The wording, the certificates and the strength question — answered without a sales adjective.
Can we print the word biodegradable on the pack?
That is your decision, not ours, and we will not make it for you by writing it into the artwork as a supplier claim. The honest position is that biodegradable is not a specification: it has no test method, no time frame and no disposal pathway attached, so it cannot be verified the way compostable can. What we can do is give you something checkable instead — the recycled-content percentage for the board, the FSC chain-of-custody documentation or the GRS scope certificate for the fabric, and, where the construction is certified, the EN 13432 or ASTM D6400 certificate for that exact construction. Some markets restrict or require substantiation for degradation claims, so the wording should be checked against the market you sell in before the print run, not after.
How do we verify an eco claim on a quote?
Ask for the certificate, not the sentence. Four things to look at: the standard and version on the certificate (EN 13432 or ASTM D6400 for compostability, FSC or GRS for fibre and recycled textile content); the holder of the certificate, which should be the mill, film supplier or converter rather than a trading company; the scope — it must name the material you are specifying, because a compostability certificate issued for one film does not transfer to a different film with a different adhesive; and the validity date. A certificate that covers ‘our packaging’ in general does not exist. If a supplier cannot name the standard and the certificate holder for the exact item you are buying, treat the claim as unverified.
Is recycled paper strong enough for our product?
Usually yes, with one adjustment: recycled fibre is shorter than virgin fibre, so at the same grammage the board is a little weaker, and the fix is one grade up rather than a thinner box. Where it matters is stacking, solo shipping and anything that gets damp — a product that ships alone in its carton should be tested in that carton, not on a specification sheet. The second thing to plan for is appearance: recycled board carries a fleck and shifts slightly from batch to batch, so the physical sample is where you decide whether that reads as character or as inconsistency. Both of those are decided on a sample, not in a conversation.
How much more does eco packaging cost?
Sometimes it costs nothing extra and sometimes it costs a lot, and the difference is which line you are changing. An uncoated recycled kraft carton can sit at the bottom of the published $0.05–0.65 band at 500 pcs, because dropping the lamination and the heavy coating removes cost. A recycled cotton tote sits on the same $0.40–1.20 band as standard cotton. The two places a premium is real are a board grade step-up to hold the same strength, and certified compostable film, which is the most expensive material on this page — a compostable mailer runs $0.65–0.98 at 500 pcs against the kraft carton band above. Certification paperwork is a fixed cost per construction, so at 500 pcs it is spread over a smaller run than at 5,000.
Why will you not quote bagasse containers, PLA cups or pouches?
Because we cannot control the process, and a quote we cannot stand behind is worse than no quote. Bagasse tableware is pulp moulding, a cup is formed and rim-rolled on dedicated machinery, and a pouch is flexible film converting — three production families that have nothing to do with the board, corrugated and textile lines we run and inspect. We could broker any of them and take a margin, and some suppliers will do exactly that and then re-specify the film or the wall thickness after you have built a launch around it. Our model is structural design, artwork checking and quality control handled by our own team with production on dedicated partner lines in Shenzhen and Dongguan, which means we can only quote what we can inspect. If your product is a drink or a powder, we will tell you on the first call that we are not the right supplier.
Are you a manufacturer or a trading company?
Worth being precise about, because it changes how you work with us. Structural design, artwork and quality control are in-house; production runs on dedicated partner lines in Shenzhen and Dongguan that we manage and inspect. So we are a packaging partner rather than a packaging manufacturer in the strict sense — and most suppliers answer this question with “we are the factory” whether or not it is true. We quote wholesale per-piece pricing at your quantity tier, so nothing about how you order changes.
