So much nicer than crinkle-cut craft paper!
I now have this product in 3 colors, and I have 2 more bags of the Vanilla on the way. I have a small family run plant boutique where most of our products are shipped via USPS Priority mail, but I value the safety of the plants, the environment, and my clients, so instead of using stuffing that is not biodegradable, I have traditionally used the crinkle-cut kraft paper because it does an OK job of mimicking shredded newspaper but prettier. I am not selling cheap plants, nor am I selling mass quantities of plants forcing me to need the cheapest packaging supplies available, so I have the luxury to pass on a little luxury to my clients.<br /><br />In the photo I have attached, you see a bag of the crinkle-cut craft paper on the left--a 1 lbs bag that is not compressed, so the volume does not increase much when you remove it from the plastic bag. On the right, you see THIS product, the shredded tissue paper, after it has been removed from the compressed paper packaging (think the size and thickness of a pair of ladies pantyhose or tights) then fluffed up to show the actual volume of the product when not compressed. It goes about as far as the crinkle-cut craft paper, and both will re-compress inside a package to be mailed, so honestly 1 package is not a lot of either product for my purpose--but for anyone using this for filling gift boxes, it's PERFECT (and I really love it for my purpose as well, albeit not the most cost efficient).<br /><br />The reason I am writing this review as well as including the photo above is because I not only feel it IS a great product as described, but there were just so many people on one of the other colors leaving negative reviews based on the size of the product. Some had not even opened the package--others had removed it form the package then didn't fluff it to reconstitute the proper size. These negative reviews claim the product to be a "rip off" and also make claims about how it isn't enough to fill 1 gift box, let alone 3 which they needed it for.... YES IT IS. These negative reviewers apparently neve read the package which is marked clearly above the cellophane window showing the color swatch: "COMPRESSED in airtight packaging for eco reasons, take me out and give me a good fluff up to regain my volume!" Well, I did read it, and I followed the instructions, and I ended up with more volume than the 1 lbs of crinkle-cut craft paper. This product is much softer and more gentle for these delicate plant leaves than craft paper. The same volume of a sheet of tissue paper will weigh dramatically less than a sheet of craft paper of equal size or "volume" which is what matters here---I went so far as to compare matching the volume of a jar of nails to a jar of cotton balls which are the same size, but if you try to match a pound of nails to a pound of cotton, naturally you will have far more cotton than nails... this is the same thing, just with a heavy, harsh paper next to a lightweight, delicate paper. For my needs and generally my visual and tactical preferences, I like the shredded tissue MUCH better than the shredded craft paper, or shredded newspaper!<br /><br />Cost efficiency: the same volume of the cut craft paper cost me $17.55 after CA sales tax, while the shredded tissue paper cost 6.95 pre-tax, and $7.66 after CA sales tax, so I paid around $15 for 2 more packages of Vanilla which will more than double the volume of the cut craft paper, but still be more than $2 cheaper.<br /><br />**Note worth mentioning: someone in one of the pink colors, I think a rose color, said that Target sells a "similar product" for approx $2. I have not had an opportunity to check this out, but if it's true I'll obviously have to switch to save money, but I am suspicious of this price and the term "similar product" because it is so easy to think something looks the same on the rack, but we cannot tell if it really is the same until we get it home and do a true side-by-side comparison as I have done with my former fave, the crinkle cut stuff vs. this awesome new shredded tissue paper.<br /><br />Eventually, I'll need to just buy a large shredder and shred my own HAHA but for now, I really like and appreciate this product for what it is, and I especially appreciate how they have taken the time to choose packaging designed to be eco-friendly as opposed to the plastic ziploc sack my old product comes in. I don't work with plants because I don't care about the environment, after all.... my love for nature and our planet led me to my love for plants, which led to the business, which would be very counterintuitive IMO if I were to then NOT do all I can to protect unnecessary waste and plastics as much as possible.<br /><br />HTH someone!
Rating: 5 stars