https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-skibniewski/
Who makes the super bowl confetti?
How do you say Vela?
Can you replace poly bags with paper for textiles / clothes ?
https://www.seamanpaper.com/
https://www.vela.eco/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
Check out our sponsor this month:
https://smartsolve.com/
https://specright.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1329820053/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=corygat
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-skibniewski/
Who makes the super bowl confetti?
How do you say Vela?
Can you replace poly bags with paper for textiles / clothes ?
https://www.seamanpaper.com/
https://www.vela.eco/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
Check out our sponsor this month:
https://smartsolve.com/
https://specright.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1329820053/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=corygat
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
Welcome to sustainable packaging with Cory Connors . I'm very excited for my guest today. My friend, Julie Skibniewski , who is the vice president of business development for Seaman paper. Hi Julie, how are
Julie Skibniewski:you? Hey, Corey. I'm great. Thanks.
Cory Connors:How are you? Really good. Thank you so much for taking time for us today. I'm a huge fan of your company. You guys do all sustainable packaging and, and sustainable products. So I'm excited to hear about your background. Can you tell us a little bit about. Yeah,
Julie Skibniewski:absolutely. And again, thanks for having us. It's we were really excited when you recognize the company and some of our innovative paper packaging products. So thanks for reaching out. Yeah. I have been with semen paper for just about two years now, but I am actually a walking. Dunder Mifflin. All I have ever done is sell paper. And this year I celebrated my 30th anniversary in the paper industry. So I know, right. That's something, I guess. Yeah, I started right out of college in the paper industry working for international paper back at the time that this was an exciting field to get into. It was back when we were using paper for everything, you would call someone on the phone and they would have a pink message slip and they would write down the message. Your secretary would write that down for you. Right? It was before computers, we were reading 10 magazines a week and we were using paper maps. It was a really limitless field, blah. So anyway, I worked for a lot of companies. I started with international paper. If I look over my career, I think the one commonality is that I've really worked to be involved in selling papers that have exceptional sustainability to them. One of the first companies I worked for was union. And I launched what was called great white consumer products. I was in the team that brought the first recycled office copy paper to market. And it's a brand that's sold today by hammer mill papers. You can go into a staples today and still buy it. But at the time it was pretty cutting edge to think about putting recycled fibers into copier paper. I moved on in my career into the book publishing world and found myself gravitating to publishers like Scholastic, who were buying products that had high recycled content in that, and really pushing that into book publishing when people weren't demanding it. I worked for a little company. It's called American Eagle paper mills out in central Pennsylvania. There a hundred percent recycled fiber facility. Yeah, really cool. mill that used to be a larger company who closed it down and it was restarted as a hundred percent recycled fiber facility. So I gravitated to paper companies that were on the cutting edge of sustainable products. But I also was cognizant of the fact that the paper. World was changing and shrinking. And I think that's really when I started to think about shifting over into packaging as being from a career standpoint, perhaps a more sustainable. For a long-term career in this business. And so, you know, I was looking for jobs out there. And then as a, as a mom and a consumer, I was noticing some shifts in packaging. I was noticing, you know, there were a lot more boxes coming into my house every day. There was a lot of plastic that really didn't feel good about as mom. And there was. Brown generic packaging coming in. And one of the things that I'm really interested in is that intersection of sustainable packaging and branding, because I think there's definitely a need for both. E-commerce is growing. But there's a need for brands to connect with their customers in really different ways because they don't have the luxury of them walking into the store and enveloping them in their brand ethos. And so when I came across the, and paper, the opportunity to kind of work on promoting sustainable paper-based products that also had really impactful branding potential seemed to be just a super exciting fit for me. And so I've been thrilled to be here for a couple of years in this unique company in this really unique space that we're in.
