Tips for Earth Day Gift Packaging That Feels Sustainable

Tips for Earth Day gift packaging can sound seasonal on the surface, yet in a production environment they quickly become decisions about board grade, glue lines, freight cube, and whether a customer can recycle the box after the gift is opened. I remember one sample review at a packaging converter in Dallas where a beautiful carton nearly got approved, then someone spotted a PET window tucked into the side panel like a tiny betrayal. Honestly, that happens more than it should. I’ve watched a straightforward switch from laminated SBS to FSC-certified kraft board trim waste, reduce pack-out friction, and still produce a package that felt thoughtful in the hand. That balance is the job here: making packaging look intentional without creating extra waste or extra cost.

My best tips for Earth Day gift packaging rarely begin with printing leaves on a box. They begin with the material system, the structure, the finish, and the end-of-life story all working together so the package protects the product, supports the brand, and avoids becoming a recycling problem the moment it leaves the customer’s hands. I’ve seen brands spend money on green-looking graphics while ignoring a plastic window that made the whole carton harder to sort. That happens more often than people admit, and it drives me a little nuts because the fix is usually obvious once you stop admiring the mockup and start asking practical questions. A package built from 350gsm C1S artboard in a single-material format often tells a cleaner story than a flashy composite structure with three different laminations.

Tips for Earth Day Gift Packaging: Why Small Details Matter

The first thing I tell clients is simple: tips for Earth Day gift packaging begin with the smallest production choices. On one run at a contract packaging plant outside Chicago, we replaced a gloss-laminated gift carton with an uncoated kraft fold-up and a water-based ink print, and trim loss fell because the blank nested more efficiently on the sheet. The brand team worried about losing polish, yet the final package looked cleaner, felt more honest, and moved through the packing line 18% faster because assembly was easier. I still think about that project whenever someone insists sustainability has to look rough. It does not. It just has to be designed with actual discipline, ideally on a dieline that was approved before the first 5000-unit order went to press.

Earth Day gift packaging is packaging designed to celebrate a gift while lowering environmental impact through material choice, structure, print method, and disposal behavior. That means the box, mailer, or sleeve needs to do three jobs at once: protect the product, communicate the brand, and stay easier to recycle or reuse. A package can be beautiful and still be a poor environmental choice if it mixes too many substrates or depends on heavy coatings. I’ve had to say “yes, it looks lovely” while quietly thinking “and it’s a recycling headache.” Not a fun sentence, but an honest one. The difference between a 16-point kraft folding carton and a 24-point coated rigid board shows up fast in shipping tests, especially after a 400-mile truck route from Atlanta to Charlotte.

Shoppers notice those details, even if they never use packaging jargon. If they open a candle in a rigid box with molded pulp, a simple paper wrap, and one neat two-color print, they often read that as thoughtful and premium. If they open a box covered in plastic film, foiled in three places, and packed with loose filler, the message changes no matter how often the brand says “sustainable” on the panel. That is why tips for Earth Day gift packaging matter for both perception and performance. In consumer testing, the package that feels lighter but still closes cleanly often gets higher “keepability” scores, and keepability matters when a box is designed to be reused for desk storage or seasonal gifting.

There is a real tradeoff here. You are not only making a package look eco-friendly. You are balancing protective performance, premium feel, unit cost, and end-of-life practicality in the real world. A package that saves two cents on material but doubles the damage rate is not sustainable in any meaningful sense. I’ve watched customers lose more money from crushed edges and returns than they ever saved by choosing the cheapest board. At 10,000 units, even a 3% damage rate can erase a low-cost material advantage in one shipping cycle. That kind of false economy always finds you eventually.

“The cleanest packaging choice is usually the one that survives the supply chain with the fewest materials, the fewest mistakes, and the fewest surprises.”

If you are building branded packaging for a seasonal promotion, the goal is not to make it shout “eco” from across the room. The goal is to create Product Packaging That proves the point through structure, texture, and logic. That is the kind of package people keep, reuse, and remember. A matte kraft sleeve, a precise fold, and a restrained one-color print often do more persuasive work than a carton covered in icons and slogans.

