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.

Comments

[Chris]

I work for a US retailer, and have been investigating new gift card options. We currently reuse our cards as much as possible, and send spent cards to Earthworks.

However, I am very disappointed in the selection of alternatives to PVC out there for our gift cards. Yes, there are certain bio-plastics and other biodegradable materials, but they all use food sources, and, worse, GMOs in production (whether intentional or not). Our company tries to stay away from GMOs so this is not an option.

So far, Recycled PVC from Earthworks is the best option I've found, but I'm curious if anyone has found anything better.

Thanks