With corrugated prices climbing again, many B2B shippers are once more being forced to absorb higher packaging costs, renegotiate pricing, or pass the increase along to consumers. Returnity is offering an alternative approach: a limited-time free pilot program for qualified B2B shippers operating repeatable distribution and replenishment flows.

FedEx Corp. today announced the launchof a new reusablepackaging system for B2B shippers. This cost-effective solution wasdeveloped in collaboration with Returnity, a reusable packaging provider specializing in circularlogistics, and features a FedEx-specific box design.

A national retailer deployed 100,000+ reusable “Last Box” containers to streamline returns, pickups, transfers, and staging, reducing waste, loss, and inefficiency.

Retail is the third most injury-prone industry, and packaging plays a larger role than most leaders realize. When the pace speeds up, corrugated cardboard becomes unstable, unsafe, and a major contributor to workplace strain.

Returnity’s Backroom Reality campaign collects anonymous frontline photos and stories to reveal how outdated packaging systems slow retail operations and increase waste.

Returnity clients that have switched to The Last Box will eliminate the use of nearly 4 million cardboard boxes and 24 million feet of packing tape in 2023. Even more exciting are the retailers that have started their Last Box integration with an eye on 2024; we expect our boxes to replace over 10 million single-use boxes next year.

I keep a secret database of “Shiny Happy Reuse” Instagram Reels. You know the one; a consumer gets their ecomm delivery in a reusable shipping bag, or their to-go meal in a reusable takeout container. Peppy music in the background, young, hip, well dressed customers so appreciative of the brand taking this step to help the planet. And look at how easy it is!

Some of the original reuse initiatives have been in the market for five to ten years and longer. If those approaches haven’t yet crossed a baseline reuse-rate threshold, then all stakeholders, including the media, public, and reuse companies themselves, should have a frank dialogue around what it will take to get there, and use the simple and transparent metrics necessary to make that determination.

There is still a tendency for startups - and the media - to make breathless declarations about the “future of packaging” that presume step-function changes to behavior and infrastructure.