We take a practical approach to incorporating sustainable packaging solutions for your business. As a manufacturer, we know firsthand how important it is to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact sustainability goals can have on your business.
We also know that sustainable packaging is an ever-evolving segment of the industry, and we’re here to help you make sense of it. We do that by partnering with organizations like the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. We want to help improve recycling rates and appropriately guide end-of-use and packaging lifecycle action, so we’ve partnered with How2Recycle to promote accurate recycling directives and material content information for your customers.
We aim to improve circularity by encouraging consideration and use of recycled content materials, designing for curbside recyclability. We design packaging that can withstand multiple uses, making it truly reusable.
Impak has held an EcoVadis Silver Sustainability ranking since 2021. This assessment covers four major areas of company operations including Environment, Labor & Humans Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. At Impak, we strive for continuous improvement and value the feedback from this industry leader. Since its founding in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to become the world's largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 85,000+ rated companies.
Sustainable practices go hand in hand with solid quality processes. As company holding an industry recognized certification, you’ll have peace of mind that our Quality Management System has met the highest of standards, see the full certificate LINK HERE. We are proud to have structured operations solidly positioned to avoid any disruption to your business.
We take the promise of recycled content seriously, achieving third-party certification with SCS Global Services to provide full visibility into our supply chain, manufacturing processes and production records. Metropak is the manufacturing arm of Impak and produces custom poly mailers and bags. Ask about how you can incorporate recycled content into your film-based packaging. Metropak's OceanPoly® Bags and Mailers are SCS Recycled Content Certified , which is evidence of our diligence and integrity when it comes to appropriately labeling and advertising recycled content, including post-consumer and pre-consumer designations.
We work closely with supply chain partners that are directly involved in the procurement of raw materials by means of sustainably forestry. Please ask us about the availability of FSC® Products.
For items in which Impak does not directly oversee the manufacturing process, we leverage the bench strength of auditing and testing agencies such as the Global Recycling Standard and TUV Rheinland. Referencing standards from organizations such as ASTM International help establish an objective baseline for the measurement of performance expectations and help give context to how we communicate acceptable packaging standards.
We help reduce our carbon footprint and that of our clients through effective management of the global manufacturing landscape, ensuring goods are designed ‘smart’ and right-sized for effective carton packing, which translates to less freight weight and cost. Our value add is helping our clients with time-saving strategies to help reduce costs in packaging assembly across direct and indirect channels.
Our capabilities include sourcing materials with reusable qualities to ensure your items are designed and produced to extend longevity. Specialty boxes are constructed with care to ensure they get a second chance to be useful, becoming the gift that keeps on giving.
Our team stays up-to-date with broadly accepted curbside recycling parameters in order to guide you in the development process and avoid “greenwashing”. Early design decisions on details like woven paper handles and non-laminated boxes can impact end-of-life actions.
Impak is proud to offer OceanPoly® materials as part of its custom packaging portfolio. OceanPoly® is one of the best solutions to the plastic waste that fills our global ocean. Collected from coastal pollution source areas such as beaches and waterways, OceanPoly® contains a minimum of 25% post-consumer recycled plastic recovered from PET plastic bottles or HDPE plastic bottles and bags with a total of 50% recycled content, the balance from pre-consumer sources. Poly mailers can be recycled at any store that accepts thin plastic grocery bags. Visit How2Recycle to find your closest drop-off location of over 18,000 nationwide listings.
With 50% recycled content from pre-consumer/post-industrial sources, RethinkPoly™ is another eco-conscious option for e-commerce brands that rely heavily on poly mailers. Lightweight, made of recycled material, and recyclable, it’s another custom line from Impak that checks all the boxes. When recycling, visit How2Recycle to find the closest store drop-off location of over 18,000 nationwide listings.
For packaging to be truly recyclable, it must be easy to recycle. We leverage our partnership with How2Recycle to provide the best insights on curbside recyclability rates.
It’s an ever-changing landscape, and we in turn ask our clients a lot of questions. What are the goals of the program? Whether making items of 100% paper, reusable with high recycled content, producing domestically to reduce the carbon footprint, or providing clear recycling direction, we walk hand-in-hand with our clients to meet their needs.
We use resources like Material ConneXion® to stay on top of developments in the industry like Vela™ Bags, Bananatex®, and Washable Kraft paper.
Recycled content is in reference to materials containing both pre and post-consumer recycled waste. Recyclability means packaging at end of life can be reclaimed and used again in a future manufacturing cycle.
Recyclable packaging is a part of what is considered to be sustainable packaging. Sustainability conversations and claims can cover a wide range of topics including recyclable packaging, recycled content, FSC certifications, carbon footprint implications, and right-sized design. These topics can be referenced individually or in combination.
Sustainable packaging refers to the sourcing, development, and use of packaging solutions that have minimal environmental impact and footprint.
Post-consumer is everything tossed into the recycling bin, such as empty plastic bottles or aluminum cans. These materials are collected by local recycling programs and shipped to recycling facilities where they are sorted based on material type, then recycled and used in making new products. Pre-consumer, also known as post-industrial recycled content is the waste generated during a manufacturing process that is collected, reprocessed, and used again to make a new product.
Biodegradable is defined as the capability of an organic or non-organic item to break down into natural products by the action of living organisms. Essentially, anything could be biodegradable without setting specific parameters around time. All compostable items are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable items are compostable. Compostable means that a product is capable of disintegrating into natural elements like soil in a composting environment, leaving no toxicity in the soil. Typically, this must occur in under 6 months in a commercial composting facility.
FSC 100% represents paper that is made from 100% FSC-certified forests. FSC Mix papers are a reflection of virgin paper fibers and recycled fibers. FSC Recycled indicates the paper is made of 100% recycled fiber.
What’s the difference between stitch-bond and spun-bond RPET? RPET stands for recycled polyethylene terephthalate or PET. A variety of items including plastic bottles and food jars are made from PET. Once recycled, PET can be re-ground and formed into fibers that can be spun in different ways, resulting in a fabric-like material referred to as spun-bond or stitch-bond. Stitch-bond RPET fabric has visible stitch lines and can be easily recognized. Spun-bond RPET fabric lacks stitch lines and can be harder to discern; it is very similar in appearance to non-woven polypropylene or NWPP. Impak partners with 3rd party accreditors such as the Global Recycling Standard to vet the authenticity of recycled content material claims.
Many strides have been made in the industry. Efficiencies in the collection and sorting help to bring recycled material costs down. Effective procurement/purchasing strategies can reduce freight costs and carbon footprint. In short, recycled content packaging or more sustainable packaging programs don’t have to break the bank. Impak is here to be a guide and will always provide transparency around cost-value considerations.
If we rephrase this question to “What are the most common curbside recycled materials?” this question is much easier to answer. We utilize industry experts such as the Sustainable Packaging Coalition to keep us informed of advances and developments in this sector, ensuring our packaging disposal directions are aligned to their recommendations. The original question is much more complex and more subjective. Our approach with clients is to discover, digest and dive into a plan. There are many ways to achieve a greener packaging landscape, and not all paths are the same.
The emissions impact of producing poly mailers in the US compared to China or India for example, varies greatly. There are up to 353% MORE emissions when moving to offshore production. See the summary of findings (Emissions Savings Summary) and a complete report (View Report) from research partners at the University of Texas at Dallas.