In 1949, the New Yorker Magazine sent writer Phillip Hamburger to see what kind of operation was being run by a then middle-aged Jim Casey, founder of UPS. Hamburger’s story focused on Jim’s nearly maniacal devotion to department store packages.  They were UPS’s bread and butter during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The New Yorker writer soon found out that Jim looked at packages like a jeweler looks at diamonds, each one special in its own right. It was during this era that a phrase was coined that still adorns the walls of local UPS facilities: Every Parcel a Guest of Honor. Sounding a bit archaic today, the slogan still holds solid meaning for UPSers like Worldport Security Manager Jeff Savage.

Read More »

How do you keep chiffon shimmering, pleats well placed and crape un-crushed as high-fashion garments are shipped across the globe from the runways of Milan to the racks in the posh shops of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills? As both fashion designers and retailers know, shipping clothes presents a special challenge. Delicate fabrics can shift, fold, wrinkle and crease inside a box, and intricately constructed garments can lose their shape in transit. UPS looked to industrial design students at the University for Technology Eindhoven (TU/e) in the Netherlands to find a new way to ship haute couture garments sustainably and keep them pristine as they travel from plane to package car through the UPS network.

Read More »