Remember our previous blog, “Compostable Easter Candy Pouches” where we talked about the compostable candy pouches? Well a coffee company has introduced a brand new biodegradable pouch for their retail line of coffee. The Canadian based company, Transcend Coffee, prides themselves in their close relationship with their coffee bean growers to always have the freshest most natural product for their customers. Transcend Coffee has five different categories based on their origin including Central America and Africa. Within the categories consumers can choose a blend based on the farm it was grown at such as Santa Lucia Organic Coffee or Farami de Dota.

The coffee company partnered with TekPak Solutions to create the 12 oz. stand up biodegradable pouches that are 100% environmentally safe. TekPak comments, “The film does not depend on water, heat, sunlight or oxygen to degrade. It only reacts with the ever-present microbes in soil or water, making it even more degradable than other products labeled as biodegradable.” In fact, due to its biodegradable properties the company calls the pouch “omnidegradable” or “all biodegradable.” Each pouch is manufactured with a built in re-sealable top so that the coffee will maintain its freshness and flavor. The pouches have a cream color base with a front white panel printed with their “Transcent Taste Index” that alerts the customer to the body and flavoring of the coffee.

What other biodegradable or compostable products have you found on the market? Leave us a comment; we love to hear from our readers!

Vermont’s Killington Resort, one of the largest ski resorts in North America, has introduced an innovative way to power its chairlift’s: cow manure. The resort is enrolled in the Green Mountain Power’s Cow Power program, which allows customers to support Vermont’s dairy farms while purchasing their electricity. The program is a great way to support local farms, and keep businesses “green.”

The Cow Power process has taken ten years to perfect but is quite simple. The Boston Globe describes the process as, “Farms collect cow manure throughout the day, mixing it with wash water from the milking equipment which is then pumped into an anaerobic digester. The slurry flows through a digester for about three weeks at 100 degrees Fahrenheit allowing bacteria to convert the manure into biogas, about 60% methane gas and 40% carbon dioxide. The biogas is then delivered to a modified natural gas engine, which drives an electric generator to create electricity.”

So far, thirteen Vermont farms participate in the Cow Power program, in which they receive compensation for their efforts. New farms are joining this growing program everyday, and making a positive difference in our environment. Killington is one of Green Mountain Power’s largest customers, which will hopefully inspire other ski resorts to use this renewable energy source.

Interested in going “green” for your project? Check out our sustainability page!

Canada’s oldest candy company, Ganong, introduced a new type of eco-friendly pouching for their Easter candy line this past spring. The collection included four different delicious products such as their Animal Jellies, Chocolate Eggs, Chocolate Covered Jube Cherry Eggs, and Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs.

These pouches are created from wood pulp (the material used to make paper) as opposed to synthetic plastic making them both biodegradable and compostable. Eco-friendly packaging is an excellent way to make your product stand out against the other candy products on the retail shelf. They have designed the products to remain consistent with traditional look of Easter candy by having the pouches printed in bright colors, but have included a green compostable seal as an indicator that this pouch is eco-friendly. Also, notice how they have selected a matte finish as opposed to the traditional glossy for a more subtle and earthy look.

Check out another compostable bag discussed in our previous blog “Compostable Bag Makes Comeback!”

Did you know that according to Perception Research Services (from the April edition of Brand Packaging Magazine), “More than half, 59%, of shoppers state that seeing environmental claims on packaging positively impacts their behavior to either buy more of the brands they usually do or switch to others.” Also, according to Packaging Digest, “In 2011, we noticed a significant increase in shoppers checking to see if a package can be recycled prior to buying it.”

It appears that consumers are paying more attention than ever to the product packaging they are buying and it has certainly had an influence on the packaging that companies are releasing. For example, remember our blog Method Creates Ocean Based Material or the blog Natural from the Inside Out? Both of these products are excellent examples of companies that have introduced environmentally friendly packaging during its rise back in 2011. Pantene, the popular hair care company owned Procter & Gamble, also introduced their “Nature Fusion” line back in 2011 with packaging made from none other than a plant! The white bottles in the photo above are made from a sugar cane based plastic and are 100% recyclable. I am a huge fan of both the material base as well as the look of the bottle as it fits in well with the rest of their product collections. Notice that they have utilized an ultra-clear label on these bottles for the “no-label” look popular among health & beauty companies.

What other recent packaging have you seen released on the market with environmentally friendly packaging?