Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Massugu Takes Sustainability to Adult Products

Massugu Adult is a new company offering adult toys and products with a sustainable vision

Founder Ben Hogan created the company to offer consumers a better choice in an industry often looked down upon or regarded as dark and dirty.  Hogan's vision is to offer consumers a company they can be proud of and most importantly feel comfortable doing business with.

Sustainability is at the core of Massugu's business.  The company offers adult toys made of glass as opposed to PVC, plastics and other materials.  "Our product is a lifetime product," explains Hogan "because of this our product is a much more sustainable option."  The products are not just "lifetime products" as Hogan describes, they are also quite beautiful. 

There is a health component to the Massugu products as well.  "I'm sure you've read about the toxicity issues surrounding a lot of adult toys. It's these kind of issues exactly that led us to found the adult division of Massugu Distributing," said Hogan.

The company takes pride in reducing its carbon footprint by offering a lifetime product with minimal packaging.  "We spent time examining the various options for packaging of our products," Hogan said, "We use minimal packaging, biodegradable packing peanuts and we ship with the U.S. Postal Service who were recently recognized for their sustainability efforts.  We believe these are the most sustainable options to get our products to our customers safely and efficiently," he said. 

Hogan is referring to the USPS's Silver Cradle-to-Cradle certification from MBDC, the certification carries significant weight and covers the entire shipping process of the USPS.

Massugu's product line also includes other products.  "We carry Sliquid organic lubricants as well as the well-performing Pjur brand. Our lubricants are water-based and we carry special varieties for women," said Hogan.

Jim's Organic Coffee Greens its Coffee Packaging

Massachusetts-based Jim's Organic Coffee has introduced a new greener coffee bag made by fres-co.

The new 12 oz. bag will serve as the company's consumer retail packaging and incorporates green components never before used in a coffee bag. 

The bag is the result of efforts by fres-co to produce a coffee bag that retains the ability to keep coffee fresh while using greener components.  The new bag is the first generation of a coffee bag made with renewable resources on the concept of working to replace petroleum-based components in its old coffee bag with renewable ones.

Jim's Organic Coffee is the first coffee company using polylactide (PLA) resin in its bag.  The new bags are made of 19% PLA used in a layer that replaces 48-gauge polyester in the old bag.  The PLA used in the bag is from NatureWorks LLC, a stand-alone company owned by Cargill.

Made by fres-co, who makes coffee bags for a number of major brands, the bags are a major step towards the development of a green coffee bag. 

Jim Cannell, founder of Jim's Organic Coffee told Sustainable is Good, "Any way we can move in a more sustainable direction without compromising quality is always a good thing.  For us, this comes from simply asking our vendors what is new and, in this case, it was something a vendor had been working on for about a year."

"The rest of the bag is a foil laminate (plastic and aluminum foil).  We have always felt that the greatest justice we can do for the organic movement is to provide great coffee.  These are the best way to bag coffee if it is to stay fresh," Cannell said.

Cannell looks at the larger picture when assessing the greenness of his packaging. "If higher quality coffee moves people to purchase more organic then, yes, we consider it green," he said.

Jim's Organic Coffee's new packaging also received a face lift from well known graphic designer Edgar Stewart.   Stewart's work is no stranger to packaging he's done work for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Nantucket Nectars Juice among others.

"Edgar Stewart did the design working with my pictures and experiences," said Cannell.  The graphic design works well with fres-co's matte finish select finishing which helps present the graphics in a unique and aesthetically pleasing fashion. The layout of the graphic design is also well done with the trail of steam from the coffee cup on the front of the bag ending right at the bag's one-way valve.

Jim's Organic Coffee's new packaging is currently available, the company sells direct to consumers through its web site.  Its products are also available through a number of retailers and restaurants.

The new bags carry text on the bottom identifying their greenness, "This bag is the first generation of sealed, stay fresh coffee bags to include renewable resources in its design.

