Articles
Questions buyers answer before they order. Most of them are not about us.
Definitions19
- What EN 13432 certifies — and what it does notEurope's compostability standard, and the claim it never makes.
- Compostable, biodegradable, recyclable: three different claimsThe three words are used interchangeably and mean three different things.
- OK compost HOME versus INDUSTRIALIf your municipality has no industrial facility, which certificate helps?
- BPI and ASTM D6400: the US is not EN 13432Europe's standard has no legal standing in the United States.
- PFAS in food packaging, and why it is being bannedThe chemistry behind grease resistance, and the wave of US state bans.
- What PLA is, and what 'bioplastic' does not meanComing from a plant does not make a material compostable.
- What a die-line isThe cutting template every print file is built on top of.
- Why bleed and safe area existThe reason a logo pushed to the edge comes back rejected.
- Pad printing, and the surfaces it works onHow a logo gets onto a bamboo or wooden handle.
- UV printing versus offsetWhich method makes sense at which quantity.
- Nonwoven explained: spunlace, airlaid, spunbondWhy the cloth inside a moist towelette changes how it feels.
- Volumetric weight and how it sets your freight billWhy light but bulky cartons are billed as if they were heavy.
- Incoterms: EXW, FOB, DAP, DDP — which one to ask forThree letters on a quote decide who carries cost and risk.
- GTIN and EAN, and why distributors insist on themA case without a GTIN cannot enter some distribution channels at all.
- FSC 100%, FSC Mix, FSC Recycled: three different labelsWhich one your procurement specification accepts can differ.
- HS codes, and where tableware sitsThe wrong code means delay at the border and unexpected duty.
- Food-contact compliance: 1935/2004 and LFGBWhich document covers the surface that touches the mouth.
- What BRCGS covers in food safetyIf the form asks for ISO 22000, what does BRCGS answer?
- Inks and varnishes on a food-contact surfacePrinting is a compliance question, not only an appearance one.
Decisions11
- Bamboo straws or paper straws?Paper straws lost their reputation by collapsing in the drink.
- Wooden cutlery or PLA cutlery?Guests read PLA as plastic.
- Individually wrapped or bulk?Hygiene expectation and unit cost pull in opposite directions.
- Two-ply or three-ply napkins?Ply and gsm are separate decisions that get confused for each other.
- Cutlery kits or separate items?Assembly adds labour and removes a step from service.
- A ready collection, or your own artwork?Who carries the design cost and the proofing round?
- Print on the sleeve, or on the item?One goes in the bin; the other stays on the table.
- One colour or several?On kraft, aesthetics and cost point the same way.
- Napkin sizes: which one for which serviceSize is decided together with the fold, and the two get separated.
- Straw length: 15 cm or 20 cm?The height of the glass makes the decision.
- What sets the price of printed napkinsFive variables, and four of them are yours to choose.
Regulation11
- The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive: what it banned and what it did notEveryone knows the name; fewer know the scope.
- PPWR: what it introduces and what it will ask of suppliersThe regulation behind the sudden demand for technical data.
- The Netherlands: meerprijs, and what changes on 1 January 2027The Dutch rules go beyond the EU floor, and they land directly on horeca.
- Spain: IEPNR, and why it measures kilosSpain's difference is not a penalty but a tax.
- Italy: the compostable exemption, and the objection to itItaly went below the EU floor, and the Commission noticed.
- Italy: why MACSI has been postponed eight timesA plastic tax that exists on paper and is not being collected.
- Germany: Verpackungsgesetz and the LUCID registerWho exactly is obliged to register is the most misread part.
- US state PFAS bans in food packagingNot federal, state by state, and the table keeps moving.
- California AB 1276 and the 'upon request' ruleWhat the law actually lists, and who carries the penalty.
- Does EUDR cover wooden tableware?If you know the species, the next question is the country of harvest.
- The Lacey Act declaration on wooden goodsSpecies and country of harvest, filed at import.
Operations8
- How the sample process worksHolding the product before committing to an order.
- How to read a print proofThe approved proof becomes the reference for production.
- Calculating your annual napkin requirementA multiplication with three numbers.
- Shelf life and storageDamp, heat and direct sun all take their toll.
- Why lead time is 7 to 14 days, and what it coversWhat sits inside the window, and what does not.
- Documents for shipping into the EUWhat travels with every shipment, and what depends on the case.
- Is your logo file print-ready? A six-point checkOpen it, look, tick the boxes.
- Five mistakes people make on a first orderAll five are real, and all five are avoidable.