"[rebox.eco] makes new boxes from old boxes, helping brands send e-commerce deliveries more sustainably by capturing value in used materials, minimizing resource extraction, and reducing waste. Businesses are struggling to find the packaging they need and resorting to less than ideal solutions as the market sees rising demand and limited supply of paper. At the same time, a nation like the UK cannot recycle all its paper waste, and over half is exported, which often leads to poor disposal. [rebox.eco] is an operational innovation that combines these factors to capture and add value to what is seen as waste.
Using a circular economy mindset, it's possible to convert strong material from used, large corrugated logistics boxes into smaller e-commerce boxes. This process keeps the core material in use for as long as possible, saving precious resources such as water, carbon, energy, and trees.
[rebox.eco] will positively impact the environment by retaining value in paper packaging materials for longer. The circular concept relieves capacity and resource usage in two directions. When an old box is reused in this way, the original box does not require recycling, there is no complete value loss through poor disposal, and the converted box saves the need to create a traditional box. This completely removes the need for resource extraction or intensive processing: Virgin paper is no longer needed, therefore minimizing forestry depletion nor recycled paper, which is typically inefficient due to quality reduction with every cycle. Therefore, directly converting an old box into a new box takes significantly less energy than recycling an old box and draws on less of the natural ecosystem than creating a new box from the beginning.
The current industry conforms to a linear, 'take, make, and dispose' attitude to consumption, and [rebox.eco] wants to break that mold for e-commerce packaging boxes. This initiative will highlight the benefits of material reuse and practically deliver circular value before legacy ways such as natural resource depletion and landfill become physically and ethically unsustainable.
[rebox.eco] will also disrupt supply chains with a highly localized solution to manage waste. A retailer may generate large corrugated paper box waste as a result of its operation and also has demand for small corrugated paper boxes to fulfill e-commerce orders. For example, a bicycle shop that receives large boxes of assembled bicycles and also sends out smaller parcels of accessories or parts. This will set a circular economy precedent with locally connected supply and demand.
A thorough concept development process was followed with real-world insights from consumers and businesses that showed positivity around reusing material, product purchase intent unchanged, and a strong affinity to the sustainability benefits. Research shows that when the circularity of a product is accentuated, the benefit is amplified, and consumers can understand the simplicity of reuse through overt communication. Therefore, rebutting any concerns that brand owners may have to introducing the concept or reused packaging."