There are certain statistics to show that Americans are thinking more and more about the kind of packaging they use for shipping or for the kinds of products they buy. People in this day and age are becoming more eco-conscious and that means choosing materials to ship with or purchase that are recyclable or environmentally friendly.

The environmental movement gained some initial steam in the early and late 1990s with politicians and some environmental activists slowly calling attention to the dire needs of our planet. Then in the early 2000s, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was filmed and formed and sent to production.

It would end up grossing millions of dollars and receiving an Oscar for Best Documentary during that Academy Award season. The movie/documentary follows Al Gore, a former presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate under President Clinton, as he makes speeches and presentations about the environment.

In the documentary, he covers numerous issues, including global warming, which in his mind was due to the effects of carbon dioxide emissions (and in the mind of countless, perhaps millions of other people). These carbon dioxide emissions create a thicker atmosphere, from which the sun’s rays get trapped, causing the world to rise in temperature.

He looks at CO2 emissions as man-made. We have a reliance on fossil fuels, a reliance on coal and natural gas and oil, all of which require energy to burn off, which in turn releases carbon dioxide into the air. He looks at big companies that are thought to be hiding or pushing down the truth. He looks at natural disasters that have taken place.

He has a focus on the strength of storms, which has increased in recent decades, as a by-product of global warming and CO2 emissions. He looks at Hurricane Katrina and other storms as the cause of by-product of a planet that is heating up a great deal, far more so than in previous millennia and certainly not due to natural causes.

Because of this, more Americans became environmentally conscious and focused their efforts on their personal behavioral activities, such as recycling (which soon became a norm across cities across the United States) and choosing which packaging to go with, as some packaging is not as eco-friendly as others.

One of the kinds of packaging that is very eco-friedly is cardboard, not necessarily because it has great effects on the environment if deposited there but because it is a type of material that can be recycled and formed into something else after it is used for its original purpose.

Cardboard is seen in numerous packaging options. Every shipping container, it seems, is put into cardboard boxes. This is because cardboard is durable and recyclable and it can take a hit if necessary and still keep the package within the cardboard safe. Cardboard can be recycled, which makes it a powerful material for the environmental individual.

Cardboard is helpful too because it can be made custom and have logos put on it, which help organizations such as FedEx or the United States Postal Service. Cardboard can have individual characteristics to it, logos, paints, slogans, catch phrases and more. There are certain statistics surrounding cardboard that may benefit someone.

• 85% of shoppers said their purchase decisions are informed by reading a product package while shopping.
• Over 90% of items shipped in the U.S. are packaged in cardboard.
• Recycling one ton of cardboard saves around nine cubic yards of landfill space, 700 gallons of water, and 46 gallons of oil.
• Businesses that pay close attention to packaging have reported a 30% increase in consumer interest.
• Nearly 52% of online consumers say that they would return to a business for another purchase if they receive their products in premium packaging.
• The average American supermarket holds more than 20,000 products, all competing to attract the attention of the consumer.

Custom printed packaging is a possibility with cardboard, as logos and other company markers can be etched onto the cardboard. Custom printed packaging involves a process by which the cardboard is made according to the company’s interest. There are many words that are associated with custom printed packaging.

Those words (the ones associated with custom printed packaging) are custom presentation boxes, custom rigid boxes, presentation packaging, and promotional packaging. Custom printed packaging will make an impact on consumers.