How Earth Day Gift Packaging Works: Materials, Structure, and Finish

Most tips for Earth Day gift packaging come down to three production layers: materials, structure, and finish. If one layer fights the others, the package starts to feel expensive, wasteful, or fragile. I’ve seen beautiful concepts fall apart at the converting stage because the designer chose a structure that needed three different materials and a custom insert no one budgeted for. You can almost hear the budget groan before the first sample is even cut, especially when the quote lands with an extra $0.12 per unit for a nonstandard window patch.

On the materials side, the most common choices are recycled paperboard, FSC-certified paper, corrugated board, molded pulp, and kraft tissue. Add water-based inks, minimal adhesive, and a right-sized structure, and much of the sustainability equation is already solved. In packaging plants, those material decisions also affect speed. A 16-point kraft fold can run very differently from a 24-point coated board carton, especially when scoring and gluing tolerances get tight. In Shenzhen, where several converters run high-volume folding carton lines, the difference between a clean score and a cracked fold can decide whether a 5,000-piece run ships on time or sits waiting for rework.

Structure matters because it dictates how much filler you need and how much freight volume you burn. Flat-pack designs reduce cube, which can lower shipping emissions and storage expense. One-piece constructions can cut down on assembly steps, and that matters on a line where operators are packing 1,500 to 3,000 units per shift. Right-sizing is one of the most practical tips for Earth Day gift packaging because it immediately reduces wasted air. I like that phrase because it is blunt: wasted air is still wasted space, and shipping a lot of empty space is a strangely expensive habit people keep defending. A mailer trimmed by even 10 mm on each side can improve pallet density enough to matter in a regional distribution center in Ohio or New Jersey.

Finish is where many brands get tempted into trouble. Soft-touch lamination, heavy UV coatings, metallic foils, and plastic windows can all look attractive, but they often complicate recyclability or create a mixed-material package that is harder to process. A cold-foil alternative or a restrained one-color design can still feel premium while avoiding the plastic-heavy feel. I’ve had more than one client realize, after a supplier meeting, that the finish they loved also made the carton harder to tear down at the end of use. That moment is usually a mix of silence, paperwork, and one person staring into the middle distance. If the project starts with a 350gsm C1S artboard sample and ends with a PET-laminated lid, the sustainability story changes fast.

Below is a simple comparison I use when clients ask how different approaches affect cost and sustainability outcomes.

Packaging option	Typical unit cost at 5,000 pcs	Best use case	Sustainability impact
Kraft folding carton, one-color print	$0.18–$0.32/unit	Small gifts, candles, accessories	High recyclability, low material complexity
FSC paperboard carton with two-color print	$0.24–$0.44/unit	Skincare, stationery, gift sets	Strong balance of brand image and recovery potential
Corrugated mailer with water-based print	$0.38–$0.68/unit	E-commerce gifts and subscription kits	Good protection, efficient shipping cube, highly practical
Rigid box with molded pulp insert	$1.10–$2.50/unit	Premium gifting and corporate sets	Reusable feel; depends on adhesive and wrap choices

Production methods matter too. Die-cutting shapes the blank, folding carton conversion turns flat board into a retail-ready structure, flexographic printing works well for many corrugated runs, and digital printing is often the best path for short runs or versioned artwork. If you want decorative accents without the waste burden of thick foil or heavy UV, cold-foil transfer and restrained embossing can be a smarter route. Those are the kinds of tips for Earth Day gift packaging that keep the concept grounded in real factory capabilities. On a 3,000-piece test run, digital print can often keep proof-to-production turnaround under 15 business days, while flexo may be better for the next 25,000-piece seasonal order out of a plant in Illinois or Guangdong.

For standards and recyclability guidance, I often point teams to the EPA recycling resources and to industry references from the Packaging School and packaging industry organizations. Not every local recycling stream accepts the same materials, so a claim that sounds good in a sales meeting can fall apart quickly if you do not verify it against actual end-of-life rules. A carton that passes in Portland may not be treated the same way in Phoenix, and that regional difference matters more than the sales deck ever admits.

Key Factors to Compare Before You Choose Packaging

When I’m helping a brand choose packaging, I ask them to compare five things before they fall in love with a render: material choice, branding needs, product protection, cost structure, and compliance. That list sounds plain, but it saves a lot of expensive back-and-forth. Some of the best tips for Earth Day gift packaging come from asking the unglamorous questions early, before the artwork is approved and the tooling is already being cut. I have seen more than one “perfect” concept turn into a scramble because nobody asked how it would actually be packed, shipped, and opened in a warehouse in Newark or a retail back room in Minneapolis.

