U-Haul: Save the Trees

“Working together, U-Haul Customers will save three trees for every one tree used!” U-Haul boasts on its cardboard moving boxes.

A TINA.org reader wanted to know, how is this true? After searching for answers on U-Haul’s website, as well as the box itself, and coming up empty, TINA.org reached out to U-Haul. The moving company responded:

The messaging you have referenced on our cardboard boxes is derived from a U-Haul Sustainability study that indicates the strength of our boxes allows them to be used effectively four times (i.e. in four moves) before a new box needs to be purchased. This is the origin of the 3:1 ratio when it comes to trees saved per tree used.

So, according to a U-Haul study (which the company did not provide in its initial response to TINA.org), its cardboard boxes are strong enough to be used four times. But the next question is, are they actually being used four times?

U-Haul also noted in its response that an “estimated” 1.5 million U-Haul cardboard boxes are reused each year. But the company didn’t say how many times the boxes are reused or how many boxes are purchased each year, both of which could impact the 3:1 ratio U-Haul is touting.

TINA.org raised these questions in a follow-up email to U-Haul, while also requesting a copy of the sustainability study. Check back for updates.

In the meantime, the FTC’s Green Guides have this to say:

Marketers must ensure that all reasonable interpretations of their [environmental] claims are truthful, not misleading, and supported by a reasonable basis before they make the claims.

Find more of our coverage on environmental claims here.