Words like “Green” “Eco-Friendly” and “Sustainable” get thrown around a lot these days. Unfortunately, in an effort to capitalize on the hype, many businesses will succumb to “green washing” and make a lot of radical claims about their commitment to the environment without actually backing it up.
FrogBox takes great strides to prove our commitment to environmental responsibility, our trucks use bio-fuel where possible, we minimize paper usage (In Seattle, we’ve used less then a ream of paper so far for all of 2011), and we use scheduling software that optimizes delivery routes to eliminate unnecessary mileage whenever possible to name a few! However, the biggest tool we have in reducing our environmental impact is the FrogBox itself.
What makes FrogBoxES green? The real sustainability of our product comes from the fact that we are going to re-use each FrogBox ~400 times vs. Cardboard which is used (on average) 1-2 times.
One of our first employee’s Phil Harbut shared a research paper with me that he wrote for a program at the University of British Columbia. The study is titled “A Comparative Analysis of HDPE and Corrugated Cardboard used in Moving Boxes” (HDPE stands for high density polyethylene, the material our moving boxes are made of and yes, I had to google it for the proper spelling). Here is a quote from Phil’s study that really encapsulate the environmentally friendly aspect of a FrogBox
HDPE boxes create more GHG (Green House Gas) emissions during production and manufacturing yet create savings of GHG emissions after 10 uses and continue throughout the rest of the operation phase of the HDPE boxes. Cardboard requires new energy added each use and the quality and functionality of the box is diminished after each use.
In other words, once we’ve used one FrogBox 10 times, we’ve “broken even” on green house gas emissions. This means that the next 390 uses will bring us into the positive. Both materials (cardboard and HDPE) can be recycled, however, recycling itself requires energy and produces waste. With cardboard recycling much of the original material is lost in the process and virgin materials (pulp and paper) which are derived from trees are required to complete the process. Not only can HDPE be reclaimed and recycled, but the amount of use with a FrogBox is far higher then cardboard, so the overall energy spent on recycling the material is reduced when you take into account the lifespan of both products.
I will leave it at that for now, as this is already getting rather lengthy, but maybe we’ll have to do a part 2 on the “Comparative Analysis of HDPE and Corrugated Cardboard used in Moving Boxes”. I haven’t even gotten to all the graphs yet! Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you again next week! Have a hoppy weekend!