Waste Not - Making Recycled Boxes

Our customers say the nicest things about our packaging, but we say it's rubbish. Well, maybe 'rubbish' is too strong a word, but Oh My Giddy Aunt's packaging is certainly recycled.  We re-purpose and re-use packaging for three (or four) main reasons.  

1. Giddy Aunts can't abide waste

2. It's better for the environment.

3. It saves money. Our packaging costs are low and the savings are passed on to our customers.

...and Reason Number 4? It stretches our imagination and gives us a sense of satisfaction to think of creative packaging solutions!

In 14 years of sending tens of thousands of parcels we've only ever bought 5 rolls of bubble wrap and we never buy cardboard. How can we do this? It's simple: every piece of bubble wrap, every packaging box and every scrap of firm cardboard that comes into Oh My Giddy Aunt is magicked to look like new and sent out again. Our secrets for re-using or re-newing cardboard are revealed here. We'll tell you tips for reusing padded bags and bubble wraps in an article to follow.

Tips for Recycling Cardboard Packaging

Of course the easiest way to reuse cardboard is to open little packaging boxes carefully, remove old labels and stick new labels over them. Large boxes can easily be cut down to size and reused. If you don't like what is on the outside of them, cover them with brown paper or a label. 

 

We also create instant, perfectly sized, padded cardboard boxes using 2 strips of cardboard. Here's how you can do it too!

Plain cardboard is wonderful if you can get it, but if not, as long as the cardboard has at least one clean side any writing/marks can be covered with glue and a strip of dark tissue paper or brown paper.

Make a cross with the cardboard and place a strip of bubble wrap over the vertical strip.

The bottom of the vertical strip is folded over the object to be packed and then the sides of the horizontal strip are folded in.

The rest of the vertical strip is folded to the end and then secured with tape or ribbon and popped into a tough paper mailing bag.

Boxes made to size this way protect the giddy goodies and ensure the bubble wrap and cardboard lives to be used another day... and in another way!

Oh My Giddy Aunt's jewellery is designed so it won't end up in landfill either. Made in sterling silver or solid gold so it can be repaired, regifted, restored, remade or recycled... as our Great Giddy Aunts always said, "waste not, want not" and we think that should apply to our packaging too!  

If you have any thoughts, ideas or suggestions about better ways to pack, we'd love to hear them in the comments below, or please contact us by email.