From Sustainable is good: "Treepac is a new design concept for solving the problem of single use shipping and mailing packages. The concept was devised by Boston-based design firm Essential Design. As anyone in business or who is a consumer that buys products online knows shipping packages generates a tremendous amount of waste. Some of this paper-based packaging, corrugated and other types of mailers can be reused but often times cannot or simply isn't.
Treepac is a reusable shipping container intended to replace cardboard boxes. The structure is made entirely of the sustainable wood-based polymer cellulose acetate. Treepac is used like cardboard packaging but is designed to enable and encourage people and companies to improve their environmental footprint. The more times each pack is used, the greater its positive effect on the environment. “When we examined our everyday use of cardboard, we became aware of the quantity of packaging materials we should recycle, appalled at the amount of material we couldn’t, and frustrated by an inability to reuse most of it,” said Design Researcher Dave Siedzik. “We were disheartened that recycling cardboard is a completely inefficient process.” The Treepac concept mirrors the good features of cardboard boxes while adding new attributes that lower the overall environmental impact of packaging. Essential researchers, designers and engineers estimate that a recycled cardboard box can have up to eight uses but must be reconstituted in an energy-draining production facility each time. The Treepac, on the other hand, can be reused again and again thanks to its more durable construction and design. Essential Design won a Silver IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) Award in the Ecodesign category for their design of Treepac."
Reference:
http://www.sustainableisgood.com/blog/2008/08/treepac.html , http://www.essential-design.com/
