Sprout Foods, Inc. has a strong commitment to the environment and as such has made the decision to introduce its initial baby food products in a pouch-type packaging.
Pouch packaging was introduced commercially more than a decade ago,
initially in products designed as refills for laundry detergent and
other household items, to reduce the plastic waste of such high-volume
containers. The objective of Sprout Foods in using pouch packaging is
still the same, to reduce waste, and in addition, to reduce energy
consumption in the manufacturing and transportation of our products
while still providing the customer with a high-quality convenience
product. Recyclability is just one of the many factors that must be
considered in addressing the total impact of our packaging on the
environment.
Sprout Foods has taken into consideration
their customers’ desire to recycle and are working to find a
manufacturer that can produce a pouch that can be recycled. Even so,
not all products that can be recycled are, for two main reasons:
consumers’ options can be limited by the fact that the types of
plastics accepted by local municipalities are commonly limited to PETE and HDPE codes 1 and 2, or facilities are not available, and, not all consumers actively recycle.
“…considering
that the environmental cost of production contributes 99% of the
environmental harm, reducing disposal isn’t going to help as much as
cutting production. The problem of packaging facing the environment is
not a problem related to disposal. It is a problem of production, which
directly relates to consumption. The solution according to the Tellus
scale isn’t a matter of improving recycling or disposal rates, but
consuming less.” – The Tellus InstituteIn comparing the pouch to glass, which is the material used in the
majority of competitors products, Sprout Foods found that the energy
(fossil fuels) used over the entire life of the glass package for its
manufacture and transport far exceeds the energy that goes into the
manufacturing and transporting of a pouch package.
Recycling
is important, and a recyclable package is a goal that Sprout Foods
strives toward, but it can be more environmentally sound with existing
technology to reduce the amount of material generated in the first
place and the amount of fuel used in transporting product to retailers.
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