How to Pack and Ship Smarter with Virgin and Recycled Kraft Paper

For businesses that ship items regularly to customers or individuals looking to ship a gift to a friend across the country, there’s almost no end to the options available for you to choose. You can order boxes online, you can pick up shipping supplies at the local Post Office or UPS Store, and shipping materials come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices to satisfy every need imaginable.

The main trouble with this situation is that the cost of packaging can sometimes meet or exceed the cost of the shipment! And that’s not cheap.

But there is one way you can save money on packaging without sacrificing the quality of the package or risking damage to the materials you’re planning to ship. It involves using virgin and recycled kraft paper.

How does recycled kraft paper compare to virgin kraft paper?

Virgin kraft paper is made from 100% new material, so it has excellent strength and tear resistance. It’s also more likely to be uniform in color and texture, making it an excellent choice for aesthetic purposes, such as the outer wrap on a gift.

Recycled kraft paper is made from post consumer recycled materials, resulting in softer slightly lower strength sheet compared to virgin kraft paper. The recycling process can also occasionally leave variations in the color and texture of the paper. For that reason, recycled kraft paper is a perfect material to use for affordable and eco-friendly box fill for shipping.

How can kraft paper be used for packaging and shipping?

As noted above, virgin kraft paper can make a beautiful outer wrapping for gifts, especially if they’re able to be hand-delivered. It can also be used as a tough outer wrapping for boxes that must be shipped, since it’s strong enough to resist tearing in the sometimes brutal shipping environment, and can easily be written on.

Virgin kraft paper also does an excellent job of protecting materials inside a box because of its heavy weight and durability. Or, it can serve as a powerful interleaver for items stacked on pallets and as surface protection on the outside of pallet shipments.

A great application for recycled kraft paper in shipping and packaging is as dunnage, which is the wadded up paper that fills space around items to reduce movement and protect them from potential damage during shipment. Since recycled kraft paper is economical and biodegradable, it proves to be a much better option than Styrofoam shipping peanuts or air-filled plastic bags for this purpose.

For help choosing the very best kraft paper for your particular function, contact our paper experts to discuss your needs and options and learn about the 6 types of kraft paper and their best business uses.