Paper padding chips: the latest innovation for packaging
6min read
28/09/2022
Properly padding a box is a crucial step in the packaging process. As a sender, you want your products to remain firmly in place and to reach their final destination intact. Padding material comes in all shapes and sizes. The most well-known ones are sometimes not the most sustainable, as they are not always easy to recycle. Time for a solution! That is why RAJA is introducing a new type of padding: paper padding chips. The chips combine several top properties of other materials and ensure that 1 + 1 = 3. Ecological, protective and stylish: the paper infill chips have it all!
1. What are paper padding chips?
In terms of shape and application, paper void fillers are best compared to polystyrene (or starch) chips. You can easily pour the chips into a box to fill the empty spaces around your product. The folded particles adhere to each other so that your products stay put and do not move around. The shape of the chips makes your products spring just enough to absorb the biggest shocks. The ideal buffer and shock absorber!
Unique to this variant is the fact that they are made of paper: a renewable raw material. Paper is derived from wood, and wood in turn comes from trees. We can let those trees grow and renew endlessly, putting no (or at least much less) pressure on raw material reserves and the climate. For RAJA’s paper padding chips, we specifically used testliner, recycled paper in fact. So we didn’t have to use new trees to make this product.
Where should your end customer actually dispose and sort these kinds of chips? Unlike some other materials (polystyrene or starch), this is very clear here. Paper padding chips belong in the paper and cardboard waste: plain and simple! As a webshop, this again removes frustration from your customer and he might more easily order a second, third, fourth… time.
Discover paper padding chips in our webshop here
2. What are the advantages of paper padding chips?
]These padding chips are a perfect blend of some of the top properties of other padding materials. They are super easy to use, very strong, stylish and above all environmentally friendly. Below we look at what advantages they have to offer concretely for both packers and recipients.
2.1 Advantages for the packer (company)
- Protective and sturdy: if you run a webshop or shop, you would prefer to lose as little time as possible in the packing process. The material you use should be easy to handle and reliable. Luckily, there are paper padding chips! First of all, they are very sturdy and dimensionally stable. Once poured into your box, the chips adhere firmly to each other. So they form a strong protective layer around your products. Even heavy articles (such as porcelain, car parts or electrical appliances) can rest on the chips without any problems. Good to know: because they retain their shape so well, they can be reused several times. So a good thing for the environment.
- Save time: secondly, the chips save time at the packing table. They are pre-folded into the right shape and are easy to spread out in a box. So unlike a roll of bubble wrap or bubble paper, you don’t waste time cutting a sheet to size and pre-folding it. Just pour it out in the box and you’re done! You will see that the chips will automatically efficiently fill every nook and cranny in your packaging.
Good to know...
Are you shipping products with a fragile surface (e.g. made of glass or with paintwork)? In that case, it is best to wrap your item with an additional protective layer. You can opt for soft silk paper for example. This way, there is no risk of your products getting scratched.
2.2 Advantages for the recipient (consumer)
- Environmentally friendly: the end customer can easily recycle the paper padding chips along with the rest of the cardboard packaging. So, unlike traditional foam or starch padding chips, your customers no longer have to worry about where the chips should end up in the waste stream. Old paper and cardboard are the perfect place. Afterwards, the paper can easily be recycled into new packaging materials.
- Stylish: the pleated origami-like shape is often associated with notions of originality and ecology. So they contribute to a promising unboxing experience and a positive ecological experience with your brand. Not unimportant in a digital world where packaging is often the only physical interface between a webshop and its customers.
3. How to use paper padding chips?
]In the video below, you can see step by step how best to use these padding chips. Whether you are shipping an average, heavy or fragile product, these padding chips retain their functionality in any circumstance. After use, consumers can reuse the chips (because they always retain their shape) or sort them in the paper waste. Very simple!
]4. Why is RAJA launching this new product?
With the launch of these paper padding chips, RAJA is taking another step towards its ‘circular strategy’. What does this mean in concrete terms? At RAJA, we do not see packaging as a disposable product, but rather as a circular product. Today’s packaging is the basis for tomorrow’s packaging. To achieve this, we need to learn to use other raw materials and make better use of the sorting process. These paper padding chips respond to this perfectly. They are made of a renewable raw material and can easily be sorted together with paper waste after use. In this way, they form the basis for new packaging material. And the circle is complete!
At RAJA, we strive to offer a sustainable alternative for every conventional packaging. In the past, for instance, we introduced paper tape (as the antithesis of plastic tape). This was followed by paper bubble wrap, paper stretch film and paper shipping bags. The aim is to offer our customers the option of packaging entirely with one single material, in this case paper. This will make the subsequent recycling process a lot easier and 'cleaner' and is an important step in creating a circular economy.