Cory Connors:That's great. It's a very interesting point that you made that introducing recycled fibers into paper used to be a unique or a innovative thing. And now it's expected it's you know, using just Virgin paper is almost taboo. So that's an interesting thing. You also mentioned Dunder Mifflin and a little little known fact about The Office . That I think is interesting. I work for Landsberg, Orora , and we supplied most of the stuff that was in there. Oh, that's awesome. So if you look in their warehouse, you'll see locket tape our, our, our, our stretch film. You'll see it's pretty cool to see our brands being used by the cast. So I don't know how we did that or who did that from our company, but so we got some, we got some advertising there that was.
Julie Skibniewski:That's awesome. I miss that show desperately.
Cory Connors:Yeah, we've probably rewatched that series half, half a dozen times,
Julie Skibniewski:but yeah, my family got introduced to it during the pandemic, but for the pandemic, Mike, my teenagers would never have seen it, but we had a lot of extra time on our hands.
Cory Connors:That's cool that teenagers and young people are interested in the office. That, that makes me so happy
Julie Skibniewski:that warms my heart.
Cory Connors:So tell me about seaman paper. Is it just paper that you guys supply or anything
Julie Skibniewski:else? We describe ourselves as a paper and packaging company. Our motto really is Paper packaging for a sustainable world. So we really, our Genesis is in paper-making. We are a family owned company. Speaking of anniversaries, the company is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. And it began with a paper mill on the Otter river in central Massachusetts, which is still operational today. But it has grown in size and scope pretty dramatically. We're still family owned. The Jones family owns us and the fourth generation of Jones. People are, are still actively involved in the company. And I think it's really this latest generation that has pushed us forward with some of our sustainability, innovative products. They are really passionate about the impact of plastics on the environment and are concerned about the world they're going to leave when they do have children. And I think they've seen, you know, the last. Five to 10 years as a really awesome time for them to play a role in driving the company to really quickly bring to market some innovative packaging paper-based packaging products that can make a difference in the world. You know, the company's got paper mills in the U S and in Asia, we also have pretty significant printing and converting operations. Okay. Both in the U S Europe and Asia. So we're a global company focusing on lightweight paper and packaging protection.
Cory Connors:That's amazing. I didn't know you had some. Production overseas as
Julie Skibniewski:well. We've got a lot, you know, in the packaging world, we, you know, if you do food packaging, so we've worked with brands like in and out burger Hershey's little, little fast fact. The Hershey kiss, that little strip of paper and every kiss that is printing and it's part of their packaging of that iconic little kiss. We make every one of those where she strips around the globe, where there are single global suppliers. We're really big in shoe packaging. So if you think of a Nike shoe, you're going to have tissue that goes in it tissue that wraps around it and printed tissue. That's on top where that's a really big segment for us.
Cory Connors:Yeah,
Julie Skibniewski:exactly. Retail and e-commerce packaging are big for us. Some quirky things that we do confetti if you see the super bowl. And that moment when the sky erupts with the winning teams colors, that's all coming right out of our mill in Massachusetts. And we also have a Democrat is our creeping business. So if you were throwing a home, a birthday party in this pandemic, like so many more people than we ever expected that the streamers that you were stringing around your house probably came right from our.
Cory Connors:That's amazing. I had no idea. I'm a huge fan of your Vela . Am I saying that right? Vela? Julie Skibniewski: No. You can say it any way that you want. I will say it's vague. We pronounce it. Vela and it sounds better when our Italian team says it, but yeah, there was my bag bailout, which is which is Italian for, to stay. So the Genesis of the name is a sailing connection and we really develop these bags in carpi Italy. And that's where our first factory making the available bags was over. In Italy. We're now producing them in several locations China, Italy, India, and to be coming in the first quarter of the USA. Cory Connors: Wow. That's exciting. Now, I I've been working with your team for the last six months or so to replace plastic bags for clothing brands using Vela. And the reason why it's, it's a great alternative to poly bags is that it's translucent. And that because it's so important for these Clothing brands to be able to see, is that, is that a red shirt or is that a blue shirt? Is that green? And so they couldn't use brown craft bags, you know, which we would have preferred. So this is a great idea. It's totally recyclable curbs. Yeah. Or reusable, which report we usable,
Julie Skibniewski:which is great. Yeah. Yeah. If you can reuse it, then that's the best thing with it, with the paper product, but yeah. Reusable, recyclable. You know, and again, you were mentioning, you can see color through it. I actually have one of the bags here. It is, it is transparent enough that you can actually scan a barcode through it, which has been really an important feature with some of our apparel colleagues who, you know, have got a barcode in and don't want to put a separate label on the bag.
