Earthbound Farm, San Juan Bautista, Calif., has switched to 100% postconsumer recycled plastic for all of its clamshell packaging, Samantha Cabaluna, director of communications, said in an e-mail.
The switch earned the company the Produce Marketing Association’s Impact Award for Sustainability and the Environment at PMA’s Fresh Summit, Cabaluna said.
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Courtesy Earthbound Farm |
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Heirloom lettuce leaves are new this year from San Juan Bautista, Calif.-based Earthbound Farm. The leaves are sold in clamshells made from 100% postconsumer recycled plastic. |
The manufacture of the clamshell salad packages will save energy, cut carbon dioxide emissions, help conserve water, and keep more than a million pounds of solid waste out of landfills, Cabaluna said.
Over the past year, the company presented washed heirloom lettuce leaves.
“They’re something like the ‘grown-up’ version of spring mix — more mature leaves of heirloom lettuces. These leaves are colorful and have a bit more body than the baby leaves, and are also washed, dried and sold in the 100% PCR clamshell,” Cabaluna said.
“We’re getting great consumer feedback on our initial launch and hope to expand production on this product in the coming months.”
The company has also launched a redesigned label on its salad greens packages, pointing out the postconsumer content of the packaging, and also is launching a Web-based contest seeking quotes from children for the inside of its clamshell salad labels, Cabaluna said.
“Kids will be encouraged to submit quotes thanking those who purchase organic for helping protect the future. In return, the company will invest in the children’s future,” Cabaluna said.
“The authors of those quotes chosen to be printed on Earthbound Farm salad labels will be awarded a $500 U.S. savings bond and a $500 donation will be made in their name to an environmental charity of their choice."