Material choice is the first filter. Recycled paperboard works well for many lightweight gifts, FSC-certified paper gives a strong responsible sourcing story, molded fiber performs well for fragile inserts, and corrugated board is the workhorse for shipping-based programs. Compostable options can make sense in specific applications, but I never recommend them just because they sound greener. They have to fit the product, the climate, and the actual waste system where the customer lives. Otherwise, you are just buying a nice-sounding problem. A 32 ECT corrugated mailer, for example, may be the better choice for a shipped gift set than a lower-grade paperboard sleeve, simply because it survives the trip.

Branding needs come next. Ask whether you need full-color process printing, spot color, embossing, debossing, or just a quiet, natural look that lets the board speak for itself. A lot of Earth Day campaigns do better with restrained branding than with a loud promotional feel. I’ve sat in client meetings where the marketing team wanted five PMS colors and a foil logo, while the sustainability team wanted a plain carton. The compromise that actually sold through was often a single ink color on strong natural stock with a well-placed deboss. Weirdly enough, restraint often wins, especially on items priced between $18 and $40 where the package needs to look considered, not theatrical.

Protection and product fit are where the package proves itself. A fragrance candle in a light paper sleeve is a bad idea if it’s shipping through three distribution centers. A skincare gift set may need a molded pulp tray with tighter cavity tolerances. Apparel can usually tolerate simpler packaging, while glass, ceramics, and food gifts need much more attention to crush strength, closure reliability, and internal movement. If the item rattles in transit, the package is not finished. A 2 mm clearance may be fine for a tissue-wrapped accessory, but it is often too loose for glassware moving through a hub in Memphis.

Cost and pricing deserve a detailed look, not just a unit-price glance. Tooling, die-making, print setup, minimum order quantity, freight savings from flat shipping, and damage reduction all change the real cost picture. A package priced at $0.28/unit can be cheaper overall than one at $0.19/unit if it reduces breakage by 4% and packs 20% more efficiently. In packaging operations, total landed cost beats sticker price almost every time. The spreadsheet usually tells a less romantic, more useful story. If a supplier in Ho Chi Minh City quotes $0.15 per unit for 5,000 pieces on a simple folding carton, the real number still depends on freight, duty, sampling, and whether the box survives compression on the final leg.

Compliance and disposal are the quiet dealmakers or deal-breakers. Check whether the package is actually recyclable in the regions where it will be sold. If it touches food, verify food-contact requirements. If you are making sustainability claims, make sure they are accurate and not overstated. This is where a supplier that understands packaging design and regulations is worth a lot more than a supplier that just says yes to everything. A carton made in Dongguan or Suzhou can be perfectly sound, but if it arrives with a finish that conflicts with local recycling rules in California or Ontario, the project loses credibility fast.

Here’s a comparison I’ve used for internal review with brands deciding between different packaging paths:

Decision factor	Low-complexity option	Premium option	What to watch
Material	Kraft paperboard	FSC-coated paperboard	Recyclability vs. print presentation
Decoration	One-color print	Emboss + two spot colors	Setup cost and lead time
Protection	Paper wrap only	Molded pulp insert	Product fragility and fit
Structure	Mailer or tuck-end carton	Rigid gift box	Shipping cube and assembly labor

If you need starting points for formats, our Custom Packaging Products page is a useful place to compare options before you commit to sampling. I always tell teams to compare at least two structures side by side, because the first concept you love is not always the one that performs best on the line. A straight tuck-end carton and a side-loading mailer can look similar in a mockup while behaving very differently during a 2,000-unit packout in Cleveland.

Step-by-Step Tips for Earth Day Gift Packaging Planning

The strongest tips for Earth Day gift packaging usually begin with the product itself, not with the box. Start by measuring the item’s exact dimensions, weight, fragility, and surface finish. A matte candle jar, a glass serum bottle, and a folded apparel gift all need different internal tolerances, and if the opening is 3 mm too loose, you will know it the first time a pallet gets bounced in transit. Packaging has a dramatic way of exposing every tiny mismeasurement, which is rude but useful. I like to measure twice and sample once, because a 1.5 mm error in a cavity can change the whole feel of a rigid insert.