Cory Connors:That's that's an incredible thing. And it has a seal top so that makes it really easy for a staff to, to close it. I liked that a lot or I thought it was an interesting idea. You could leave that seal top on and then your consumer could reuse the. Yeah, it's interesting.
Julie Skibniewski:We've introduced a couple of models. We have some of the bags that have an adhesive that is resealable. And that was something that was critical for some of the apparel manufacturers, as products are bagged in the factory overseas. And then. Do clear some customs inspection. So at times the bag needed to be opened and closed. We in the U S have moved to a permanent seal adhesive at the request of the market. But we're really I, I think growing the product line and, and are open to innovating the product line in in several different directions,
Cory Connors:I was impressed with your team. They worked quickly, they worked very. Just easy to work with people. Great, great folks. So well done there. So I need you to clear up something that is discussed often in our sustainable packaging rooms on clubhouse and on Tik TOK and other places is tissue paper recyclable.
Julie Skibniewski:Yes. I'm so glad you asked that because I think there is a mystery. Misconception in the market. And when I started with the company, that was one of the most asked questions that I got. But yes, did she, paper is absolutely recyclable with a couple of exceptions. If you have a tissue paper that has got glitter in it or sparkles, if it's sparkly and it looks like it's embedded in the sheet, put that in a different waste stream, also wax tissue paper that you might find. Floral arrangements that is not recyclable, but besides that, yeah, it really is recyclable. And I think we are, you're going to see us do a lot of. Really trying to educate our customers and the general marketplace on that. We actually just started partnering and have joined how to recycle. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's going to really help us get the message out, but they have looked at our sat and wrap and our satin pack lines that, and rep is our lightweight. That impact is a heavier 20 pound tissue. Both of them have been designated widely recycled hall. And we are encouraging people when they're designing custom prints to think about putting that, how to recycle logo on there, or clearly communicate in their brand messaging, whether that's through a QR code or with the message itself how to dispose of. But we make tissue paper with the same fiber that you would make a high premium paper product with. We just use less of it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Same fiber base. So we use in our mail, we're about 50% recycled fiber, 50% Virgin it shifts depending on the grade. Excitingly also in 2021, we launched a hundred percent recycled tissue paper that is FSC. So in the marketplace, we do really have the most sustainable tissue paper offering. And we've had a lot of brand partners quickly jump on board to move their custom print over to that a hundred percent recycled product line. It's a real game changer in a lot of people.
Cory Connors:That's a fantastic, the sat and wrap is amazing. You guys partner with my company Landsberg Orora and Pollock which is it's been a great partnership and I really do enjoy working with your, your team. So let's look forward in the future. What do you envision as the future of sustainable?
