Sustainable Packaging
As an unabashed biophiliac, gardener, animal lover, and father…
…I’m aware that everything I use to package and ship my products will eventually end up in the soil or watershed somewhere and it’s my intention for Astro Botanico to be at the forefront of sustainability innovation. In the same way I endeavor to make sure that everyone who’s involved in the growing, harvesting, manufacturing, and consumption of my products will benefit in some way (what I call the “crop to cup” circle) - the same is true with regard to the circle of sustainability for my packaging.
And while I hope that my customers will appropriately dispose of the packaging, the truth is that most people will likely just throw it in the trash and it’ll end up in a landfill somewhere. Knowing this, my goal is ultimately to have all my packaging for Astro Botanico be 100% made of recycled/upcycled materials, plastic free (including the current forms of bioplastics), and 100% curbside recyclable - and hopefully 100% compostable - so that no matter where it ends up, the company I love so much won’t be responsible for polluting the earth and her oceans that I love so much.
This brings me to the main point I had to consider when deciding what to use:
compostability and recyclability are more about “end-of-life” than “lifecycle”.
All packaging is destined to end up somewhere, so it’s important to consider how it’s going to break down when it gets there. Of course, this isn’t to say that “lifecycle” isn’t important, because it absolutely is - but “end of life” is what we see on the side of the road or washed up on the beach…or don’t see floating around in the oceans.
Incidentally, the vast majority of “compostable” packaging is actually only compostable under specific conditions (read: industrial composting facilities…NOT home composting). The same goes for packaging touted as “biodegradable”. Recyclable is the preferred “end of life” as it can be turned back into something else whereas if something is composted, it can’t, and thus, requires more resources to recreate that package. To my knowledge, paper is the only current packaging that can be both, and that’s my ultimate goal.
There isn’t always a perfect solution in every case, but the more companies that sign on to using sustainable packaging, the closer we’ll get to better solutions. So the more I demand and am willing to pay a small premium for things like post-consumer waste in my packaging, I’m signaling to extruders, reclaimers, and recyclers that they need to invest in increasing their supply and technical capabilities when it comes to recycled inputs.
And of course, this means that we as consumers need to do our part and properly recycle when a thing is recyclable. The more we all participate in the process, the more commonplace these things become and ideally, the cheaper they are to produce.
So without further ado and in full transparency, here are the first iterations of the packaging that I’m currently using.
Coffee Bags: They’re 60% compostable, 60% plant-based, renewable. The outer layers consist of natural kraft paper and cellulose from wood pulp. These plant-based, renewable materials make up 60% of the material by weight and have been shown to break down into healthy compost in 12 weeks/90 days using ASTM D6868 test conditions. The interior layer is an oxo-degradable polyethylene layer made without PFAS which breaks down much quicker and into microscopic pieces. It’s still not perfect - nor my ideal - but it’s better than many other options.
These bags are more durable for conventional shipping methods vs other more compostable coffee bags, but those options are much more fragile and would require extra packaging to ship safely - which would only increase the resource inputs (packaging needed to protect it during shipping) and overall cost of my products, nevermind the increased cost of the bag itself.
Also, my end goal in the future is to print my labels directly on the bags using a hot stamping process with algae-based ink which uses algae cells for pigments, making it safer and cleaner to work with and more compatible with the recycling and composting process as there will be no inks or adhesives to contaminate the compost. This would also reduce overall costs as well as printed label resources. The more compostable bags would not allow this hot stamping process because they’re too fragile.
These bags have a one-way degassing valve and metallic tin tie that need to be removed and disposed of before composting - not my ideal, and I’m looking at better options moving forward.
Padded Mailing Envelopes: These are made in the USA from 100% recycled Kraft paper fiber, 20% of it is post-consumer waste paper fiber with upcycled newspaper macerated and sandwiched between the recycled Kraft paper. They’re curbside recyclable with paper and naturally biodegradable, however, they have a plastic tear strip that needs to be disposed of first. My supplier is working on creating a durable tear strip that’s plastic-free, but they’re not there yet. These will also be customized with black algae ink in the future.
Product labels: I’m using Kraft paper labels that are printed on recycled material (made from brown, unbleached natural fibers like wood pulp)…which is great…however, they can’t be recycled or composted due to the adhesives that are used, so they also need to be removed before composting or recycling the bags. Some biodegradable and compostable adhesive options are available but they don’t offer a similar strength once applied. As such, my supplier doesn’t offer them. This is a big reason why my future intentions are to have everything hot-stamped with algae ink, but there are minimum order requirements to have this done which requires a significant financial commitment upfront. Hopefully, with your support, this will happen sooner rather than later.
Zero waste thermal shipping labels: Yeah, I even considered my shipping labels. They feature a recyclable high-performance acrylic emulsion adhesive designed to form a strong bond on my recycled paper shipping envelopes, along with a release liner that is 100% recycled AND curbside recyclable with paper. These labels are also free of chlorine, BPA, PFAS, and phthalates. And of course, they’re thermally printed which means no ink is involved. Unfortunately, my supplier for these labels is different than my supplier for my product labels…which makes me wish they’d have a chat.
Finally, all of my suppliers - both on the ingredient side and on the packaging/labeling side - have solid sustainability plans and programs implemented.
what does the future of sustainability look like for Astro Botanico?
I’m continuing to look for my ideal coffee bag made of 100% recycled material that’s also 100% recyclable and compostable AND that can be hot stamped with algae ink. I’d also like it to be self-venting so it doesn’t need a plastic degassing valve, as well as a way to reclose the bag so it doesn’t need a disposable tin tie. I have some ideas that I’m playing with. Bag sleeves may also be an option but I have to weigh the pros and cons first. I’m also considering creating an “empty coffee package return program” to ensure recyclability - especially for those who live in municipalities that don’t offer recycle programs. And as mentioned above, my goal is to minimize the use of all adhesives and inks while making sure that the ones I do use are as natural as possible and don’t degrade their “end of life” destination.
Ultimately, I want to be able to look at my packaging and feel 100% comfortable if they were to end up in my vegetable garden or in my watershed.
Of course, the major challenge here is the financial commitment upfront needed to meet the MOQs (minimum order quantities) for purchasing and printing…or, in some cases, having custom-made to my specs. But with your support, hopefully, it won’t be too long before we get there.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. What’s important to you about sustainability? Does it even matter to you? What are your thoughts on our current packaging and our future goals? Let me know!