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The Loop · our blog

Field notes from the circular box trade.

40 deep-dives on buying and selling used boxes, grading, sustainability, freight and the circular economy — written by the crew who do it every day.

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Latest · Industry

The Global OCC Market, Explained

The price of old cardboard is a global market that shapes recycling, new-box prices and even what your surplus is worth. A tour.

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How-To

Prepping Packaging for the Holiday Surge

The fourth quarter breaks unprepared packaging supply chains every year. A mid-year checklist to make sure boxes are the one thing that goes right.

Priya Raman · 7 min read

Guides

Inside an OCC Bale: How Recycling Really Sorts

OCC is the recycling grade that most cardboard becomes at the end. A look at how a bale is made, graded and valued — and why cleanliness pays.

Marisol Vega · 7 min read

Case Studies

From Dock to Second Life: One Box’s Journey

We followed a single triple-wall Gaylord from the day it arrived to the day it shipped back out. Here is everything that happened in between.

Hannah Pruitt · 7 min read

Logistics

How Freight Class Affects Your Box Costs

The freight class assigned to your shipment quietly sets a big part of its cost. Understanding it helps you ship boxes smarter and cheaper.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

How-To

Warehouse Safety Around Bulk Bins

Bulk bins are heavy, tall and everywhere. A practical safety guide for the people who work around them every day.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Product

Food-Grade Liners, Explained

A liner is what turns an ordinary bulk bin into a food-safe container. Here is what "food-grade" means and how to spec it right.

Priya Raman · 6 min read

Case Studies

Building a Zero-Landfill Warehouse: A Case Study

How a mid-size fulfillment operation went from three roll-off dumpsters a week to none — using reuse, backhaul and a bit of stubbornness.

Marisol Vega · 8 min read

Industry

The Circular Supply-Chain Playbook

Circularity is not a slogan you adopt; it is a set of moves you run. Here is the playbook we use, and that our best customers copy.

Cal Jensen · 8 min read

How-To

Space-Planning Your Bulk-Box Storage

Bulk bins eat floor space fast. A bit of planning turns a cluttered warehouse into a system that protects your boxes and your budget.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Guides

Corrugated in the Cold Chain: What Holds Up

Cold and damp are corrugated’s two hardest tests, and the cold chain serves both at once. Here is what survives the fridge and the freezer.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Culture

A Day on the Grading Floor

Grading looks like sorting boxes. It is really reading them — for moisture, memory and how many miles they have left. A shift in my shoes.

Hannah Pruitt · 7 min read

Product

Pallet Types and When to Use Each

The pallet under your boxes is a real decision, not an afterthought. A guide to the common types and when each is the right call.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Product

Custom Cut-Downs: When They Actually Pay Off

Cutting a box down to a custom height sounds fussy, but it can be the cheapest way to fix cube, freight and fit all at once.

Hannah Pruitt · 6 min read

Guides

The Anatomy of a Gaylord Box

Walls, flaps, footprints and liners — a part-by-part tour of the humble bulk bin that quietly moves a huge share of American goods.

Hannah Pruitt · 7 min read

Sustainability

What Happens to a Box We Can’t Reuse

Not every box that reaches us can ship again. Follow one that cannot, and see why "landfill-free" is a process, not a slogan.

Marisol Vega · 6 min read

Product

Octagon vs. Square Bulk Bins

The two dominant bulk-bin shapes solve different problems. Choosing right depends on what you fill them with and how.

Hannah Pruitt · 6 min read

How-To

Right-Sizing Cartons to Kill Dim-Weight Fees

Carriers bill you for air when your box is too big. Right-sizing is the cheapest freight saving most shippers are still ignoring.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Guides

How Corrugated Board Is Actually Made

From pulp to finished sheet, the making of corrugated is a story of heat, geometry and glue. Understanding it explains why reuse matters so much.

Theo Grant · 7 min read

Sustainability

How to Put Box Reuse in Your ESG Report

Diversion tonnage, avoided emissions, circularity rate — the metrics that turn a quiet operational habit into a reportable sustainability win.

