Saber Cycle has always been greenish primarily because we never invested in brand name packaging. Most of our product is packaged in all-virgin, FDA and USDA approved poly bags. According to experts, about 10% of a product's price is in the packaging and the global packaging market is now worth $429 billion.

Overpackaging is huge problem for the environment. Using more cardboard, paper, plastic, space, and fossil fuels than necessary is a waste of resources, costs more and increases shipping costs. According to the Environmental Protection Services (EPA), one-third of America's waste is packaging, of which only 43% is recycled. Americans threw away 78.5 million tons of packaging in 2007 and, between Thanksgiving and New Years, our weekly garbage increases by more than 1 million tons.

Minimizing packaging saves money, conserves resources and reduces the carbon footprint. Being 100% mail order since 1985, we chose not to make shipping and handling a profit center and give our customers the best value by shaving off as much weight as possible before calculating the actual shipping on orders. We use the smallest box possible or cut down boxes to fit and often remove heavy, bulky distributor packaging prior to packing.

Customers who bought our Barracuda Bike Parts' brake pads have likely noticed the packaging is significantly smaller than typical. They come in compact boxes about the same size as the pads. No more plastic blister packaging.

Some of the styrofoam peanuts we use are donated from area individuals and businesses. A local computer services company gives us the styrofoam packing material from their new computer equipment which we also break down and use for shipping. We could do better by not using styrofoam at all but at least we are getting more use from it before it ends up in a landfill.