Compostable Coffee Packaging Solution

Green Life Store brings you a new innovative and eco conscious product, the Compostable Coffee bags from NatureFlex™  Contact us info@greenlifestore.co.za for more info. 

April 2012 Innovia Films’ compostable, cellulose-based material, NatureFlex™ is helping a New Zealand coffee roaster meet its commitment to being socially and environmentally responsible.

Caffe Prima, based in Christchurch, has chosen to use 'Econic'® coffee bags.  The bags were specifically developed by New Zealand converter, Convex Plastics, using NatureFlex™ renewable and compostable films in their construction.

“Coffee is a very demanding product to package because maintaining freshness and taste is absolutely paramount.  Packs have to be puncture and impact resistant and offer high barrier and good seal integrity to keep oxygen out and aroma in.  Coupled with this, Caffe Prima, was looking for a solution that was kind to the environment.  NatureFlex™ ticked all the boxes as far as we were concerned,” said Andrew Sheerin, Technical Manager, Convex Plastics.

A laminate construction was produced using three flexible films that are certified compostable and renewable – A reverse printed clear NatureFlex™ / High-Barrier Metallised NatureFlex™ / Starch based biopolymer.

“Achieving success with partners such as Convex means that our NatureFlex™ films are well positioned to provide solutions to converters and brand owners. Especially those seeking to meet consumer demand for packaging made from renewable resources,” said Robin Dearnley, Australia and New Zealand Sales Manager for Innovia Films.

NatureFlex™ films are certified to meet the American ASTM D6400, European EN13432 and Australian AS4736 standards for compostable packaging.  The wood-pulp is sourced from managed plantations from referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent).  The renewable biobased content of NatureFlex™ films is typically 95% by weight of material according to ASTM D6866.  NatureFlex™ has been confirmed as suitable for emerging 'waste to energy' techniques such as anaerobic digestion, aiding the diversion of organic wastes from landfill.

NatureFlex™ was an obvious solution for use in this application as the film begins life as a natural product – wood - and breaks down at the end of its lifecycle in a home compost bin (or industrial compost environment) within a matter of weeks.

Every Cup Counts

This week I've decided to have a closer look at the Coffee Trade. What happens way before you sip your favorite flat white to long after. From the ground to the ground. What impact does your choice of coffee have on the World?

Why? I am a self confessed coffaholic and would like to know that my cup of coffee is helping and not harming my effort for a more sustainable World. It all started with a goat-herder from Ethiopia, who one day noticed his goats dancing on their hind legs after eating some red berries which were growing on low bushes in the countryside... and viola, the coffee industry was founded.


A couple hundred years later, and we have a billion dollar industry, second biggest after oil, dedicated to those red berries. Growing, harvesting, exporting, importing, roasting, flat white, tall black, skinny lattes, espressos, all available to-go.

As if we not overwhelmed by choice of how to have our morning brew,  we have to consider if our brew is "Fairtrade"certified and earth friendly or not. And do you really want to enjoy that perfect cuppa if its from a farm in Ethiopian where the farmers are paid less than a 3c for your cuppa. Simply knowing that your certified Fairtrade cup of coffee can help farmers escape poverty must add some value to paying a fair price for a everyday luxuries such as a cuppa coffee.  

"For every cup of coffee you buy for $3, a farmer earns 3c"

Buying organic food might be good for the environment, but the organic label is no guarantee that it’s good for the people who produce it. Luckily this is where the "Fairtrade" label comes in, which guarantees that the farmers producing the crop pay a fair wage to their laborers and promote economic self-sufficiency. 

What about the environment?  Do you ever consider that your Coffee often takes a high toll on the environment, as virgin forests are cleared away to make way for new coffee plantations.
Not to talk about the waste of take away coffee's around the World.  
 

Using non-eco cups raises the Question : Why bother ordering a cup of certified "Fairtrade" or Organic coffee if it comes in a cup that's coated with chemicals and will not breakdown or cannot be recycled.


Opening your mind up and becoming aware of buying "Fairtrade" coffee in a eco friendly take away cup, in my opinion, is a great way to harnesess the power that you have over the coffee trade to help alleviate poverty, waste generated and force a significant global change socially and environmentally.

By making small, simple changes to your everyday purchasing habits, such as choosing a cup of "Fairtrade" coffee in a eco friendly take away cup, you are able to vote with your Rand for a better World.

Some Coffee Facts

Coffee grows in more than 50 countries around the world and employs over 25 million coffee growers.

Coffee is the largest trading commodity in the world after oil, generating annual sales in excess of $80 billion dollars per year.

Coffee is the most popular drink worldwide. 

Globally, about 2 billion cups of coffee are drunk every day.

It takes fifty coffee beans to brew an espresso and each coffee bean has to be individually hand picked.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and is known for producing some of the best high grade quality coffee in the world.

