Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Naya 100% rPET Bottles Now Available at Whole Foods Market

Canada-based Naya Spring Water, the first bottled spring water company in the world to use 100 percent recycled plastic in its bottles, announced that Whole Foods Market, the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, will carry two sizes of the popular spring water brand in its U.S. stores.

Naya Water is sourced directly at a spring in Canada’s Laurentian Mountains and bottled in the industry’s most eco-friendly packaging.

“As the first spring water company to introduce a 100 percent recycled plastic bottle, Whole Foods Market is an ideal partner for us,” said Daniel Cotte, president of Naya Waters, Inc.

“Whole Foods Market shares our commitment to energy conservation, reducing packaging wherever possible and being more sustainable from cradle to cradle.”

Whole Foods will primarily carry Naya Spring water in its popular 1.5L and 1L bottle sizes. After seven years of R&D, Naya’s 100 percent rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are engineered to utilize plastic waste, which otherwise could end up in landfills. The rPET plastic used in Naya’s new bottle is FDA approved and meets the same rigorous safety standards as virgin plastic bottles.

“We’re pleased to offer our shoppers a great quality spring water in the most environmentally friendly plastic bottle available,” said Michael Besancon, senior global vice president at Whole Foods Market. 

“Naya’s innovation and efforts to reduce and reuse plastic are aligned with our values of caring about communities and the environment.”

Green Packaging Award

Earlier this month at the Natural Products Expo, Naya received a Responsible Packaging Award (“Green Packy Award”) for its 100% rPET bottle. The Responsible Packaging Awards honor companies’ vision and achievements  in raising the bar for truly sustainable packaging, including innovations for eliminating dependence on non-renewable materials such as petroleum, a primary component used in the production of virgin plastic bottles. The award is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, United Natural Foods, Inc. and the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association.

Snyder's of Hanover Switches to Renewable Plant-based Ingeo PLA Packaging for Organic Pretzel Line

Snyder's of Hanover has switched the packaging for its organic pretzels to renewable plant-based packaging developed by Clear Lam Packaging. 

During a year of research and development, Clear Lam replaced conventional petroleum-based plastics with a unique material derived primarily from renewable Ingeo PLA (polylactic acid).  When compared to traditional petroleum-based packaging, the renewable raw materials are produced with as little as half the energy and generate as little as 52 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacturing process.

The new bag created for the Snyder's of Hanover organic product line uses renewable raw materials that are 90 percent plant-based, part of Clear Lam's Project EarthClear packaging initiatives.

"We're pleased to bring this technological breakthrough to our customers in order to support global sustainability initiatives," said James Sanfilippo, President and CEO of Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. 

"This is a major milestone and another important step in our effort to provide meaningful packaging solutions that are better for the environment."

A key engineering challenge faced by Clear Lam was finding a way to maintain similar performance characteristics to traditional petroleum-based packaging materials. Clear Lam derived a way to produce the new plant-based packaging with the appropriate properties to make the bags act and feel like conventional bags.

"Our launch of this new renewable plant-based packaging is just the latest example of our company's commitment to utilizing products and practices that minimize negative effects on the environment," said Claude O'Connor, Vice President of Marketing at Snyder's of Hanover. 

Snyder's organic pretzel product line includes 8 Grains & Seeds, Whole Wheat & Oat and Honey Whole Wheat.  A new line of Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks will be launching soon.

A bright yellow graphic on the upper right corner of the package helps differentiate the bag on the shelf and directs consumers to the back panel for more information on the benefits of the renewable packaging.

Clear Lam produced the new package from a film derived from plants not oil.  To create the appropriate oxygen and moisture barrier properties to help in protecting the freshness of the product, the film was laminated to another plant-based plastic layer that incorporates a thin metalized layer. 

The materials are made mostly from Ingeo PLA produced by NatureWorks LLC.

Stonyfield Partners with Preserve on Single Serve Container Promotion; Ships in Globe Guard Recycled Boxes

Stonyfield Farms recently held a promotion for its customers encouraging the purchase of its larger one quart containers of yogurt. 

The popular maker of natural and organic yogurts teamed with its primary recycling partner MA-based Preserve to create a reusable single serve 8 oz container so its customers could buy the larger sized yogurt but still take smaller containers with them where ever they need to go.

Customers who sent in four foil lids from one quart Stonyfield yogurts through December will receive the new stylish blue 8 oz Preserve reusable container. 

"When consumers buy our quarts instead of single-serving cups, they pay less for their yogurt, but we know that a quart is not as convenient as single-serving cups for on the go consumption,” says Stonyfield President Gary HIrshberg.

“The reusable yogurt cup gives our quart buyers the convenience of the Stonyfield 6 oz cups by providing a way to create easily transportable single servings for anywhere, anytime."

Stonyfield has been working with Preserve (formerly Recycline) since 2000.  Preserve uses innovative methods to turn used materials made from #5 plastic (including used Stonyfield yogurt cups) into stylish, useful household products like toothbrushes, colanders, cutting boards and tableware. Preserve products are 100% recycled and recyclable too.

Stonyfield is currently in the process of shipping out the Preserve containers to their customers. 

In order to help reduce the impact of shipping the containers, Stonyfield used custom Globe Guard 100% Post-consumer recycled boxes. 

Globe Guard boxes are produced by Chicago area Salazar Packaging, a leader in the development of more sustainable packaging solutions for both large and small companies. 

Salazar Packaging produced a custom 4" cube box for Stonyfield Farms allowing the reusable container to be shipped directly to their customers.

The whole process from the development of the idea to offer Stonyfield customers a single serve reusable Preserve container to the distribution of the cups in the special Globe Guard boxes is a perfect example of a partnership among three companies who have been committed to making better more sustainable products with minimal environmental impact.