Lenovo Introduces Energy Efficient PC with Recyclable Packaging

Lenovo's new Blue Sky ThinkCentre A61e is the first full-functioning PC to run on 45 watts of power, meaning it can be powered by a solar panel or roughly the same amount of electricity needed for three compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

The Blue Sky ThinkCentre A61e has a number of forward thinking environmental aspects to it.  Ninety percent of the computer is made from reusable or recyclable materials and its packaging is also ninety percent recyclable.

Because of its energy efficiency and recyclable materials, the computer is Lenovo's first product recognized with a Gold EPEAT rating from the Green Electronics Council

The new PC will be available in October and has a base price of $399.

Pet Food Maker The Honest Kitchen Unveils New Eco Packaging

San Diego-based Pet food maker The Honest Kitchen, known for its human grade pet food has completely revamped its packaging and graphic design.

The company's new packaging solution is sensitive to the environment, safe and protective for its food-grade contents, re-sealable, economical and also visually appealing.

The new packaging reduces materials usage and waste with a fine, recyclable 'minimalist' and unprinted barrier bag that efficiently protects the food inside. The bag is fitted with a fold-down coffee tie to keep the food fresh after opening.

That bag is enclosed in a 100% recycled box made from unbleached kraft paperboard. The box is printed with soy-based inks and the finished product is 100% biodegradable or recyclable again after its use.

The packaging also debuts the company's new graphic design.  The look-and-feel of the new packaging is fresh and vibrant with a strong organic influence, and graced with the company's newly face-lifted logo. The packaging is designed to be customer-centric, with a slightly quirky feel.

Lucy Postins, the Honest Kitchen's director of marketing told Sustainable is Good their graphic design was done by San Diego-based Jen Cadam.  "Jen does all our design," said Postins.

The new packaging will debut next week in Las Vegas at the pet industry trade show Superzoo.

Consumers should see the new packaging on retail shelves by the end of October.   "They are on the press right now and we just have to use up our existing supplies of old packaging before we start using them," Postins said.

Sustainable Security Packaging

Secure Sales Solutions has created a series of what it calls "environmentally sustainable" solutions for retail security packaging.

The packaging would be used for video games, DVDs, CDs and other similar retail items.  The company calls the packaging recyclable polypropylene and says the plastic is molded with patented dissipation agents for quick landfill breakdown and microorganism absorption.

Secure Sales Solutions says their packaging is an efficient low cost security packaging and encourages responsible consumer disposal through easy recycling.  The company  says the additives it uses do not contain any heavy metals, are non ecotoxic and accelerate the rate at which common plastics degrade.

In the recycling process mixing their treated plastics with other plastics does not affect the process or the quality of the recycled plastics the company said.

Compared to an alternative on the market, PVC, these plastics become "environmentally benign" within a few months to a few years where PVC blister packs or clam shells can take decades or longer to degrade.

Plastic Coating Reduces Waste, Eases Recyclability

A new plastic coating no more than 20 nanometers think applied to the inside of plastic bottles and jars of common items like ketchup and mayonnaise could significantly reduce consumer waste and ease recycling of the container itself.

How often do consumers discard bottles of commonly used household condiments with some of the product still remaining in the jar?  Often and sometimes as much as 20 percent of the product is left in the bottle because it is difficult to get out. 

Furthermore consumers are often unable to recycle plastic bottles or jars because they aren't able to adequately clean them for recycling.  Many communities will not accept plastic bottles that aren't properly cleaned out.

German researchers in a joint project involving the Fraunhofer Institutes for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising and for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, together with Munich University of Technology and various industrial partners are working on developing packaging materials that reduce left-over traces to half or less. 

While the interior films are still in a prototype stage they do represent an interesting glimpse into things to come in the packaging industry.    Eco-friendly innovations in packaging can come from technological advances like this one.

Recycline Selling Products in Bulk on Amazon.com

Recycline, markers of the popular Preserve brand of household and personal care items made from recycled plastic, is offering many of its products in bulk quantities through internet superstore Amazon.com.

