Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Recycline Makers of Preserve Products Advance in Forbes "Boost Your Business" Contest

Massachusetts-based Recycline makers of the popular Preserve line of recycled toothbrushes, razors and tableware is one of twenty small businesses left in the Forbes.com "Boost Your Business" contest.

The company made it through the initial stages of the contest and is now hoping to become one of five semi-finalists vying for the $100,000 prize.

For this round of the competition, Forbes.com is asking readers to vote for the best small business plan of the companies remaining.  Readers can vote online at Forbes.com

Recycline makes Preserve products which are made out of 100% recycled materials and are, in turn, recyclable. The company's partnership with Stonyfield Farm transforms their yogurt cups into Preserve toothbrushes and razors.  Recycline then offers its consumers the option of sending back its products so they can be recycled into plastic lumber. 

See our interview on Recycline
and our story on Recycline and Wal-Mart 

Target Stores Reduce PVC Plastic Packaging

Minneapolis-based Target has used its size and buying power as a way to get suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging.

The retailer targeted suppliers using the often tough to open "clamshell" style packaging asking them to switch to greener options. 

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, earlier this year Target asked its packaging vendor for Ipod carrying cases to replace its clamshell packaging with a recyclable cardboard package with a small plastic window.    The change in packaging will prevent an estimated 5,000 pounds of PVC from ending up in landfills.

About 18 months ago, Target pushed its seven private-label packaging companies to get rid of excess wraps. The result: Packages for more than 500 items, from dog leashes to toy rocket launchers, have been redesigned to be less harmful to the environment. In about 100 instances, PVC plastic was eliminated from private-label packages.

Target's biggest competitor Wal-Mart is taking similar steps.  The retail giant has pledged to eliminate all private-label PVC packaging by 2009. The company also has set a goal of producing "zero waste" by 2025; which means that, through recycling and packaging reduction, Wal-Mart will eliminate all waste flowing through its stores and offices.

Freitag Tate Modern Produce Recycled Tote Bag

Swiss recycled bag manufacturer Freitag is teaming up with the Tate Modern to produce a reusable tote bag made from recycled exhibition banners.

The bags are expected to be highly sought after when they go on sale later this month at the Tate Modern.  Unlike other Freitag bags which sell for several hundred dollars these will sell for about $60 US (£30).

"Our objective is to appeal to a wide audience. We don't want to price people out," said Tate Modern's Helena Lawrence.

However, while the price tag may be accessible, the collection's limited number (170) ensures that the bags will retain the exclusivity of their designer label.

Freitag's innovative designs have been growing in popularity since 1993, when the company launched the first bag to be made entirely from recycled materials.

Inspired by the Zurich transport route that passed by their house, design duo Markus and Daniel Freitag created their famous messenger bag entirely from truck tarpaulins, inner tubes and seat belts. Markus Freitag hopes that their new art bags will appeal to "an open-minded urban crowd. People who like to see things from a different point of view, and explore new things".

Freitag and Tate Modern are already considering new lines incorporating the works of other artists. "We are looking at expanding the range, but obviously it will depend on the materials available," said Helena Lawrence.

Indeed, it was these practical considerations that resulted in Constable et al being used over other artists for the initial collection, which has been in development since 2005. "We didn't choose the artists as such; we just used the exhibition banners and other publicity banners we had available," Ms Lawrence said.

These exhibition banners were then coated with the tarpaulin that usually covers lorries, and fashioned into large shopping bags. The resulting designs are functional, robust and waterproof, with no two bags alike.

via the independent

Hormel Natural Choice Deli Meats Feature Different Approach to Packaging; Reduce Plastic

Minnesota-based Hormel is experiencing success with its new line of prepackaged deli meats called Natural Choice.

The line has expanded to include most of the popular types of deli style meats pre-sliced for consumers and ready to go. 

Natural Choice packaging is different from competitors because it comes in a brown paperboard package containing a sealed plastic inner pouch containing the meat.

Natural Choice's competitors are mostly using plastic containers made from #5 polypropylene plastic.  The containers are durable and reusable but many of them end up in the trash.  Those consumers who do try to recycle the containers usually find out their community does not recycle #5 plastic yet.  So the container ends up in the landfill.

Here in Rhode Island, the statewide recycling authority, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will not recycle #5 plastic or "tub" style containers made of #1 (PETE, PET) or #2 (HDPE).

The recycling situation we have here in Rhode Island is common across the country.  Until communities will recycle these types of plastic buying deli meats packaged in them doesn't seem practical. 

So this is what interests me about the Natural Choice line.  They have taken a different approach packaging their deli meats using a recyclable paperboard outer package and a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch on the inside.

In order to achieve this packaging design Hormel turned to an emerging technology in packaging.   Using high-pressure processing (HPP), a post-packaging pressurization process that subjects the vacuum-packed deli meats to 87,000 pounds per square inch of pressure the company is able eliminate the need for preservatives.  The packaged deli meats have a shelf live of over 120 days according to Hormel. 

Food Processing reported Avure Technologies in Kent Washington is Hormel's vendor for this packaging process.  Hormel would not confirm that report.

The outer packaging is as of as much interest to me as the high-pressure process used to package the meats.  By using a paperboard out package the company has eliminated the need for a plastic container.

Ryan Vossler, Product Manager for Hormel Natural Choice said, "The Hormel Natural Choice outer packaging is recyclable and features natural, distinct brown and green earth tones. This packaging design was chosen because there was a connect with our consumers between an all-natural, great tasting product and packaging that was earth-friendly and had a natural look and feel."

Target Stores New Mirel Bioplastic Gift Card

Target stores have introduced a new gift card made from a bioplastic called Mirel.  The gift card is biodegradable and made from natural sources. 

The new biobased gift cards are available at 129 Target stores across the country.

Mirel is a new family of biobased plastics made from corn that provides an alternative to traditional, petroleum-based plastics. Unlike conventional plastics, Mirel biodegrades in a variety of environments including soil, home compost, wetlands, rivers and oceans   

The biobased plastic is made by Telles, a company formed between Cambridge Massachusetts, Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).  Telles is a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies.   

Telles is currently working with more than 50 prospects on more than 70 applications, including consumer products, packaging, single-use disposables, and products used in agriculture and erosion control.

Aquafina Changes Label to Identify Water Source

Aquafina announced it is changing its labels to spell out that the water comes from the same source as tap water. 

PepsiCo who owns Aquafina made the announcement after studying the issue and being pressured by the group Corporate Accountability International and their Think Outside the Bottle campaign.

Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled "P.W.S." The new labels will spell out "public water source."

"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," PepsiCo spokeswoman Michelle Naughton said Friday.

As part of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign, thousands of people across the US have been urging Pepsi to make changes in the Aquafina label, which includes an image of snow-capped mountains and states “pure water, perfect taste”. Though the image implies that the source of Aquafina is mountain spring water, it actually uses tap water as its source. In fact, up to 40% of bottled water uses tap water as its source.