Metallic mailers are now available from manufacturers on Lumi. Printed or unprinted, these reflective shippers really shine.
Expandable Poly Mailers are also available. These add extra dimension to standard poly mailers with the addition of a bottom gusset or side gussets to add depth for bulkier products and soft goods.
Say hello to seven new additions to the Inner Bag category. A great inner bag has the power to protect your products from manufacturing to distribution, help your fulfillment team stay organized, and even elevate your unboxing.
This new cohort introduces a variety of closures and opacities so you can find the best combination for your use case. No there are 16 inner bag options to explore and order from manufacturers in Lumi.
The perks of plastic are that it's low-weight, low-volume, and water-resistant, with a low unit cost. But plastic takes a serious hit when it comes to recovery, because most of it ends up in landfills. That's where alternative plastics come in, but they can be tricky. Many still contain plastic and can only be composted in the high-heat environment of an industrial facility.
That's why we're excited about a new addition to Lumi Materials: PHA film. PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is a compostable plastic that’s entirely bio-based, derived from bacterial fermentation. Unlike PLA, PHA does not contain any fossil fuel derivatives, making it renewable and plastic-free. It's even home compostable, and will break down in a few months.
On Lumi, PHA is available as an alternative option for plastic film products including compostable poly mailers and inner bags. It offers the benefits of poly — water resistance, low weight, and low volume — but with a more sustainable end-of-life. The look and feel is comparable to the poly you're used to — smooth and malleable with a little stretch. It's shelf stable, as it's resistant to UV rays, heat, and moisture.
PHA can not be recycled, and composting is the ideal end-of-life phase. While municipal composting is not yet widely available, the reality is that even in a landfill, these bags will break down much faster than traditional plastic (which takes decades to degrade into microplastics). Brands looking to use PHA may want to consider adequate messaging for proper disposal, or a takeback program to better ensure best-case disposal by composting in bulk with an industrial facility.
Right now, there is one supplier offering PHA film on Lumi — BIOLO. BIOLO is one of the only PHA film suppliers in the US and the first PHA supplier on Lumi. They extrude, convert, manufacture, and print bags made with Danimer Scientific's polyhydroxyalkanoate PHA based resin, Nodax® which is derived from canola plants. Their PHA bags are certified by TUV OK Compost for home composting, up to 2mil. Cover photo via BIOLO.
With new suppliers on Lumi, our catalog has expanded to include child packaging that complies with ASTM D3475. We're excited to make these items available to brands with products requiring this additional layer of regulated protection. There are 3 different form factors with options in paper and plastic.
Paper-based options are made from renewable materials, they're easily curbside recyclable and have options for recycled content. Laminated pouches offer the benefit of volume reduction and weight reduction.
Are you thinking about switching to plastic-free packaging? Then you know the options out there can be limited. That's why we are so excited to share three new sustainable, paper-based products that are now available directly from manufacturers on Lumi:
All three products have the benefits of paper-based products, being curbside recyclable, compostable, renewable, and made from responsibly-sourced paper. In addition, they are available from US-based manufacturer Seaman Paper which helps reduce the transit time and ocean freight costs from overseas production.
Previously, Chinese suppliers were only available to Lumi Managed customers. Now, anyone with a Lumi subscription plan can send quote requests, get pricing, place orders, and send messages directly with hundreds vetted factories in the US and China. Factories in China are a good option for many plastic and fabric items. They're also an efficient choice if your packaging is shipped to a co-packer in China. Browse suppliers in China →
Poly mailers and fabric bags
With high-quality rotogravure capabilities and more affordable tooling, Chinese factories are a great fit for products such as poly mailers, compostable poly mailers, and standup pouches. Inner bags span a range of materials, from clear plastic and frosted plastic to various fabrics.
Boxes, cartons, and collateral
Sourcing paper items overseas can be an opportunity to optimize your supply chain if you're already receiving finished or kitted goods from China.
Great news! More suppliers have joined Lumi, opening up more options for product categories that you can order:
To find the suppliers manufacturing these products, use the Products filter in the supplier directory to search for the product you're looking for. Need a hand with your first quote request? Use this guide to get started.
Big day! We're so excited to share with you one of our biggest releases to date.
With Lumi Search finding the right suppliers and products is now easier than ever, and we've made it free for anyone to use!
If you're a paying member, you can also access these extra features:
We're opening up the new version of Lumi to beta users — sign up here. If you are an existing customer and would like to join the beta, contact us. We'll be making these new features available to all users over the next few months.
To help you learn how to use these new features we've created the Operating Manual, searchable guides on how to use the Lumi Platform to source sustainable packaging and manage your supply chain. We'll be adding to it frequently, so let us know if you see anything missing!
Meet the Packaging Styles library — a new way to navigate packaging vocabulary through a visual dictionary of Styles, Details, and Standards.
With Styles, you can explore the tradeoffs between different options and better communicate what you're looking for when working with packaging Experts. We started by focusing on the most popular styles of boxes.
You can find styles in the Packaging Styles Library or by browsing product pages such as these:
More and more Lumi members are exploring plastic-free packaging alternatives. That's why we're excited to add three new plastic-free products to the catalog.
The first is Honeycomb Paper Wrap, a paper-based void fill alternative to bubble wrap or foam rolls, which you may also know as Geami. When pulled, the paper expands to open up honeycomb-like cells that hold space around a product.
Two new paper-based padded mailers were also added. Honeycomb Paper Padded Mailers are lined with honeycomb paper, and Fluted Paper Padded Mailers are lined with a layer of corrugated board. These new mailer options are plastic-free alternatives to other padded mailers that use plastic bubble lining such as Poly Bubble Mailers.
These products are also made from recycled content and are curbside recyclable.
