The Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA) is a trade association for North American manufacturers, reconditioners, packagers, suppliers, and distributors of industrial packaging.Harrington, BJ. Industrial Cleaning Technology. Springer, 2013. p. 122. RIPA was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland in the United States. It emphasizes eco-friendly, reusable solutions for industrial packaging.

History RIPA was founded in early 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II. It was originally known as the National Barrel and Drum Association (NABADA), and it was formed to coordinate industry activities in support of the war effort.Sullivan, John. "10 Million Barrels for the War." The New York Times. May 24, 1942. Accessed April 14, 2018. The organization continued after the war and served to coordinate industry positions during increased regulation in the 1970s.Murphy, J. Michael. "The Reconditioning Industry: Past, Present and Future". RIPA. Accessed April 14, 2018.

Renaming NABADA was eventually renamed the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA). Though originally focused on steel drums and barrels, RIPA has come to represent other areas of the industrial packaging industry, such as plastic and fiber packaging.Harrington, p. 123.Twede, Diana and Robb Clarke. "Supply Chain Issues in Reusable Packaging". Journal of Marketing Channels 12.1 (2004).

From 1948 to 1983, RIPA was headed by Morris Hershson.The Tax Reform Act of 1975. US Government Printing Office, 1976. p. 3599. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hershson increasingly sought international coordination in the industrial packaging industry. RIPA joined with European and Asian trade organizations to found the International Confederation of Container Reconditioners (ICCR) in the mid-1980s.Yam, Kit L. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. pp. 1070-1072.

Paul Rankin has been the organization's president from 1990 to the present.Hughes, Cathy. "Robert Evans Jr., businessman and education reformer, dies at age 62". The Advocate. March 24, 2017. Accessed April 14, 2018.Barrett, Rick. "Empty industrial barrels bought on Craigslist present deadly dangers". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. December 13, 2017. Accessed April 14, 2018.

Activities RIPA gathers and shares information on the industrial packaging industry and coordinates that industry's positions on legislation and regulation. Reusable Industrial Packaging Association. Accessed April 14, 2018.Meyer, Theodoric and Aubree Eliza Weaver. "Trump-connected lobbyist signs first D.C. clients". Politico. February 28, 2017. Accessed April 14, 2018. It particularly encourages increased reuse of industrial packaging, leading to lower costs and reduced environmental impact.Sustainability RIPA. Accessed April 14, 2018. RIPA also publishes Reusable Packaging Today, an industry newsletter.Cole, Jennifer. Repackaging an Industry The Washington Post. May 21, 1994. Accessed April 14, 2018.

RIPA requires all of its members to adhere to its Code of Operating Practice. These guidelines are intended to create better environmental controls, recycling practices, and regulatory compliance across the industry.Harrington, p. 212.Resource Recycling. Resource Conservation Association, 2000.

See also Glass Packaging Institute

References

External links Sustainable Packaging