Julie Skibniewski:I think sustainable packaging is only going to grow. And I think you're seeing consumers demand that brands bring them their products in a really sustainable way and in a way that they can understand what to do with it. As a consumer myself, when I get a box and it's got air pillows and a poly bag and shirt inside and corrugated box. Sit there and put my hands up. I take my shirt out, but what do I do with all of these different waste streams? And so what I love about the products that we're bringing to market is they're curbside recyclable. When you work with paper packaging, alongside a corrugated box, once your product comes out, everything goes in the same. Curbside recyclable space. And I think that's very easy and feels really good to know that I'm doing the right thing. And I'm confident that I did the right thing with plastics, you know, kind of go in with my plastic cans. Can it not? Do I pop the air pill? What do I do? Yeah, when you pick paper, it just keeps it simple. So I think it's going to grow. And I think we're seeing a lot of brand owners really. Do a great job in promoting what they're doing and encouraging their peer groups to come on board. You know, Patagonia, I think was a leader in sharing their sustainable packaging initiatives. We've been really excited to work with prAna who as part of their responsible packaging coalition has chosen Vela bags for any of their. That need to be bagged. And they, I think in the last month had just announced a hundred percent plastic free in their packaging suite. So we were very excited to be a part of that. This is the prAna bag. What I love about our tissue paper at our availa bags is they're a phenomenal marketing tool for a company to promote their sustainability initiatives. And I think we're going to see more and more customers look to. Make the right sustainable choices, but also communicate those to their customers as a valuable part of their marketing initiatives.
Cory Connors:And you're going to see more and more, you're exactly right. You're going to see more and more. Joe consumer and Jill consumer taking pictures of that back and say, good on you. Well done Seaman paper. You know, this, this is incredible. Thank you for caring about our planet and making it easy for us to recycle. You know, I'm not against plastic, but it must be. Recyclable and easy to recycle and that's
Julie Skibniewski:and understandable. That's where I, as a consumer struggle, what, you know, what is, yeah.
Cory Connors:It's so frustrating to, to receive a t-shirt in a box for first of all and, and have it filled with void fill, which is totally, totally ridiculous. You could throw a t-shirt in a box off of the roof and. It's going to be fine. There's no need for an airbag in a box with a shirt. And so it's, these are now these are education issues that people like me and you need to tell our customers or remind them of so that they don't waste money. Because sometimes airbags are necessary. Sometimes it's, you know, you need void fill, but
Julie Skibniewski:there's a time and place for everything. But yeah, I think education is really the key and you know, you're starting to see that become an important design element with brands and their packaging that, that probably wasn't on their radar screen two or three years ago. So I think that's a. Yeah.
Cory Connors:So if I'm a customer and I'm looking to run a custom bag what's, what's a, what's a good, first of all, you should reach out to Landsberg Orora so that we can, so that we can connect you with the right Seaman paper product. But what's a, what's a minimum.
Julie Skibniewski:So, if you're looking, if you're talking about our Vela bags in the one of our standard sizes for custom print, we need a hundred thousand of a particular size to do custom print. We do have stock bags that we offer and the stuff I've got. One of those here, if you can see, they come printed with four icons, so they would have a recyclable made of. FSC certification and the availa logo. And, and what you can do is if you really wanted to brand a smaller quantity, you can post print the bags. It's not the most cost effective way to do it, but certainly from a marketing standpoint, if it makes sense for your brand to do that, you can post print, smaller quantities of
Cory Connors:bags. Great idea. And I oftentimes will urge people towards custom or stock packaging and out of smaller. You know, at a small paper recyclable label with your logo or recycling instructions
Julie Skibniewski:absolutely. There's other ways to brand when you're not at the scale of that hundred thousand. You know, but that may change as we grow. I think right now we're trying to be most efficient. The demand has really particularly in. Six months exploded and we're scaling operations around the globe, but we're not scaling fast enough. And so we're really trying to stay focused on here. Our minimums here, our stock sizes, just cause we need to keep our throughput up. So we hope eventually to be able to look. Smaller custom print runs or custom sizes. We get a lot of questions about we're not quite there yet, but we are innovating. We Italy and Europe we've launched garment bags. So if you think of like a garment cover of a dress or a dry cleaning bag, so that's an innovation we've worked, we're launching in Europe. Now I expect that we'll have those capabilities in the U S and then we're thinking about things like produce bags and We're getting a lot of interest from companies outside of the apparel space, you know, is there any reason that your computer cords couldn't go in availa bag or you were thermos from whatever company you're buying your thermostats from? They're all wrapped in plastic and we're starting to see hard goods companies say, well, could we put that in Vela bag? So I think there's a lot of interesting areas for us to grow with this product.
