Welcome to the Sustainable Design Lab podcast by Veritiv. Hosted by Chris Bradley and Brodie Vander Dussen, this show is your go-to resource for cutting-edge insights into the world of sustainable packaging. Join us as we reimagine packaging innovation and turn every decision into a powerful act of sustainability.

In this episode, Mitch Rovito, a Packaging Manager at Burton Snowboards, navigates how Burton’s rooted culture of sustainability led the team to take aim at single-use plastic packaging across its global supply chain.

What You’ll Learn:

• The real technical hurdles of replacing polybags with paper-based alternatives
• Why Burton chose to lean into imperfection with its refreshingly honest “It's Just Paper” campaign
• How to translate sustainability vision into operational reality across global supply chains
  Why reframing packaging performance prevents over-engineering and reduces both cost and environmental impact
• How to identify hidden packaging waste opportunities in your supply chain
  
  

Mitch Rovito is a Packaging Manager at Burton Snowboards, where he has spent the past five years spearheading the brand's mission to eliminate single-use plastic from distribution and consumer-facing packaging. With deep expertise in sustainable materials innovation and supply chain optimization, Mitch has been key in Burton's transition from conventional polybags to paper-based alternatives, a transformation that required rethinking global logistics, warehouse operations, and retail handling standards.

Download the full report here! to see how these ink innovations fit into the broader 2026 sustainability landscape.

This podcast features guest speakers expressing their own company’s products, views, and experiences. Any statements regarding environmental attributes, such as biodegradability, compostability, degradation, or “zero waste” claims, are representations made solely by the guest about their own products or technologies.

Veritiv Operating Company has not independently substantiated or verified such claims. Under the FTC’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (16 C.F.R. Part 260), environmental performance may depend on disposal conditions, infrastructure, and environment, and outcomes may vary. This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as an endorsement or guarantee by Veritiv Operating Company.

Chapters:

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:45] Sustainability in Burton's DNA
• [04:27] Why Polybags Became the Target
• [07:28] The Technical Reality of Going Paper
• [11:03] “It’s Just Paper”
• [15:41] Transparency Over Perfection
• [20:32] Advice for Packaging Engineers
• [24:52] The Future: Harmonization and Humans in the Room
• [29:45] Sustainable Innovation Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
  
  

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Sustainable Design Lab is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Sam Boex & Bella Collins of Flexi-Hex, Nathan Pajka of Metsä Board, John Felts of Cruz Foam

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

1. Plastic-Free Paper Packaging: Flexi-Hex on Designing for Luxury and Sustainability
2. How Metsä Board Is Redesigning Packaging From Forest to Shelf with Nathan Pajka
3. The Future of Foam: Compostable Materials That Perform with John Felts