Custom cardboard packaging is big business. In fact, corrugated packaging is the largest segment of the packaging industry, with more than 1,500 box plants in North America. Even in this digital age where young and old alike send messages and texts several times a day, the cardboard box delivered to your front door is still something to celebrate. Whether you receive custom cardboard packaging boxes with a familiar logo from your favorite online store, or whether you receive a hand decorated cardboard container from your niece in Alaska, you are part of the custom cardboard packaging process.

Even boxes that do not contain the name of a specific retailer, they are likely labeled with other custom markings that indicate the name of the box making company as well as the shipping size dimensions. Retail packaging boxes
and retail packaging design has become so sophisticated and branded that you can likely determine the name on the box when you see it on your front porch as you drive into the garage.

In a country and in an age when consumers expect to get what they want from locations near and far, corrugated boxes manufacturers provide safe and affordable shipping options. In fact, more than 90% of all products in North America are delivered or displayed in corrugated packaging at some point in their life.

Packaging not only protects contents during shipping, it is also the reason why many purchases are made. A recent article in Packaging Digest disclosed that research indicates that consumer decision making is down to five seconds at the retail shelf; in other words, packaging design matters! Some of the products that you can find in your home right now were likely selected because of well designed cardboard. No wonder parents often say that their kids like to play IN large cardboard boxes as much as the play with the toys that came in those packages.

For more than 100 years, corrugated packaging has been a cost-efficient preferred choice by manufacturers and consumers alike.The corrugated industry employs over 70,000 people throughout the United States. Not only does the box making industry provide jobs and products, it is also working on innovations to continue their environmentally friendly track record. Most recycled corrugated boxes and packages, for instance, contain 46% recycled material, which has a low environmental impact on greenhouse gases, acidification, and non-renewable energy. The next time you prepare to purchase a boxed item, or ship a gift across the country, you might not realize the impact of corrugated cardboard, but it is a part of many of your purchasing and shipping activities.