Cory Connors:That's very exciting because the garment bags are generally reusable. So can you tell us about that as it thicker paper? How, how are you making it?
Julie Skibniewski:It's a little bit thicker paper and it's really meant to be more of a transport item as opposed to, you know, I think if it was something that was going to be in your closet, you might go to a different material. But like the dry cleaning bags, you don't necessarily those, or transporting a, an expensive dress over from manufacturing in Italy to a store in the United States that would typically come in a polybag that would just have to get thrown away. And paper could easily be put into a regular recycling paper.
Cory Connors:It's very exciting. I tell you, I know, you know, sustainable packaging is exciting because I don't care what you say, but it is,
Julie Skibniewski:it is. I have to say, as far as paper goes and the sustainable paper products I've been involved with, the veil of bags have been really fun. Some of our void fill products are super innovative. I don't know if you've seen our spiral path. We love this little product. It's avoidance. You can see this as paper, but when you pull it and shake it, it's got tremendous expansion. And it's a really, really cool paper product that can replace peanuts or crinkle cut or even air pillows. And we're finding a lot of interest in other void bills that just are more sustainable than a paper product. I mean, a plastic wrap.
Cory Connors:The crinkle cut paper is it's so small that it's not recyclable easily anymore is my understanding. So your spiral cut is can you hold that up again? It's cause we will put this on YouTube. It's all together. It's die-cut but when
Julie Skibniewski:it starts together, it starts together as this flat. So we sell this in 30 pound cases. And you just grab a little handful and shake it and it's going to expand. So we're seeing a lot of interest in cosmetic companies, subscription boxes products, you know, they need a little bit of protection. But they're in that medium size.
Cory Connors:And maybe you need a little whimsical, you know, you need, we need a little
Julie Skibniewski:fun, you know what? There is, there is a real value to having an unboxing moment that makes an impact. It has a real impact on your perceived value of the products that you're getting. So if your unboxing experience is exciting is brand focused, is pleasant. You're gonna believe or feel that the products you think. Cost more than if it didn't come back that way. And some interesting research just came out recently on the impact of that unboxing experience on returns, which I know is a big sustainability topic that I won't get into, but premium packaged products can reduce returns by up to 6%, which is a really huge number to brands and retailers out there. So yeah. Put a little fun in your box. I think, you know, it really could impact the bottom line.
Cory Connors:And again the consumer, when they receive it, they're going to take a picture of it and they're going to advertise for you. And they're going to tell their friends, Hey, I got this really cool packaging. I'm I'm often tagged in pictures like that from friends and family, because they know I'm the packaging, but they want us, they want to show it off. And I think that's, that's what we should do as consumers. Encourage companies like, like Landsberg and seaman to, to make great products. Yeah.
Julie Skibniewski:Yeah, it's, we're, we're excited that the market is been really accepting. You know, once we got through the initial part of the pandemic where we were all stunned, I think you know, we've really seen a renewed interest in that. Space inside the box and how paper-based products that we bring to market can really add to that experience. So we're thinking you're going to see more and more of our products in the boxes you open. As we look out into 2022,
Cory Connors:I agree a hundred percent. Thank you again, Julie. What's the best way for people to get ahold of you?
Julie Skibniewski:To reach me probably through LinkedIn I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. You can go to the semen paper web. www.Seamanpaper.com and there are certain links there you can reach out and we'll get in touch with you. We also can be reached through the availa website, which is www.vela.eco both of those can connect you through to our company and we will certainly be.
Cory Connors:Great. And thank you so much. Lansburgh Orora for your continued support of this podcast. We truly appreciate it. And for people listening, please take a minute to review this episode and share it with your friends. So we continue to spread the word about sustainable packaging. Thank you so much, Julie.
Julie Skibniewski:Hey, thanks, Corey. Appreciate that.