Theo Grant · 7 min read

Industry

The Economics of Used Boxes

Used boxes are cheaper than new — but the reasons why, and how the pricing actually works, reward buyers who understand the market.

Cal Jensen · 7 min read

How-To

Five Mistakes People Make Selling Surplus Boxes

Sitting on a warehouse of surplus corrugated? These are the five errors that turn a revenue opportunity into a disposal bill.

Priya Raman · 6 min read

Guides

ECT vs. Mullen: Which Strength Rating Actually Matters

Two numbers claim to tell you how strong a box is, and they measure completely different things. Here is when to trust each.

Hannah Pruitt · 6 min read

Sustainability

Seven Corrugated Recycling Myths, Debunked

Cardboard is the most recycled packaging material on earth, which is exactly why so many myths have grown up around it. Let us clear a few.

Theo Grant · 8 min read

Industry

The Seasonal Rhythms of Box Demand

Box demand has a heartbeat — harvest, back-to-school, holiday peak, January returns. Reading it is how you buy well and never run short.

Priya Raman · 6 min read

How-To

How to Stack Gaylords Safely

A leaning stack of bulk bins is a serious hazard and an avoidable one. The rules that keep Gaylords upright and people safe.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Guides

Flute Profiles A to F: A Plain-English Guide

The wavy layer inside corrugated is called the flute, and its size changes everything about how a box behaves. A tour of the alphabet.

Hannah Pruitt · 7 min read

Sustainability

Upcycled Dunnage vs. Plastic Foam: A Real Comparison

Void fill is where good intentions quietly leak plastic into the world. We put upcycled corrugated dunnage head-to-head with foam.

Marisol Vega · 7 min read

Logistics

Backhaul Freight, Explained (and Why It’s Greener)

Half of all truck miles are wasted on empty return trips. Backhaul is how you fill them — cutting cost and carbon in one move.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

How-To

Reconditioning vs. Replacing: Run the Numbers

When a bin gets tired, the reflex is to buy a new one. Often the smarter move is to fix the one you have. Here is how to decide.

Cal Jensen · 6 min read

Guides

What ISPM-15 Really Means for Your Pallets

That little stamp on a pallet is the difference between smooth export and a rejected shipment. Here is what ISPM-15 requires and why.

Dev Okonkwo · 6 min read

Sustainability

The Truth About “100% Recycled” Claims

Recycled content is real and worth having — but the label hides more than it reveals. Here is how to read it like a skeptic.

Theo Grant · 7 min read

Industry

Five Industries That Quietly Run on Gaylords

You rarely see a Gaylord, but you rely on them daily. Five sectors that could not function without the humble bulk bin.

Priya Raman · 6 min read

How-To

How to Calculate Your Packaging ROI

Packaging is treated as a cost to minimize. Measured properly, it is an investment with a return you can actually calculate.

Priya Raman · 6 min read

Guides

Moisture: The Silent Enemy of Corrugated

Corrugated does not need to get rained on to fail. Ambient humidity alone can quietly strip a box of its strength. Here is how to protect yours.

Hannah Pruitt · 6 min read

Culture

Why We Don’t Have a Phone Number (and Never Will)

It is the first thing people notice about us, and usually the first thing they question. Here is the honest reasoning behind running an email-only box company.

Cal Jensen · 6 min read

Logistics

Reverse Logistics 101 for Box Buyers

Most supply chains are built to push product outward. Reverse logistics is the discipline of bringing packaging back — and it is where circularity lives.

Dev Okonkwo · 7 min read

How-To

The Gaylord Box Buying Checklist

Buying bulk bins by the truckload is easy to get wrong. This is the checklist we wish every first-time buyer had in front of them.

Priya Raman · 7 min read

Guides

Inside the Grade: How We Rate a Used Box

Grade A, B and C are not vibes — they are a repeatable read of four physical signals. Here is exactly what our graders look at.

Hannah Pruitt · 7 min read

Sustainability

The Hidden Carbon Cost of New Cardboard

A brand-new box looks clean and green, but its footprint is spent long before it reaches your dock. Here is where the carbon actually hides.

Theo Grant · 8 min read

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