REI instituted an effective reuse and recycling process for its cardboard shipping boxes that has saved the company quite a bit of money, according to Joyce. “We stamp all the boxes that leave our facility with ‘Return to the Bedford DC.’ Our stores accumulate the boxes, ship them back to us, and we reuse them until they are no longer in good shape,” he explains. “We examine this process annually to determine whether the continuous use approach makes more sense — in terms of our cost and carbon-footprint — than a one-time-use box that stores recycle.” Once the boxes can no longer be used for shipping, REI sends them to a company that recycles the cardboard material.