digestible packaging

Posted by Lynsie Watkins Thu, 08 May 2008 01:18:00 GMT

You know something’s good for the planet if you, yourself, can digest it with out a problem. Don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but at Perfect Flavor, all of our packaging is either biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable. This includes our ice cream containers, our tasting spoons, our straws, knives, even our trash bags are made out of PLA, or corn (polylactic acid). These components of our business, according to our standards, MUST be Earth friendly since they get thrown “away,” not digested. (Where is “away” anyway? Could it be a very convenient form of denial??)

At Perfect Flavor, we want a zero waste model in any way that we can manage. When our containers and implements are tossed in the trash (currently there are no recycling programs available for PLA in Virginia that I know of) they biodegrade in a landfill over the course of a few years, during which time they break down back into the original materials from which they were created. The result is the first man-made material that supports a true cradle-to-cradle model. Dirt-PLA-Dirt. And while they decompose, they don’t even emit any harmful toxins into the environment. While I’m proud of the lengths we’ve gone to ensure that our business is as environmentally conscious as possible, there’s a green achievement of ours that gives me more pride and hope for the future than anything else.

Our foam.

That’s right. Something as simple as foam makes me smile from ear to ear. Our foam is more than just your average garden variety foam. It’s green, biodegradable (compostable), and what’s more-we’re the only company using this foam for food packaging in the US. We always knew we wanted to ship our ice cream, mainly because we wanted our business to be a viable one, and shipping our ice cream seemed to be the best way to reach our market.

If we could, we would only sell in Central Virginia, but since our ice cream is such a high end specialty product, it’s not an every day sort of purchase, and therefore could not be supported by everyone, everyday.

If we have to ship, we decided, let’s do it with as much integrity toward our business and our environment as possible.

We needed an insulated shipping container, but all we could find were polystyrene models, which once made, can take 10,000 plus years to biodegrade in a landfill—not exactly a good fit for us and our ideals. However, we knew that people were using corn starch peanuts instead of poly peanuts. Not only are the corn starch peanuts better for the environment, but they also make really great crafts! You can lick the ends and fuse each piece together to create a whole host of stick figures and peace signs. We thought that surely where there were peanuts there would be foam. We were right and wrong.

There was foam out there made of corn, but no one was using it yet. In fact, we were the first ones to ask for it. After months of research, we had a breakthrough. We found GreenCell Foam, and contacted them immediately. Yes, they would make it for us, however since we were the first food business to ask for it, they set us up with a packaging design firm, KTM Industries. For more than six months, GreenCell Foam was tested using our product and our requirements. The end product is a fabulous chunk of corn foam that we can eat, mold, or just throw in our backyard compost pile. After all, once it rains, the foam will be gone, and dirt will be in its place.

Currently, Perfect Flavor is the poster child for GreenCell Foam. We use it in every package we send off, and we encourage recipients to take the foam and throw it in their backyards, too. If one feels daring enough, we invite our customers to take a little nibble out of a corner, after all-it isn’t every day that one comes across digestible packaging!

I’m constantly on a quest to encourage other business owners and plain old citizens to make the switch to green packaging. For more info, please contact us or go to KTM’s website. If you’d like a sample, please visit our store to purchase sample packs for home and business use. We want this to be accessible to anyone interested, so please get in touch! If you’re feeling really moved, please visit our supplier’s page to order.

lynsie@perfectflavor.com