GP Packaging Expands Manufacturing Curbside Recyclable Paper Padded Mailers for E-Commerce

Georgia-Pacific is expanding its manufacturing footprint for curbside recyclable paper padded mailers to support growing demand for more sustainable shipping envelopes. The new locations in Jonestown, Pennsylvania, and McDonough, Georgia, will expand availability of the mailers in the Northeast and Southeast to customers including Amazon. GP is also adding a third production line at its first mailer manufacturing site that opened in the Phoenix area in 2020.

Georgia-Pacific’s expertise in paper making and paper-based packaging, and support from its research and development team, have contributed to the company’s success in its first manufacturing location and served as drivers in the expansion plans.

“The response to the functionality and recyclability has been very favorable from key customers like Amazon and from consumers,” says Adam Ganz, vice president – commercial development at Georgia-Pacific, who leads the mailer business. “We are eager to expand the availability of this more sustainable alternative to non-recyclable dual material mailers. This investment demonstrates our commitment to increasing sustainable solutions for the rapidly-growing e-commerce segment.”

The growth of e-commerce has generated significant demand for sustainable packaging options, as both consumers and e-retailers look to increase the recyclability of their packaging. This curbside recyclable padded paper mailer is a sustainable alternative to non-recyclable dual material packaging.

GP is expanding its offerings to include paper padded mailers. In May, the company opened a new facility in Arizona to manufacture curbside recyclable paper padded mailers with Amazon as a key customer. To manufacture this product, Georgia-Pacific created approximately 80 jobs at a new manufacturing facility in Tolleson, Arizona, outside of Phoenix. The company will begin supplying Amazon’s West Coast fulfillment centers with potential expansion to other parts of the country.

“This padded paper mailer is a significant advancement in developing a sustainable packaging alternative to reduce environmental impacts,” says Adam Ganz, vice president – commercial development at Georgia-Pacific. “Shipping items to consumers in a mailer that can be tossed in the bin with the rest of their paper recyclables is a game changer. We’re excited to bring this to our customers at a time when e-commerce continues to grow rapidly.”

In 2019, Amazon introduced this recyclable paper padded mailer, which protects customer orders and is fully recyclable curbside. As a major supplier of corrugated boxes for Amazon, Georgia-Pacific has previously worked with the company on innovative packaging solutions and is now producing this mailer.

“Crafting Amazon’s recyclable padded envelope required the ingenuity of scientists, engineers, and technicians at Amazon’s and Henkel’s packaging and materials lab,” said Kim Houchens, director of Customer Packaging Experience at Amazon. “Replacing our comingled material mailer (paper bonded to bubble wrap) with a curbside recyclable paper padded mailer continues our waste reduction initiatives, which since 2015, have reduced the weight of outbound packaging by 33% and eliminated more than 810,000 tons of packaging material, the equivalent of 1.5 billion shipping boxes.”

The innovative mailer combines a unique expansive material, which contains no polystyrene, between layers of kraft paper made at Georgia-Pacific’s paper mills. This material technology was introduced by Henkel’s Packaging and Consumer Goods Division in 2019, winning a diamond finalist Packaging Innovation Award. The mailer received a Widely Recyclable label from How2Recycle® based on lab tests at a recycled fiber mill, which means that it can be deposited in any curbside single-stream recycling bin.

“Georgia-Pacific is a great manufacturing partner for the recyclable paper padded mailers and we are looking forward to extending the ability to provide curbside recyclable packaging to Amazon and others,” said Scott Farber, Henkel global head of marketing, Paper Solutions.
https://www.gp.com/news/2021/08/gp-packaging-begins-manufacturing-curbside-recyclable-paper-padded-mailers-for-e-commerce