SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. (May 5, 2010) – America's largest grower of organic produce, Earthbound Farm, has won Silver in the Energy and Sustainability category of the 2010 Edison Best New Product Awards. Presented Apr. 29, 2010 at The Capitale in New York City, the award recognized the company for its new 100 percent post consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PCR PET) plastic clamshell packaging.
Befitting its 25-year history of innovation and environmental stewardship, Earthbound Farm introduced its PCR PET packaging in July 2009. The move was a first for the fresh-cut salad industry. 100 percent PCR PET materials use significantly less energy and water to produce than virgin plastic and generates far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste.
Annually, compared to virgin plastic, Earthbound Farm's switch to 100 percent PCR PET for the clamshell salad packages will save 424,000 million BTUs and 68,307 gallons of water, as well as eliminate 16,191 tons of carbon dioxide and divert 1.3 million pounds of solid waste from landfills. In addition, using PCR PET creates a demand for recycled plastic: plastic that may have otherwise ended up in landfills.
The Edison Awards, a peer-review honor similar to the Oscars, is voted on by approximately 2,000 members of the not-for-profit Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), America's top executives and academics. The winner reflects the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, inspiring America's drive to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. Nominees are judged on the following criteria:
• Marketplace Innovation: The strategy and positioning of the product's introduction was innovative and traditional marketing techniques (such as advertising, sales promotions) were used in creative ways that introduced the new product to consumers.
• Marketplace Success: The product shows signs of cash register success and staying power.
• Technological Innovation: The product or service is on the cutting edge of new technology.
• Market Structure Innovation: The product pioneers a new market or restructures an existing market by creating a new segment or dominating an existing one.
• Societal Impact: The product improves the consumer's lifestyle and/or increases the consumer's freedom of choice.
"We are honored to be recognized by some of the country's leading product innovators with this Edison award," said Charles Sweat, president and CEO of Earthbound Farm. "Although we've pushed into new territory using post-consumer recycled plastic for food packaging, we hope others will be inspired to follow suit and expand the market, keeping more and more plastic out of our landfills. It's a natural extension for us: organic farming helps us produce healthy food while protecting precious natural resources and this new packaging does the same."
While PET is the most recycled plastic, recycling statistics demonstrate how much better Americans could be doing with recycling their valuable wastes. According the Environmental Protection Agency, there was nearly six billion pounds of PET packaging waste generated in 2007 (the most recent year for these stats), and only 23% was recycled into new products, leaving over 4.5 billion pounds of PET to languish in landfills2. If PCR PET were more in demand for packaging and other uses, much more would be diverted from landfills and into other uses.
Source: Earthbound Farm