Consumers can access the full line of Preserve products through Amazon expanding the range of the product line for Recycline to literally every household in America.

"We're definitely pleased to have our products sold on Amazon," said Recycline's C.A. Webb. 

It is becoming a growing trend, eco-conscious consumers shopping in bulk through Amazon locking in low prices and free shipping on nearly every order from Amazon over $25.  The combination is a winner for shoppers looking for bulk quantities and pricing on their favorite products

For instance, Recycline's popular Preserve toothbrushes can be purchased in a bulk 6-pack for around $17 or the new Razor Triple is available in a case of 6 packs each containing four blades a piece for around $28.

Amazon is carrying a growing number greener products and offers many of them in bulk for consumers.

Coca-Cola Introduces New PET Bottle; Announces Construction of $60 Million PET Recycling Facility

In a series of carefully timed releases the Coca-Cola Company made two major announcements this week.   First the company announced on Tuesday the launch of their new PET plastic bottle.

Tuesday's announcement was followed up on Wednesday with the announcement the company will build a $60 PET recycling facility in Spartanburg, S.C. with the United Resource Recovery Corporation.

Coca-Cola's new PET contour bottle will be used for all of its brands and uses 5% less PET than their current bottle.

The new 20-ounce bottle is designed to be easy-to-hold and easy-to-open offering on-the-go convenience to people looking for immediate refreshment.

Coca-Cola said consumers can except to see the new bottles in convenience stores immediately and nationwide by early 2008.

The company's new PET recycling facility will be the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant when it opens in 2008.  The plant is expected to be operational by 2009. 

The joint venture with United Resource Recovery Corporation will produce approximately 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET plastic each year - or the equivalent of two billion 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles.

The Spartanburg facility will use URRC's patented UnPET process for chemically super-cleaning PET flake for cost efficient food grade packaging.  The new facility and technology are related to a five year development program between the two companies begun in 1996.  The companies were working together to commercialize the UnPET process by producing food-grade quality PET chip for bottle-to-bottle recycling. 

Based on the recent announcement regarding construction of the new $60 million facility, it would appear they were successful.

Concentrated Laundry Detergents Become Latest Trend in Green Retail Packaging

One of the most noticeable green packaging trends occurring in mainstream consumer products is in laundry detergents.  Nearly every major manufacturer of laundry detergent sold in the US market is coming out with a concentrated version of their most popular product packaged in a smaller lighter plastic container. 

The major companies like Unilever, Proctor & Gamble and Dial are all using the new version of their laundry detergent to tout their greenness.

How did it all begin?  Concentrated laundry soaps are nothing new to the "green" marketplace, they've been around for years and are popular among devout green consumers.  A concentrated detergent for the mainstream market is another story.

San Francisco-based Method was yet again the principle innovator in taking a greener laundry detergent mainstream.  Backed by the considerable retail market force of Target Stores, Method's concentrated laundry detergent gained an instant national audience.

When Method launched their laundry detergent they treated the launch more like an opening at an art gallery sending out a mailing showcasing their new small bottle and its benefits.  Like many Method products the packaging and design were far ahead of products in its class.  The bottle design was done by Karim Rashid and the graphic design was done by the team at Kate Spade.

After Method's August 2004 launch of its concentrated laundry detergent it was just a matter of time before others followed.

Led by growing sustainability initiatives at the country's largest retailer, Wal-Mart the major players in the laundry market all began developing concentrated versions of their detergents in smaller, lighter packaging. 

The American Chemical Society published a fascinating article on Wal-Mart's influence. 

Who would be first among the giants?  Unilever's All brand launched the "Small & Mighty" bottle containing a 3x concentrated version of its popular All detergent.  The All Small & Mighty bottle is next to the Method bottle the most interesting and innovative of bottles developed so far.  The #2 HDPE bottle is produced by Graham Packaging along with its #5 PP cap.  Graphic design was done by UK-based Vibrandt Ltd.

