Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Provide Praiseworthy Packaging

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is about delivering your products and services in packaging that glorifies God.  It’s about making packaging more intentional.

It recognizes that how you deliver your product or service can speak as loudly as what you deliver.  Apple is famous for its intentional packaging, and what has become known as the Apple Marketing Philosophy declares:

People DO judge a book by its cover. We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software etc.; if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” recognizes that one of the most straightforward commands in Scripture is to do everything to the glory of God and that packaging is an opportunity for worship.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.  Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.

At the Highly Covert end of the Covert-Overt Continuums, “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” recognizes the importance of first impressions and sustainability and should be considered by any organization. At the Highly Overt end of the Covert-Overt Continuums, it is firmly in the category of “if it fits”.

God is glorified through packaging that is excellent, packaging that reflects good stewardship, and packaging that points people to Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. Packaging is an opportunity to ensure that a customer’s first impression of the organization reflects the organization’s commitment to Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities around excellence and stewardship.

Glorify Through Excellence

We believe beauty through excellence was God’s design when he created everything and declared it “very good”.  God gives people skills to create beauty, and God was meticulous in his description of how to construct buildings and objects to his glory.  Consider the plans given for an altar in Exodus 30 and the plans given to David for building the temple.

Everything we do–particularly every human interaction–can only do one of two things: (1) make the world at least a tiny bit more beautiful, or (2) make the world at least a tiny bit uglier. Packaging is often a customer’s first interaction with an organization’s product. “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” calls for treating packaging as part of the product.

Glorify Through Stewardship

The Creation Mandate in Genesis 1:28 calls faithful leaders to be faithful stewards.  We have emphasized that faithful stewardship of an organization must take into account four principles, one of which is Sustainability.

Sustainability requires leaders to assess the usage, availability, and health of all the capital an organization requires to keep operating, including natural capital. Intentionality in packaging is an opportunity to choose materials that honor and respect God’s creation of natural resources.

Glorify Through Proclamation

At the Highly Overt end of the Covert-Overt Continuums, intentional packaging presents an opportunity to point customers to God’s word. Consider these passages:

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:3)

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

Packaging is an opportunity to communicate with intention–an opportunity to love your neighbor by sharing the truth of God’s love..

The Importance of First Impressions

In the marketplace, packaging is often treated as an afterthought—something purely functional, utilitarian, or cost-minimized, but in the words of Will Rogers:

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” also recognizes the importance of first impressions.  Excellent packaging, responsible packaging, and packaging that proclaims God’s word reflect and reinforce an organizational culture that prioritizes excellence and good stewardship and is aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

Consider God’s command in Deuteronomy 6.  It was not just about spreading the words God commanded, Deuteronomy says where to put those words:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart… You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Gates are where people enter a city, and doorposts are where people enter a home.  They are places of first impressions.  Packaging can be the gates and doorposts not only for an organization’s product but also for its culture. Packaging is a touchpoint between your organization and the person God has entrusted to receive your work. It can be a moment of beauty, a moment of encouragement, or a moment of conviction.

God is glorified through packaging that is excellent, packaging that reflects good stewardship, and packaging that points people to Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

CONTINUUM: Practices, Proclamation

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is on Practices Continuums.  Practices reflect, and at the same time help shape and reinforce, an organization’s culture.  Purpose and values define the culture of an organization; the culture shapes the behavior of the people in the organization; and the behavior of the people drives the results of the organization.  On the Practices Continuum, “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” can help reinforce a culture that prioritizes excellence, good stewardship and proclaiming God’s word.

If a faithful leader decides to use packaging to point customers toward God’s word, “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” can also be on Proclamation Continuum.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.  “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” can be Highly Covert (an action that would be taken by a secular company), but it can move to the overt end of the Continuum if the leaders of the organization choose to explain it in terms of faith and Biblical principles.

It can also be all the way over at the Highly Overt end if the packaging proclaims God’s word.

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is primarily about leaving an impression with Customers/Clients through thoughtful and purposeful packaging that glorifies God.  It also reinforces to employees a culture that priorities Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

IMPLEMENTATION

It is important to re-emphasize that “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is about making packaging more intentional–not necessarily more beautiful, expensive, recyclable, or overtly Christian. Of course, packaging that is intentional may be more beautiful or expensive, may be more recyclable to reflect good stewardship, or may point people to God’s word.

Implementing “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” requires prayer discernment by faithful leaders about whether and how to create packaging that communicates the same values they want associated with the organization and its brand.

