Alternative, Eco-Friendly Methods of Packaging

If you’re someone who has to ship gifts and parcels abroad quite regularly, you might find yourself having to invest in wrapping paper and other necessary parcel materials on a regular basis. This blog post will provide you with various other methods of wrapping parcels so that you can make the process eco-friendly and a little more exciting. Here are a few alternatives to the average parcel.

Newspaper might seem a bit tasteless, but in truth you can turn it into an excellent resource for parcel wrapping if you’re a bit more creative than the average person. Newspaper that gets regularly delivered to your house is ideal and you can use colouring pens, paint, stickers or whatever suits you.

If you aren’t so creative, why not have a look through the gift wrapping materials you’ve got leftover? You’ll be able to choose from all sorts of colours and designs that your addressee will admire, or you can just turn it inside out and use the blank white canvas instead.

Certain fabrics are prohibited in some countries but if you’re sending a gift somewhere where this doesn’t apply, you can always make the most of colourful fabrics from beds, cushions, pillow cases or whatever you can find. In fact, this is a common method of gift wrapping in Japan, so it wouldn’t be to out of the ordinary if you’re sending a gift to Japan.

Green Week Final Day

We wrap up our Green Week with a look at the world’s greenest country; Iceland, as well as a couple of last tips to keeping tabs on recycling your post.

Around ten years ago, Iceland was dependant on coal for 70% of its emissions. Nowadays Iceland is only dependant on coal for 18% of emissions and is aiming for a lower percentage with each succeeding year.

Iceland also aims to be completely independent of coal and oil by 2050, and has been helped significantly by encouragement and involvement from residents. It just goes to show that a little help can go a long way!

Go Digital

[rand]e-mail blogFor smaller letters and personal messages, email is always recommended. It costs nothing and is virtually instant. However a lot of people do prefer to receive hand written messages as it shows how much time and effort you have taken out of your day to talk to the recipient. Plus if you have a gift to give you can’t (not yet anyway) send it over the internet!

Why not use RAND Logistics to send a parcel to Iceland, or anywhere else in the world? With first class service at competitive rates and recorded tracking details available, RAND Logistics is unrivalled in quality postal services.

Green Week Day 3 – Rearranging Envelopes

Day 3 of our green week sees more ways you can reuse envelopes and parcels, and also save money in the process!

By carefully opening windowed envelopes and other envelopes, you can easily re-use them! Simply place a sticker over the current address and then write your new address on the used envelope. Remember that stamps can only be used once so you’ll need to cover the existing stamps with new ones!

Turning Envelopes inside out (Shown above)

Turning Envelopes inside out (Shown above)

You can also turn the envelopes inside out if you want to start afresh. Simply take care when folding the envelope out and then cello tape firmly back together once you’re done! These unfolded envelopes can also be used as scrap paper or to make shopping lists from.

Padded envelopes are great to keep and store just in case you need to send a friend or relative a delicate present and don’t want to shell out for extra packaging. If you just need the padding, simply turn the envelope inside out and use it inside a bigger box for extra protection!

As the Silver award winner worldwide, Switzerland is a wonderfully ‘green’ country and was actually the greenest country in the world in 2008, but has now moved into second place. With beautiful natural parks and effort made into reducing emissions, why not send a relative or friend a parcel to Switzerland with RAND Logistics to show your support?

Green Week Day 2 – Sorting Envelopes for Recycling

Day 2 in our Green Week sees us looking at the ‘recyclability’ of envelopes. Are all types of envelopes recyclable? Is everything on the envelope recyclable? Here is a break down:

Envelope itself: Yes
Stamp: Yes
Other Stickers/Stamps: Yes
Plastic Window: No

Fortunately for the most part you can easily just drop your envelopes into the recycling and be done with it, but for those pesky windowed envelopes it is better to remove the window before recycling them.

[rand]window envelope blog

Check your recycling options available in your area, as some other areas may reject the glued part of the envelope, but all it takes is a quick job with the scissors and your envelope is ready for recycling!

For larger parcels and packages it is better to flatten them down and store them away in case you may need to send something larger, and cardboard boxes can always be used for storage or as arts and crafts materials if you have young children or grandchildren!

With strong efforts being put into the conservation of virgin forests and biodiversity, Costa Rica is the 3rd greenest country worldwide. RAND Logistics can provide cheap and efficient postage rates on parcels to Costa Rica, why not have a look at how much you could save by using our quick quote form today?

Green Week Day 1 – Reusing Big Boxes

In honour of St Patrick’s Day, we at RAND Logistics have decided to make this blogging week ‘Green Week’. Recycling is incredibly important particularly when it comes to posting parcels internationally as individual packaging can be quite expensive.

By recycling parcels and cardboard boxes that you receive through the post and through  day to day living, you can cut the costs of packaging greatly, and plus you’ll also be doing your bit to help the environment!

[rand]green recycle blogElectronic Boxes

You know those hefty cardboard boxes you get when buying a new set of headphones or a big plush toy? You can recycle them by using them as delivery boxes! If you don’t want to disappoint your recipient you can always turn the packaging inside out so that the blank sides are on the outside, and then stick a stamp onto the box.

You can also use old instruction manuals as packaging by shredding them, as this ensures that any packages or parcels delivered are sufficiently protected when going through the post.

Sweden is the fourth greenest country in the world, with plans made by the government to eventually switch most houses and businesses to renewable energy sources. You can send a friend or relative a parcel to Sweden through RAND Logistics, safe in the knowledge that we will ensure it reaches its recipient in first class condition.

St Patrick’s Day

March 17th 2014 is the anniversary of the death of the Irish Saint, St Patrick and is also known as St Patrick’s Day. It is traditional to wear something green on St Patrick’s Day, particularly for those of Irish Descent, and some people even take it a step further to dress in traditional Irish Clothing, or by wearing a shamrock; a three leaved plant similar in appearance to clover.

[rand]irish day cupcakes blog

The colour green has been associated with Ireland since the 1640’s when the green harp flag was first used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. What is known of St Patrick has been derived from the Declaration which shows St Patrick’s struggle after he was kidnapped by raiders and spent six years working as a shepherd in Gaelic Ireland. He ‘found god’ working there, and upon returning home, managed to convert thousands of pagan Irish to Christianity.

Whether you are of Irish descent or you have a close friend or relative who is celebrating St Patrick’s Day, why not send them a gift in the post? RAND Logistics have excellent rates on parcels to Ireland and further afield if your Irish relatives live internationally. For safety and security in delivering your packages, choose RAND Logistics.