Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

MIT Researchers Develop Liqui Glide Bottle Coating

A group of MIT researchers has developed a interior lining for bottles which allows the contents to simply glide out. The product is called Liqui-Glide. There are many food product applications. Check out their website for more videos.

 

Method Expands Program with Terracycle

After launching the Method Refill Brigade® in 2011, Method, a leading innovator in premium, environmentally-conscious household and personal care products, and upcycling/recycling pioneer TerraCycle, Inc. have now expanded the program to accept pumps, triggers, refill pouches and almost any cleaner product packaging, regardless of brand.

Schools, offices, families or individuals can collect traditionally non-recyclable cleaner packaging and send it to TerraCycle to earn money for charity gifts and donations through the newly dubbed Cleaner Packaging Brigade. The collected packaging will be turned into trash cans, coolers and other home goods.

“Packaging sustainability is a core priority built into the design of every Method product,” said Adam Lowry, Method co-founder and Chief Greenskeeper.

“In addition to the recyclable packaging we make from recycled materials, we want every part of a cleaning bottle to be used again, including parts that aren’t accepted by most recycling systems, like triggers and pumps. Our goal with this Brigade is to ultimately collect more triggers and pumps than we actually manufacture, which would substantially improve the packaging footprint of not only Method, but our competitors as well.”

Lowry said he believes that by expanding Method’s partnership with Terracycle to accept packaging from all cleaning product companies, they can work to reduce landfill waste and replace the use of virgin materials while saving energy and carbon emissions.

Sustainable Packaging – Why Bother?

BY DENNIS SALAZAR

The company that shipped this package to our office will remain unnamed because I have written about them before and after a while it starts looking like I am picking on them. The truth is that this post could probably be written about any number of companies who profess to be green and claim to be tirelessly working to protect the earth.

Words to Green By

As a young packaging professional, one of my favorite mentors had two favorite sayings that he often combined together: “Do What Makes Sense” and “Be Brilliant on the Basics”. His philosophy was fairly straight forward and simple – if you use your head and do the little things right on a daily basis, you usually come out on top. Baseball games and business are typically not won by crowd pleasing, memorable grand slams. More often than not, the difference between winning and losing is decided by singles, and doubles combined with a large dose of hustle.

The “Little” Things Add Up

With all that in mind, I am always critical of all the companies who are always quick to grab the sustainability headlines but continue to do, REALLY dumb green things on a daily basis.   

Here is what I see when I look at the packaging shown in the photograph:

• Most obviously, the box is at least six times larger than necessary for the order and product it contained. Why aren’t they right sizing? End result – WASTE!
• 3” plastic tape to seal the top of the box – most of the world uses 2” tape. Why are they using 50% more tape than is normally necessary? End result – WASTE!
• Standard corrugated box with probably 30 to 40% recycled content? Why aren’t they using a box with a higher or ideally100% recycled content? End result – WASTE!
• Auto Lock bottom on box bottom sealed with tape. (now I am getting really packaging geeky on you) One of the features of an Auto Lock bottom box is that it does not require tape. Yet they feel it necessary to seal it with more 3” tape. There is something definitely wrong with this picture. End result – WASTE!
• One air pillow for void fill – that single pillow does absolutely no good so you know, end result – WASTE!  

What is the cost of NOT doing the little green things well?

It is very difficult to estimate without a complete analysis (which BTW I have offered to do for this company for free) but conservatively, I can guess their packaging cost is probably 20 to 30% higher than it really needs to be. That same percentage probably applies to unnecessary packaging materials used and additional post consumer waste being created. This does not even begin to cover the cost of transportation, space, fuel, energy, and all the other things that factor in.

Not doing the little green things well is VERY expensive to all of us. So next time a package like this arrives, I urge you to complain. It does matter and it is important but it will never be important to the companies doing the shipping until we let them know.  If they are not willing to do it for the bottom line, perhaps they will bother when it impacts their top (sales income) line. That is a good reason to bother. 

 

Dennis is president and co-founder of Salazar Packaging and he writes on the topic of sustainable packaging for numerous blogs and magazines, including his own blog, Inside Sustainable Packaging.

Dennis and his company provide custom eco friendly packaging solutions through Salazar Packaging and stock green packaging products via Globe Guard Products, which is the first internet store featuring all eco-friendly packaging supplies.  

 

Brown University Other Colleges Take on Bottled Water

An interesting story is developing involving Brown University and nearly ninety other schools across the country related to the banning or restricting the use of bottled water on campus.

Last month Bloomberg News posted a piece on s growing campus movement which involves many of the Ivy League colleges as well as others across the US.

Brown University has been a leader in the fight against bottled water.  Their Beyond the Bottle movement is active on campus among students and staff.  Beyond the Bottle started in 2009 and encourages the use of tap water instead of pre-packaged bottled water.

Many schools have restricted the use of bottled water at events and meetings encouraging community members to seek more sustainable alternatives.

According the Bloomberg News story the bottled water industry isn't terribly concerned.

There "are really serious issues over here, and now you're dealing with bottled water?" Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, based in Alexandria, Va., said. While "there are anti- bottled-water groups going from campus to campus," Doss said he doesn't consider it "a big threat" at this point.

Images from Brown's Beyond the Bottle Campaign. 

More located on their Flickr.

More Foods Using Pouch Packaging

 

Interesting article in today's Chicago Tribune about the rise of pouch packaging in food products.  I think we've all noticed more and more products being sold in the pouch style packaging in recent years. 

The Tribune cites a study done by the Mintel Group which says in 2011 there were 1,248 consumer products sold in pouch packaging compared to 909 in 2007.

I remember several years ago at Expo East when GoGo Squeez applesauce made a splash in their green resealable pouches.  Now everything from pet food to ketchup is being offered in the pouch packaging.   

Pouch packaging has a cost saving component to it for companies who make products in that it requires less resources to make the packaging. 

In the non-food sector pouch packaging has been very popular among companies like Method who've touted it as the more ecologically friendly form of packaging.

 

Planters Dry Roasted Peanut Products New Packaging

In the fall of 2011 Planters began switching its dry roasted peanut products to new PET plastic packaging.

Planters Dry roasted peanuts were sold in glass bottles.  The move reduces overall packaging weight by 84% according to the company. Planters also said the change will reduce product transportation by 25%.

The new Planters packaging is now showing up across the country.