Whole Earth Packaging Archive Page
Friday, September 28, 2012

Here at Whole Earth Packaging, we focus on eco-friendly supplies, from cold corn cups to BioBags. We strongly believe that choosing products crafted with the environment’s health in mind is of immeasurable importance, particularly in regard to disposable items. That said, there’s something else of great importance that we think gets overlooked too often in ‘going green’ – common sense.

We don’t say this to be the least bit judgmental or harsh; we understand completely how common sense can escape us all at times. We’re trying so hard to learn as much as possible and be as environmentally conscious as possible that sometimes we don’t look at the obvious. And the biggest obvious we can focus on is the first of the big ‘R’s of conservation: Reduce.

The next time you’re looking for a greener alternative to something in your life, or a greener way of doing something, ask yourself if it’s necessary to have it or do it at all! Going to the store for a few small essentials and forgot your reusable bag? Fret not, for a bag might not even be necessary. You can often toss things in your purse or backpack, or simply carry them with your hands. It just might be that simple! Shampoo too harsh and drying out your hair? Try only using it every other time you wash and simply rinse with water and conditioner the other times. Can’t get a small plastic cup clean enough to recycle it? You might be wasting more water trying to get it clean than recycling it is worth. Consider the full impact of everything you do, particularly in regard to how much water is necessary. That stuff that flows so freely from the tap had to jump through a lot of hoops to get clean enough for consumption!

Be mindful of ways you can reduce the water you use, and what you put into the water as well. A small step I’ve made to help keep our water cleaner and easier to treat is to not put anything into it that I don’t have to. While I may have tossed a tissue or Q-tip in the toilet in the past, I now make sure to use the garbage instead. Why make more work for the people at the water treatment center cleaning the water of things that never had to be in there in the first place? That’s just common sense. ;)


by: Whole Earth Packaging
Monday, September 24, 2012

While BioBags are most popularly used for the convenient, eco-friendly storage of food scraps to be composted, the wildly useful 3 gallon size finds itself in many other locations! But before we highlight a few of the unintended but just as perfect uses for 3 gallon BioBags, let’s first look at what makes them different from your average bag, and compost-perfect.

Any composter understands that there are downsides to composting. Usually these aren’t nearly negative enough to stop us from composting of course, but complaining about them from time to time doesn’t make us bad keepers of the planet – it’s human! One of these downsides is dealing with the compost bucket, which can get downright gross. By its very nature a compost bucket isn’t going to be pretty, but there is something simple you can do to minimize the muck – line it with a 3 gallon BioBag.

By allowing heat and moisture to break out of the bag, breathable BioBags cut down on bacterial build-up and its resultant odor. For the smartest setup possible, use your BioBags with their complementary Max Air buckets.

So – using BioBags is a simple way to make composting more rewarding than rancid. But where else can they be used? We’re glad you asked! A 3 gallon BioBag can keep fruits and veggies fresher in the refrigerator, and let bathroom garbage ‘breathe’ so it can be changed less often without compromising on stink. These bags are also great for protecting everything in your gym bag from your potentially dirty sneakers. Just like any floor, the gym floor is holding its fair share of bacteria, which your sneakers inevitably pick up. Simply toss them in a 3 gallon BioBag inside your gym bag and they’ll be less likely to share the germs with everything else inside!


by: Whole Earth Packaging
Monday, September 17, 2012

I’m about to provide a little simple but valuable insight for all the business owners out there reading this. Are you ready? Here it is…bathrooms matter. Customers take the quality, condition and comfort of your bathroom much more seriously than you might imagine. And having a really good bathroom? That can be a really good thing. Seriously. It might seem like a small thing, but it’s not. And here’s just a few reasons why…

  • Whatever business you have, be it a coffee shop or a convenience store, chances are good that there’s some nearby competition. Your product quality and price will likely be of paramount importance in earning business, but they won’t be the only things potential customers consider. Cleanliness will come into play, and friendliness of staff. And…well…for many customers, your bathroom will be a factor as well. And I know this because I’m one of them. If I want a good cup of coffee, there’s two coffee shops nearby, and I have to use the restroom as well, I choose the one with the better bathroom every time.

  • People will complain about what they feel is a bad bathroom. They will complain to you, they will complain to your staff, they will complain to others once they leave your business. I learned this working in retail for many years, where I was told more times than I care to recall that our bathrooms were “disgusting.” And, they were! Our management didn’t prioritize keeping them clean or well-stocked, so they were often out of toilet paper and out of paper towels, with overflowing garbages and an unpleasant smell. They were disgusting, and it wasn’t long before everyone knew it. Even our most loyal customers would comment, noting what a shame it was given how nice they felt our store was. 

Don’t worry – keeping your bathroom in order won’t consume your whole day. It will require some time, of course, but you can make things easier on yourself by starting with the right supplies in the first place. Just a few to consider are: a Twin Jumbo San Jamar toilet paper dispenser, which holds 2 oversized rolls of toilet paper so you run out less often, and a modern, well-functioning, commercial paper towel dispenser. A little slow jazz playing never hurts either, but that might just be me!


by: Whole Earth Packaging
Monday, September 10, 2012

As exciting as hosting a house party can be, inviting family and friends over for fabulous food, drinks and endless fun, when everyone has left for the night (or, the next morning!), there’s usually quite a mess to clean up. I’m lucky enough that for the most part, I have hosted many times without much major consequence. None of my pets have been drawn on, none of my furniture broken. But as someone who works hard at living as eco-friendly a life as I can, the bin of plastic drink cups always makes me wince.

Sure, they can be rinsed and recycled, but I still wished there was something better. Apart from investing in 100 drinking glasses, I wasn’t always sure what that ‘something better’ might be. But now I am! And I’ve been happily post-party-wince-free since I started using NatureWorks Green Stripe corn cups.

Instead of relying on the petroleum needed to create most plastic cold beverage cups, these plastic cups made from corn prove there’s a smarter way to do things!

  • Petroleum-based cups aren’t compostable. NatureWorks corn cups are!
  • Petroleum is not a renewable resource – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Corn, on the other hand? Totally renewable!
  • The petroleum used in crafting plastic cups could have come from any number of locations, while the corn used in creating NatureWorks corn plastic cups is US-grown only. This is especially important for those who wish to support American jobs and shop as locally as possible, as often as possible.

You can have your party, and go green, too! And corn plastic cups are just one small step you can make. But you know what happens when a lot of people make a lot of small, important steps, right? Good things. Good things happen. 


by: Whole Earth Packaging

Home