The bottle was designed with input from Wal-Mart with the goal of making the detergent more shelf-friendly and more sustainable.  The detergent uses 64% less water in its formulation than their traditional All detergent and the bottle is lighter making it easier and more efficient to ship and also easier to use and handle for consumers.  Through a partnership between Unilever and Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart agreed to aggressively push All Small & Mighty in its stores.   The idea was to promote the product and eliminate any concerns from consumers.  The plan worked All Small & Mighty became popular and grew.

Small & Mighty launched in February 2006 and since has appeared as packaging for their Wisk and Snuggle brands.  Unilever has not announced plans to replace all of its All & Wisk packaging with the Small & Mighty bottles.  The bottle does appear to be the main packaging for their Snuggle brand of fabric softeners.

Unilever's success with Small & Mighty and pressure from Wal-Mart led arch rival Proctor & Gamble to develop its own concentrated formula for its brands including Tide.  The Tide 2x Ultra formula and other P&G brands like Gain, Cheer, Era & Dreft have been tested in markets and are becoming available across the US and Canada now.  P&G is planning on replacing all existing SKUs with the 2X Ultra versions from 50oz - 200oz. P&G hopes to have them available nationwide & and Canada by the beginning of spring 2008.  It has been reported P&G is planning a full scale education & media blitz for its new packaging.

Wal-Mart's national advertising circular for this week contains a full feature on the new Tide packaging and its benefits. 

The Wal-Mart web site has a whole section dubbed "Laundry Aisle Makeover" devoted to laundry detergents including announcements that consumers can soon expect a concentrated version of both Purex and Arm & Hammer detergents.  Visitors to the web site can request a free sample of 2X concentrated Purex.

The question remains how will consumers react to the new packaging of their favorite laundry detergent?  It appears retailers are confident the new packaging will succeed and be an overall positive.  In order to produce the packaging the companies have had to spend considerable sums of money designing new bottles and retrofitting equipment for production.

Will the greener packaging trend in laundry detergent stop here?  It would appear not.  The Birmingham Business Journal reported Unilever will roll out a new "green" 2X concentrate of the All brand this fall in stores in Alabama.  The new product is different than its current 3X All concentrate available now across the country.  Unilever did not respond to repeated attempts from Sustainableisgood.com for comment on this latest version of All. 

Wal-Mart National Ad Focuses on Reducing Packaging Waste

Wal-Mart's current national advertising circular distributed in Sunday newspapers across the country this week features a 3/4 page focus on green products with a strong message on reducing packaging.

The circular has a large photo of Tide's new Pure Essentials concentrated laundry detergent as well as door mats made from recycled Wal-Mart tires and a package of GE CFL bulbs.

The top of the page reads " Now you can save the planet while you save money."  The new ad is a first for Wal-Mart and is very similar to an ad Target ran in May in their national circular.

Linking saving money with saving the planet is a key component to Wal-Mart's green marketing strategy and a major hurdle for the greener products market in general whose costs are generally higher then their conventional counterparts, preventing many consumers from buying them.

The ad's main focus is laundry detergent and draws attention to a growing trend in the industry of offering concentrated laundry detergent in smaller packaging.  The ad says, "If every Wal-Mart customer bought just one compact laundry detergent, we'd reduce packaging waste by over 50 million pounds."

Another interesting feature in the ad are the new Wal-Mart Ecomat doormats.  There isn't much information available on the doormats other than they are a "one time offer" and are made from 100% recycled Wal-Mart car tires.  According to Wal-Mart if every customer bought one Ecomat it would keep 60 million passenger tires from becoming waste.

This Wal-Mart ad is of great interest.  The mere fact it mentions "packaging waste" in a national mainstream ad is amazing.  Even a year ago such a mention would have been unheard of for a company like Wal-Mart to acknowledge let alone mention such an issue in a national advertising circular.