Step 1: Define the unboxing goal. Ask what emotion you want the customer to feel in the first five seconds. Calm? Natural? Thoughtful? Premium? A packaging program I helped review for a specialty tea brand used a simple kraft sleeve, soy-based inks, and a molded pulp tray, and the customer feedback kept using words like “calm” and “careful,” which is exactly what the brand wanted. That is not accidental. Good brand packaging signals are designed, not guessed. On a box that sells for $28, those emotional cues can matter as much as the printed logo.

Step 2: Choose the material system first. It is easier to design around a board grade than to design a board grade around an art file. I’ve seen too many projects start with a glossy mockup and end with a rushed material compromise that breaks the budget. Decide early whether you are building with recycled board, corrugated, molded pulp, or a rigid setup. Then design the structure to match the material, not the other way around. Otherwise, you end up with a beautiful headache. If your supplier in Toronto is quoting an uncoated 18pt board, build the structure for that board from day one, not after the artwork is complete.

Step 3: Build a restrained visual hierarchy. Earth Day packaging does not need to be loud to be effective. Earthy colors, minimal typography, and one or two strong brand markers usually work better than overprinting every panel with icons and sustainability badges. Some of the most elegant Custom Printed Boxes I’ve seen used one ink color, a subtle deboss, and a strong uncoated board stock. The package looked expensive because it was composed well, not because it was covered in decoration. A cream carton with a deep green logo often outperforms a six-color scene with clouds, leaves, and a recycling emblem on every face.

Step 4: Prototype early and handle the sample physically. A digital proof is not enough. A folding carton sample, a corrugated mockup, or a printed structural prototype will tell you much more about fit, closure pressure, board rigidity, and assembly speed. I remember a cosmetics client who approved a carton on screen, only to find on the bench that the tuck flap was fighting the insert. The fix took one board adjustment and saved them weeks of returns risk. That is the kind of thing you only catch when you stop pretending the screen is the same as the real object. A bench sample from a supplier in Los Angeles or Shenzhen can reveal whether your chosen 350gsm C1S artboard actually folds the way you hoped.

Step 5: Test like the warehouse will test it. If the package is shipping, it should face vibration, edge crush, and a few rough touches. If it is retail packaging, it should handle shelf stacking, consumer handling, and perhaps a little moisture from cold delivery trucks. Ask for test methods based on the product’s needs. For shipping cartons, ISTA protocols are a useful reference point, and ISTA’s resources are worth reviewing at ista.org. Not every project needs full certification, but the thinking behind those tests is valuable. A simple drop test from 30 inches can tell you more than a polished slide deck ever will.

Step 6: Lock the timeline with realistic lead times. A clean Earth Day launch needs time for artwork, prepress, sourcing, sampling, approval, and conversion. For many custom jobs, I like to see at least 12 to 15 business days from proof approval to full production, and more if the project involves rigid boxes, inserts, or specialty finishing. If freight is involved, add more cushion. A rushed season almost always costs more, and somehow it always lands on someone’s desk with an urgent red sticker (because of course it does). If your target delivery is April 10, the proof should not still be floating around on March 28.

One of the clearest tips for Earth Day gift packaging I can give is to keep a simple launch checklist. It sounds basic, but the plant managers I’ve worked with live by checklists because checklists catch the small misses that become expensive problems later.

1. Confirm product dimensions and weight.
2. Select board grade and insert material.
3. Approve artwork with print method in mind.
4. Review a physical sample.
5. Test assembly time with the actual packing crew.
6. Verify shipping and storage requirements.
7. Set the final order quantity and delivery date.

That last point matters more than people admit. A package that arrives after the promotional window is not a sustainable win; it is a missed opportunity and a warehouse headache. Seasonal programs move quickly, and Earth Day packaging needs the same discipline as holiday packaging or a retail launch. A carton produced in 14 business days is useful only if the freight booking, dock appointment, and receiving window all line up.

Common Mistakes That Undercut Sustainable Packaging

The fastest way to undo good intentions is to overcomplicate the package. One of the biggest mistakes I see is mixing too many substrates: paperboard, plastic film, metallic foil, foam, and a glued insert all in one design. That kind of structure may look polished in a presentation, but it is often harder to recycle and slower to produce. Good tips for Earth Day gift packaging usually point toward simplification, not ornament for its own sake. Every extra material has to earn its place. A package with four substrates might look like a luxury item; in the converting room, it looks like labor, scrap, and extra setup time.

