Imagine being so passionate about packing material that you have a weekly work lunch dedicated to the topic. That’s exactly the scenario for Blayre Britton and her team at CDI Printing and their weekly “Cool Box Thursday” lunches. This highly specific area of interest isn’t just fodder for midday meal conversation, however, as Blayre and her team designed and patented a very cool, recyclable, child-proof box of their own. So, when University-wide Contracted Supplier Fisher Scientific suggested CDI as the local supplier for kitting sample boxes of scientific suppliers for the University, the purchasing team at Pitt knew CDI was the perfect choice.
Blayre Britton is the president of CDI Printing, a second generation, minority-owned commercial printing company with 50 employees right outside of Pittsburgh in Gibsonia, PA. Founded by Horace Britton, Blayre’s father, in 1993, CDI has clients in higher education, healthcare, banking, and retail with hundreds of thousands of printed and mailed material flowing through the work floor daily. CDI has been a University-wide Contracted Supplier since 2022 but has worked with departments such as Katz School of Business, Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement, and various University scientific labs, for several years.
A licensed attorney, Blayre took over management of CDI in 2018 and continued to grow the company, but she credits challenges from her clients for driving the decision to branch out in a new direction. “Really, a lot of our expansions and innovations are customer driven and this is just an example,” Blayre said, speaking about her new venture, Britton Distribution Incorporated, or BDI. “We started to see customers across the board wanting to deal with fewer and fewer suppliers and have one point of contact for a complete project,” stated Blayre. The need for consolidated points of contact truly came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic where Blayre saw a lot of her clients needed drop shipping, down packing, and kitting. What started with the needs of one customer has grown so much that Blayre had to acquire additional warehouse space to accommodate the demand. “And then it just made sense to spin on into an ancillary business,” Blayre explained.
One of the companies that has been utilizing BDI’s new kitting services is Fisher Scientific. Through Blayre’s relationship with BEAM Collaborative, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit organization committed to increasing opportunities for local, Black-owned businesses, Fisher Scientific was introduced to a new facet of her business. “Fisher has been a customer of ours for quite some time and some of the folks brainstormed to see how they could use us more efficiently and in different ways,” Blayre shared. So, after visiting the warehouse and her BDI facility, the Fisher team approached Blayre with the new project for Pitt and Blayre jumped at the opportunity to dive deeper into sustainability.
“Sustainability is really important at CDI and BDI. We pride ourselves in recycling everything: plastic, cardboard, paper, and even our printing plates that we use.” In addition to a certification from the Forrest Stewardship Council, CDI Printing has an EcoVadis Gold rating, which means that they are in the top 5% of sustainable businesses across all industries. Fisher’s sustainability team, along with Sam Chan, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability at Pitt, and Kristin Olexa, Procurement Specialist, in Purchasing Services worked for months choosing the right items to showcase in these sample boxes of scientific supplies. Funded by a contribution from Fisher under its University-wide contract with the University, the sample boxes were designed to share “greener options” with labs on campus. For example, why not try a new microcentrifuge tube made using 20% circular-economy, post-consumer plastics, or switch your disposable tube rack with a reusable autoclavable one?
Once 20 items were vetted and selected for the boxes, they were delivered in bulk to BDI’s warehouse for kitting. The BDI team was then tasked with ensuring that the boxes, informational items, and the ink itself all aligned with the sustainability initiative. “There was a challenge around wanting to have the boxes branded, but not wanting to take away from the recyclability of the corrugated cardboard. So, we had used algae-based ink in the past for different printing projects,” Blayre thought. Unlike using tape or stickers on the boxes, stamping them with the algae-based wouldn’t take away from their recyclability at all. “I think it looks really great,” Blayre said looking at the final product.
Blayre sees this project as a learning opportunity for her and her team. She is hoping to grow even further, offering services like printing, warehousing, and kitting, and other projects for the Pitt community. “We like challenges and we’re very committed to sustainability,” Blayre added. “We’re committed to diversity and increasing employment opportunities for underserved populations. That’s the mission of both companies.”
The sustainable sample boxes are available now for purchase through the Dietrich Stockroom punchout on the PantherExpress System. Just search for “SB2” and order one for $0.01 for your lab or visit Pitt’s Office of Sustainability website for more details on what’s included. You can also find out more about Blayre and CDI printing at any time.
Blayre’s topnotch creation and delivery of the boxes for the Green Lab and Green Office Sustainability Show were a highlight for the event. CDI is great partner to support Pitt’s Sustainability Initiatives and we are excited to see what Blayre comes up with next!
Enjoy a sneek peak of the behind-the-scenes efforts that bring Blayre's projects to life:
