Out of Styrofoam: The Five-Step Migration Plan
Plenty of shippers know they want to move away from EPS and stall on how. The goal is clear, the first step is not. Here is the switch set out as a five-step plan, so it becomes a project with a path rather than a leap in the dark.
Step 1: Map what you actually ship
List your products, temperature windows, routes and real transit times. The switch is only as good as the load profile it is built on, and most of the uncertainty people feel about changing packaging comes from never having written this down.
Step 2: Match, do not copy
Do not rebuild your EPS setup one-to-one in paper. Paper-based insulation performs differently, and a fresh specification usually removes empty space and coolant the old box carried out of habit. The aim is the same result with the right design, not the old design in a new material.
Step 3: Sample and test under real conditions
Hold the packaging, pack it in your own process, and run a test shipment over your worst realistic route. Decide on evidence, not a data sheet. A sample in the hand answers questions that no specification sheet can.
Step 4: Switch a lane, then scale
Move one product or route first, confirm it holds, then roll out. A staged switch keeps risk contained and gives your team a working reference for everything that follows. Momentum from one proven lane beats a cautious plan that never starts.
Step 5: Retire the old claims with the old box
When EPS leaves, update your packaging messaging to match. New material means new, provable claims: more than 97 percent recycled paper, fully recyclable in the standard paper stream. Under EmpCo, that upgrade in wording matters as much as the material itself.
Thinking about moving off EPS? We will map the switch with you, step by step: https://www.supaso.eu/kontakt