Another common problem is using green-looking graphics while ignoring actual performance. A carton with leaf icons is not sustainable if it crushes in transit and gets replaced twice. Waste is waste, even if the artwork is earthy. I once visited a fulfillment center in New Jersey where nearly every fourth unit had a corner dent because the board was too light for the shipper’s lane. The brand had spent money on environmental messaging, but the real environmental impact was being driven by avoidable damage. That kind of irony is funny for about two seconds and then just expensive. A carton that costs $0.22 more but cuts damage in half is usually the better economic decision.

Wrong finishes create trouble too. Heavy lamination, plastic windows, and thick UV coatings can make a package feel less recyclable and can also raise converting costs. If the package does not need a display window, skip it. If the finish is there only because “premium” was on the brief, ask whether texture, embossing, or a cleaner print treatment could achieve the same effect with fewer materials. Some of the best product packaging I’ve seen used matte board, crisp graphics, and no plastic at all. A clean deboss on a 350gsm C1S artboard sleeve can look more expensive than foil if the print registration is sharp and the edges are crisp.

Skipping sample testing is another expensive habit. On one client project, a magnetic-closure rigid box looked perfect on the render, but the closure was too weak once the liner board and wrap were applied. The box popped open when stacked. That project had to be redone, and the extra month burned through the seasonal window. A 20-minute fit test on a bench would have caught it immediately. Instead, everyone got to learn the hard way, which is my least favorite way to learn anything. In practical terms, a sample approved on Monday and tested on Wednesday is much cheaper than a full run rejected on Friday.

Then there is the end-user problem. Even recyclable packaging can still end up in the trash if customers do not know how to break it down. If you use an insert, a sleeve, or a multi-part carton, make the disposal path obvious. A small line of copy like “separate paper components before recycling” can help, but only if the package design itself is intuitive. Clear structure is part of responsible package branding. In markets like Seattle, Vancouver, and London, consumers are quick to spot a package that asks for one simple disposal step versus three confusing ones.

Here are the mistakes I would flag first in a review meeting:

• Using more than two major materials without a clear reason.
• Choosing a finish before confirming recyclability goals.
• Approving artwork before checking die lines and tolerances.
• Ignoring line speed and assembly labor at the packing station.
• Assuming the customer will understand disposal without guidance.

A factory supervisor in New Jersey once told me, “The box tells on you.” He was right. Packaging design always reveals whether the team understood the actual process, the real shipment path, and the customer’s habits. That is why the best tips for Earth Day gift packaging are both creative and operational. If the closure fails after 200 openings, or the sleeve scuffs after a 72-hour transit, the package has already made its case.

Expert Tips for Earth Day Gift Packaging That Still Looks Premium

Premium and sustainable are not opposites. Some of the most elegant Earth Day concepts I’ve handled used fewer materials, not more. The trick is to let texture, structure, and precision do the work. Uncoated kraft, linen embossing, and natural board finishes can feel upscale because they signal restraint and control. That is one of the most reliable tips for Earth Day gift packaging if you want an elevated result without extra decoration. A box made with 18pt kraft and a clean blind emboss can feel more considered than a foil-heavy rigid package if the proportions are right.

Print coverage should be intentional. I have always preferred a strong two-color layout over a noisy six-color design when the sustainability story matters. Less ink can reduce visual clutter and can sometimes help the package feel more modern. That does not mean every package should look plain; it means the art should support the material, not fight it. If the board is already doing part of the branding work, let it. One green PMS color and one neutral tone can carry more authority than a rainbow of symbols.

Design for reuse wherever possible. Drawer-style cartons, rigid gift boxes, and sturdy mailers often get kept for storage, gifting, or organizing small items later. That extends the life of the package and makes the perceived value higher. I’ve seen customers repurpose well-built branded boxes for desk supplies, jewelry, and even seasonal keepsakes. If a package has a second life, that is a real sustainability win, not just a talking point. Frankly, it also feels better than watching a gorgeous box get flattened five minutes after opening. A reusable carton that survives 10 or 12 uses is often more valuable than a decorative shell that looks good for 30 seconds.

