Green Glass, Greener Shipping
How We Pack with Purpose
When you choose lighting from Bicycle Glass Co., you’re not just choosing something beautiful—you’re choosing sustainability from start to finish. That includes how we pack and ship your order. Our shipping department has been hard at work tailoring every single step of our packaging process to be more eco-friendly. Here’s how we ship our glass sustainably!
Less Waste, More Cushion
Every glass globe is individually packed in its own box using two types of eco-conscious paper: Geomi paper and Ranpak crumpled paper.
We used to use only Geomi paper in each box, which is recyclable and works well to protect the glass. Now, we use a mix of Geomi and Ranpak paper. The Ranpak machine folds recycled paper to create lots of little air pockets, without the need for any adhesive. The Ranpak paper has larger air pockets than Geomi, so it gives great cushioning while using less material overall. This helps us protect the glass just as well, but with less paper in each box. Fewer materials = a smaller footprint.
No More Plastic
Plastic tape? Gone. We now use custom-printed paper tape that looks great and clearly marks each package as fragile.
Plastic shipping sleeves? Also gone. As an e-commerce business, we provide digital receipts, so there’s no need for a plastic packing slip on your box.
Outer packaging materials? 100% reused. We fill the space between inner and outer boxes with recycled cardboard from deliveries to our studio. Our employees sometimes bring in their own cardboard too!
Tested Tough
Of course, we’re still shipping glass, so safety matters. Our shipping team goes above and beyond to make sure our eco-friendly packaging protects your order—even if it takes a rough ride.
Our testing methods? Let’s just say they’re... unconventional. We’ve thrown packages against the wall, kicked them across the studio, and dropped them from way up high onto concrete floors. It may sound wild, but the results speak for themselves:
In all of 2024, we had fewer than five breakages in transit.
Even Our Incoming Shipments Are Greener
It’s not just about how we ship to you, it’s how our materials arrive to us too.
We’ve worked closely with our hardware supplier to ditch the bubble wrap, air pillows, and styrofoam. Instead of boxing up each item individually, they ship our hardware in efficiently partitioned cardboard grids that keep everything secure and safe.
Our production manager, Ricky, calls styrofoam "the glitter of packaging materials”—once it’s in the studio, you can’t get rid of it. So we don’t let it in.
Why you'll love it
When customers visit our studio, they always ask about the packaging, and the response is overwhelmingly positive:
✔️ Easy to recycle at home
✔️ No Styrofoam to clutter your trash
✔️ No tiny static cling balls stuck to everything
Eco-friendly shipping isn’t always easy, especially when you’re sending products as delicate as glass across the country, but we’ve found a way to do it that’s durable, minimal, and beautiful.
By using less, reusing more, and recycling everything we can, we’re staying true to our mission of sustainability in every step.
