Stonyfield Farm, a long recognized leader in more sustainable packaging announced that all of their multipack yogurts are now packaged in packaging made from 93% PLA, a plant-based material made from corn.
The company said as of October 2010 all of its mulitpacks in retail stores are the in the new PLA packaging.
The new PLA packaging replaces multipack packaging made from #6 polystyrene.
Stonyfield is working on converting the lids to a more sustainable material as well. The lids on the new mulitpacks are made from a metalized PET plastic.
The company has purposely chosen not to mark their new packaging with the standard #7 "other" indicator so it is not confused with other types of plastics that also fall into that category and may leach BPA and other toxins.
Instead Stonyfield has labelled the bottom of its individual yogurt cups with the phrase "This Cup is Made from Plants."
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The corn based plastic seems to be showing in lots of places, but are they really a mixed blessing? I'd rather not be putting another dollar into Monsanto's pocket. I'd like to see manufacturers go the extra mile and indicate if it's the plant based plastic is made from organic plants.
Posted by: Deborah | October 23, 2010 at 11:11 AM
I am a big fan of Stonyfield and Gary Hirshberg. What they are doing to promote organically grown food is tremendous. I love their guerilla marketing. It is clever and effective. But I am not sure that I agree with the strategy of using PLA. PLA is made from corn right now. Corn uses a tremendous amount of petroleum-based fertilizer to grow. For that reason, I question the true carbon footprint of this packaging. Down the road this makes sense but only if we use a feedstock not a foodstock and one that is grown without petro-based fertilizers.
Posted by: Kate Putnam | October 23, 2010 at 12:10 PM