Sustainable embellishments can still add charm. Paper hang tags, cotton twine, molded pulp inserts, and simple embossed logos usually work well. The key is consistency. A cotton tie on a package that otherwise uses plastic film and foil does not help much. But on a plain kraft box with a neat die-cut insert, it can feel just right. These are the small tips for Earth Day gift packaging that experienced converters talk about because they know how fast a design can drift if nobody polices the details. A paper belly band, for example, may cost only $0.03 to $0.06 per unit at scale and still create a polished first impression.

Working with a team that understands converting equipment matters, too. A concept may look fine in Figma or Illustrator, but if the glue flap is too narrow for the folder-gluer, the whole project becomes harder than it should. The best suppliers know print tolerances, board behavior, and shipping realities. They can tell you when a texture will scuff, when a window patch will complicate recycling, or when a fold lock will save labor without sacrificing strength. That is the kind of practical expertise brands need. A supplier in Guangzhou may quote fast, but if the dieline is off by 2 mm, the savings disappear in rework.

If you are exploring broader branded packaging options beyond a single seasonal run, our Custom Packaging Products page can help you compare formats that may work for Earth Day, product launches, and gift programs all year. A good package system should not be a one-off experiment if the structure can serve multiple campaigns. A repeatable carton in 24pt board with a seasonal sleeve is often smarter than a totally new box every April.

One more honest point: premium packaging is not always about cost. I’ve seen a $0.30 kraft carton outclass a $1.80 rigid box because the lower-cost option had tighter graphics, better fit, and a cleaner story. People often confuse expensive materials with premium execution. They are not the same thing. And honestly, I think that misunderstanding wastes more money than almost any finish choice. A well-specified carton produced in Ho Chi Minh City, Monterrey, or Foshan can outperform a pricier domestic option if the board, print, and assembly all line up correctly.

Next Steps for Better Earth Day Gift Packaging

If you want better results, start by auditing what you already use. List every component in your current packaging: board, insert, adhesive, coating, filler, label, tissue, and secondary shipper. Then mark where waste is actually created. Sometimes the biggest problem is not the primary box at all; it is the oversized mailer, the foam insert, or the extra wrap used “just in case.” I’ve seen teams discover that a single misplaced sheet of filler was responsible for more cost than the box itself. That is always a slightly awkward discovery, especially when the filler costs $0.08 per unit and the board costs less.

Next, set a clear sustainability target. Maybe you want to reduce material use by 15%, replace plastic components one by one, cut freight volume, or improve recyclability. A target makes the design brief sharper and keeps the conversation honest. Without a target, teams often end up with vague language and expensive indecision. That is one of the most useful tips for Earth Day gift packaging I can offer from years on the production side. Vague goals produce vague boxes, and vague boxes usually get revised three times before someone notices the timeline has already slipped.

Request samples from a manufacturer and compare at least two options side by side. If one is a kraft folding carton and the other is a corrugated mailer, ask how each one performs in protection, assembly time, freight efficiency, and decoration quality. Do not judge from photos alone. Put the samples on a table, open them, close them, stack them, and imagine them moving through an actual warehouse. That is where the truth shows up. A sample from a factory in Vietnam may look perfect on a screen, yet the glue strength, board stiffness, and print clarity only really show themselves when someone folds the first 20 units by hand.

Prepare a simple launch checklist before you give final approval:

• Artwork approved against the dieline
• Material and coating confirmed
• Sample fit tested with the product inside
• Order quantity and waste allowance set
• Production slot reserved
• Freight and delivery window confirmed

Finally, make sure the package tells the right story. It should protect the product, fit the budget, and reflect the values behind the campaign without overpromising. The best tips for Earth Day gift packaging are the ones that survive contact with printing presses, warehouse floors, and actual customers. If the final box feels honest in the hand, does its job in transit, and breaks down cleanly afterward, you have done the work right. That kind of result is usually built by a team that cares about details down to the $0.15-per-unit level and the 12-business-day schedule, not by wishful thinking.

If you take nothing else from these tips for Earth Day gift packaging, remember this: the best sustainable package is the one that uses the right material in the right structure, ships efficiently, protects the product, and still feels like a gift when it reaches the customer. That is the kind of packaging I’ve spent my career trying to build, and it is the kind of work that keeps both brands and shoppers happy. The good ones usually start with a specific board spec, a realistic timeline, and a manufacturing partner in a city that can actually hit the window.