Although the word “packaging” might bring to mind the boxing or wrapping of physical products, services are also packaged.  They are packaged by methods of communication such as letterheads, business cards, presentation covers and bindings, and websites.

Implementing “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” should start with treating packaging as part of the product–remembering that it will create the first impression. Faithful leaders can take secular packaging concepts and anchor them in the pursuit of faithful integrity through business aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities toward Biblical flourishing.

Excellence in Packaging

Excellence in packaging can be summed up by comparing the packaging of an Apple product with the packaging of a cheap item purchased on Amazon and delivered in a plastic bag.  Apple packaging is intentional.  It is beautiful.  It signals that the product inside is going to be of high quality.  Apple’s packaging philosophy has been copied by many tech products. The plastic bag signals a potential lack of quality inside–whether or not that is accurate.

Consider the intentionality and messaging of the signature blue Tiffany box.

Ritual Coffee Roasters is an example of a company that brings intentionality to their coffee bags.  In February 2025, they announced with excitement a “stunning design of our award-winning packaging“.  Each bag includes “a QR code for an interactive experience” about the producers and their farms.

Excellence can also be reflected in superior functionality in protecting or preserving the product.

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” should start with an honest assessment of where an organization’s packaging (defined broadly to include product packaging, service “packaging” and other ways the organization communicates and reflects its brand and values) falls on the spectrum between Apple and the cheap plastic bag. Does it reflect beauty and excellence?  Does it heighten or lower expectations for the product inside or the service to be provided.

Stewardship in Packaging

Stewardship in packaging is principally focused on use and reuse of natural resources.  Consider these creative sustainability efforts:

• Unilever says it is committed to making “100% of our plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable – by 2030 (for rigids) and 2035 (for flexibles).”
• Dell Computer generated headlines for its development of bamboo and mushroom-based packaging.
• Better World Books “diverts books from landfills by collecting material from libraries, bookstores, college campuses throughout the community, and other sources with surplus materials” and recycling or reusing them.
• Beekman 1802 has entered into a recycling partnership to provide free recycling for customers of its skincare product packaging.

Implementing “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” should include an assessment of the environmental impact of an organization’s packaging, both from a sourcing and disposal perspective.  It may be that the maximization of Biblical flourishing comes through a balancing of excellence and stewardship.

Proclamation Through Packaging

A number of organizations have become known for using their packaging to point customers to God’s word. This falls on the Highly Overt end of the Covert-Overt Continuum and requires prayerful discernment by faithful leaders.  We have devoted several posts to the topic of the Covert-Overt decision.

#086 – Integriosity – Re-Align Ingredient #1 – Flexible Approach

#141 – Covert or Overt?

#269 – Integrity Idea 075: Whisper, But Don’t Hide

In-N-Out Burger is famous for printing Bible verses on cups, french fry containers and burger wrappers.  Forever 21 was known for printing “John 3:16” on the bottom of its bags.

Here are some ideas to consider for using packaging to point customers to God’s word:

• Printing a Bible verse on packaging.

• Including a printed card in each package with a short Scripture verse or inspirational message.

• Adding a QR code on or inside packaging that links to a Scripture verse, a devotional, or even how the organization pursues faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.

More than anything else, “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is about being prayerfully intentional about packaging. Packaging provides an opportunity to reflect and reinforce an organization’s Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and Re-Imagined Culture.  Without intentionality, packaging can undermine the pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM): I think the first time I encountered a faith message in product packaging was a gift from Saddleback Leather Co.  As I recall, it was just a small card inside.  I wish I could find it (or even a reference online to their little notes as reassurance I am not crazy).  Thankfully I didn’t lose the bag, which glorifies God through excellence and a 100 year warranty.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Provide Praiseworthy Packaging

“Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” is about delivering your products and services in packaging that glorifies God. It’s about making packaging more intentional. It recognizes that how you deliver your product or service can speak as loudly as what you deliver. “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” recognizes that one of the most straightforward commands in Scripture is to do everything to the glory of God and that packaging is an opportunity for worship.  God is glorified through packaging that is excellent, packaging that reflects good stewardship, and packaging that points people to Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. “Provide Praiseworthy Packaging” also recognizes the importance of first impressions.  Excellent packaging, responsible packaging, and packaging that proclaims God’s word reflect and reinforce an organizational culture that prioritizes excellence and good stewardship and is aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices, Proclamation

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients

Copyright © 2025 Integrous LLC.  Integriosity is a registered Service Mark of Integrous LLC.

Photo credit: Original image by Paul Michalski
(image cropped)