Using Paper Tape for My Packages
This is the tenth change in my month-long pledge to give up plastics for Crunchy's Extreme Eco-Throwdown. Warning: Shameless Commerce Plug
If you're new to my li'l ol' blog, you might not know that I sew for a [meager] living. My extremely talented (but much OLDER) sister is the Very Merry Seamstress and I sew most of her peasant and merchant garb.
On a side note, all the cool people order from her. You want to be cool, don't you? Well what are you waiting for then?
Anysides, I sew various gowns for people and then mail them out via US Post. I use the Post because I feel it's the most environmentally friendly choice. Afterall, I know that the mailman is already coming to your house so no special trip is required. Of course, it helps that it's also the least expensive method of shipping and that they give you free boxes to ship your stuff in. What they don't give you is packing tape.
I have always used the standard plastic shipping tape that you can find in any office supply, drug or even grocery store. But recently I made a switch to kraft paper tape. You know the kind I mean. It's brown and it looks like it's got thread crosshatched throughout. Well that is a non-plastic alternative to the regular see-through stuff. What you might not know is that it doesn't arrive all sticky. You have to wet it to make it work. It's kind of like hanging wall paper, except the wall has a corner every eight inches. So yea, it's lots of fun.
But it works. In fact, that shit sticks like a mo' fo'. Jesse Ventura himself couldn't get that tape off. I don't think Ace Ventura could either. And honestly, it doesn't take but a minute longer to use than the plastic stuff. A little swipe with a washcloth, slap it on, and I'm good to go. So a little convenience is traded for a little piece of mind. Totally worth it, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, the local Office Max doesn't stock the stuff. But, the Staples store has it online and I'm hoping that when I venture over to the other side of town I'll find that they stock it in store as well. I'm over that way at least once a month, so it shouldn't be difficult to remain well stocked. And maybe I'll even hang some on the wall. It might make a nice, understated wall border.
5 comments:
Thanks for letting the masses know that we can order it from Staples. I've looked for it but did not think it was made any more and thus have been using the clear plastic stuff. I'm a big fan of the USPO also.
--Ave
What's it made from? If its from old growth, you might be better off with a cellulose-based tape like sellotape.. That stuff is usually made from less slow-growing plants, although it CAN be made from wood...
It's a lie. I'm less talented and it's only because I'm ten years younger than you.
Farthead.
How cool, I used to use that when I first started working while I went to night school. I worked at a parts warehouse and we packed parts and sealed the boxes using this stuff-in 1966! Only we had these neat dispensers that when you pulled the handle the tape passsed through a water trough and when you released the handle it chopped off the length you wanted, voila! Thanks for the trip down memory alley, I really liked that job.
Oh gravy, that is a fantastic tip. We own a computer business and are shipping things constantly. I had no idea! Thanks!
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