Today, 15 million people in Ethiopia depend on coffee for their survival. It accounts for 67% of the country’s foreign export income.

An average coffee farmer receives less than 3 US cents for a $3 cup of coffee.    

http://fairtradeusa.org 
http://blackgoldmovie.com 

Article  by Natashia Fox

21 June 2012

www.greenlifestore.co.za | www.vegware.co.za

How 'Green' is your local food market?

I always love visiting my local farmers or food market. Lots of passion, yummy- creative snacks and the result, a vibe that makes you feel good about eating and buying local and organic.
There is always an abundant array of delicious and beautiful local organic grown veggies, beer, freshly baked breads, fair trade chocolates, wines and sustainable fish to choose from. 


However, I was also struck by two things.

An awful lot of cars. Parking a nightmare.  Secondly, a ridiculous amount of non-eco-friendly packaging &  plastic bags used. Don’t get me wrong, buying local food and supporting local is probably one of the most 'urban hip' things you can do for our planet, but I feel it should not end there.  I think our local food markets need to educate and encourage a greener lifestyle by example. From their certified organic stall holders, onsite visible recycling bins, fairtrade products to eco-friendly packaging used by stall holders.

Lets face it, we as a society aspire to follow the latest trend and if following a green trend is the latest, then I'm all for it. It's ultimately an all round win-win for us and Mother Earth.

Even when we buy local, we need to make efforts to do it in the most responsible way. That means refusing those plastic bags and taking our own, making use of the recycling facilities when you finished with your gourmet prepared meal, it means biking, busing or carpooling when possible, and it means asking questions about how your food was grown, as well as the packaging it is being presented in.
 

In some ways this highlights one of the biggest, but perhaps most intangible, benefits of the food markets, asking the real questions. Because we come face-to-face with the people producing, cooking our food, and often the people organizing the market, we can form real relationships, and communicate our values to them. It’s not so easy to do that at your local big box retailer. Of course, these thoughts are probably nothing new to the dedicated weekly market goer but its nice to be reminded why we visit the local market weekly. 

Article by Natashia Fox
www.greenlifestore.co.za or www.vegware.co.za

Guba uses Vegware in Swaziland's music festival, Bushfire

To raise awareness for Guba in one our local communities, we were delighted when the organisers of local music & arts festival, Bushfire, agreed to allow us to run a small cafe selling locally produced food in their stunning Sacred Circle over the festival weekend.

Our team of Permaculture facilitators & natural builders became the cafe team overnight for 3 days only. Everyone involved did so as volunteers - the vibe & teamwork was incredible & a lot of fun!

The Gube Story

The Guba farm began as 2.2 hectares of invasive bush & pineapple stumps. The soil was a mix of sandy clay & silty loam but had been depleted by aggressive, non-indigenous plants & decades of conventional pineapple farming that stripped away the topsoil & beneficial nutrients with each rain storm. Although almost three quarters of the land was bush, it added little diversity to the area. The year was 2009. Here we could practice the Permaculture theory we wanted to explore. 

Our enthusiasm was greatly influenced by Masanobu Fukuoka's observational approach to farming combined with an urgent need to appropriately respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis gripping the Swazi nation. Fukuoka reckoned that one-&-a-quarter acres of arable land, farmed naturally, was enough to feed a family in Japan & to leave

“plenty of time for leisure & social activities within the village community.”

Inspired by Fukuoka & other Permaculture-related activists, we began our preparations to become part of the solution, as Permaculture gardeners & trainers growing with our communities toward a more resilient future. Completing our Permaculture Design Course in 2009 helped frame our past sustainable agriculture training & laid the groundwork for the ongoing development of the farm as a working example of tools outlined in Permaculture, Holisitic Land Management, agro-forestry, natural building & natural resource management, to name a few.

As Darrell Frey eloquently stated in his book, Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm, to the student of Permaculture,

"problems are signposts pointing to solutions... Thoughtful application of ecological design for problem solving can set in motion regeneration of soil, watersheds & local ecosystems that in turn help heal regional & global environments."

All the tools & information we need to design & plan sustainable communities are available now. 

We believe that a sustainable future will be rooted to the land. Our farm has been designed to be a valuable educational resource that offers many different types of training, from diet & nutrition, nutrient cycling & diverse agricultural enterprises to our interconnection to the natural world & the social dynamics that perpetuate poor quality of life. Guba is intended to be a tool for those who want to participate in the continuing evolution of a sustainable society.

We are a registered not-for-profit organisation working to reduce inequality in Swaziland by supporting people to affect planned change in their own lives through the provision of high quality learning opportunities, rooted in sustainable & ecologically sound approaches to farming & human development.

Our vision is for all people in Swaziland to have secure access to nutritious food, clean water, shelter & economic stability through their own energies & practices that nurture their physical & social environments.