the U.S. to ban most stores from providing customers with single-use plastic bags, following a successful referendum. But the statewide straw ban is the first-of-its-kind. Though cities across the country—and the world—have adopted plastic straw bans, California is the first U.S. state...
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Pack Anything For Safe Shipping With These Methods

When you take the time to pack your products correctly, you are not only protecting the product—you are signaling to your customer that you care about them and the experience they have with your company. Similarly, a broken or damaged product will set you back in more ways than one. Customers won’t want to buy [...]

When you take the time to pack your products correctly, you are not only protecting the product—you are signaling to your customer that you care about them and the experience they have with your company. Similarly, a broken or damaged product will set you back in more ways than one. Customers won’t want to buy from you again, trust is lost, and they will likely want to send you back the damaged product at your cost. So, how do you...
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How to Responsibly Recycle Your Holiday Packaging

The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends, to give and to receive...and to accumulate a lot of extra packaging. Fear not: There are plenty of ways to responsibly recycle after a season of packing on the packaging. 
The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends, to give and to receive...and to accumulate a lot of extra packaging. Fear not: There are plenty of ways to responsibly recycle after a season of packing on the packaging.  The holiday season is here and gone, and while many people were finishing up their to-do lists, wrapping the last of their presents and finalizing their travel plans, members of the waste and recycling industry were preparing their fleets,...
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Produce Packaging: Packaging and Shipping Produce

It’s officially autumn, and that means it’s apple season! But how to get your prized produce from point A to point B without bruises, cuts, or worse? Enter: Our guide to packaging and shipping produce. If you have a small business that ships food and other perishables, there are very few things that will [...]

It’s officially autumn, and that means it’s apple season! But how to get your prized produce from point A to point B without bruises, cuts, or worse? Enter: Our guide to packaging and shipping produce. If you have a small business that ships food and other perishables, there are very few things that will make your customers unhappier than receiving a food delivery from you that’s melted, thawed or otherwise unusable. You don’t want to lose customers or spend your...
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Sustainable Packaging Material: How Air Cushions Fit In

Plastic is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of sustainability. Did you know, though, that when it comes to protecting what matters, air cushion films are one of the best sustainable packaging options available on the current market? Contrary to popular belief, inflatable plastic films are one of the [...]

Plastic is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of sustainability. Did you know, though, that when it comes to protecting what matters, air cushion films are one of the best sustainable packaging options available on the current market? Contrary to popular belief, inflatable plastic films are one of the greenest choices available when it comes to protective packaging – doubly so if you buy a biodegradable variant. It might sound counterintuitive to think of...
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