Nature Speaks, Conservation International. People need Nature (not the other way around)

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Conservation International’s #NatureSpeaks Playlist:

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9/17/2018 Project PUT Packaging Note to Chobani Yogurt

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I wrote Chobani Yogurt a second time, 9/18/2018:

9/19/2018

Chobani Yogurt Customer Care Contact Form
https://www.chobani.com/customer-care/…

Dear Chobani,

My children and I very much enjoy your yogurt products. I feel good about the quality of the yogurt you make.

I am also, however, very concerned about your plastic packaging. I feel just awful about it. My kids love your yogurt smoothies and yogurt cups, but they consume one and then the plastic bottle or cup it came it could last for hundreds of years polluting a landfill or end up in our water for us to consume or to choke or poison wildlife.

Milk comes on paper cartons. Chinese food, too. Can’t a company like yours, that professes a mission to provide healthy nutrition to your customers then find a way to package products so that the packaging does not poison and pollute our beautiful planet? When it comes to your yogurt, cannot your customers have the cake and eat it, too?

I really like your yogurt, but for me, buying and consuming it with my family also comes with a huge dose of guilt for enabling/supporting Chonani to package products in such an environmentally irresponsible fashion.

Can you please find a better way to package your products than in plastic? You could become heros in this story and real leaders. Please do. And please do it quickly. There is no time to waste.

Thank you,
Emily Gleichenhaus
Arlington, VA

Project PUT: Pick Up Trash
Project PUT: Pick Up Trash
Every little PUT counts
ProjectPUT.org
@ProjectPUT (Facebook & Twitter)

 

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Response I received from Chobani 9/18/2018:

Hello Emily,

Thanks so much for reaching out to us. We’ve been on a mission since day one to provide better food for more people. Sustainability is not just a word to us; it’s a core value. From cow, to cup, to consumer, we’re bringing Chobani’s universal wellness mission to life through a holistic sustainability program. We’re always exploring new ideas and approaches that support the economic, environmental, and social impacts of our business.

When it comes to our packaging, we’re constantly seeking new ways to minimize our impact on the environment, using less plastic per cup, less paperboard for our packaging overwraps, and less corrugate cardboard for our case shippers. Our sustainable packaging efforts have real impacts on the yogurt category and the planet. Since August 2015, we’ve reduced our packaging weight by 7.4% by redesigning our cups, saving over 2.1 million lbs. of plastic resin – the weight of eight adult blue whales.

We know that many of our fans are having important conversations about sustainability, recycling, and protecting the planet we all share. Here at Chobani, we’re having these conversations, too. Your passionate comments will be shared with our Packaging Innovation Team for review.

Thanks again for reaching out.

JodiLyn Livingston
Community Loyalty Team

 

 

 

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Related Posts and Info

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7//20/2018 Project PUT Comment to Chobani Yogurt
https://projectput.wordpress.com/2018/07/20/comment-to-chobani-yogurt/
(as of 9/18/2018, this comment went unanswered)

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Writing and Calling Companies About Their Packaging
https://projectput.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/writing-and-calling-companies-about-their-packaging/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPUT/
@ProjectPUT

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/singbooksemily/project-put-pick-up-trash/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Blog:
https://projectput.wordpress.com/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Online:
ProjectPUT.org

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ProjectPUT

THE VOTE IS THE ANTIDOTE. Elect Candidates Who Will Protect the Environment

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The only way to elect candidates who will fight for clean air, clean water, clean land, clean food, public lands, and beautiful places is to VOTE for them.

I have assembled a list of organizations that are working to encourage and facilitate voting.

Engage with and support these organizations that encourage voting:
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Black Voters Matter Fund
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Campus Vote Project
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Code Blue
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Democracy for America
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Donate:60
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Election Assistance Commission
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Emily’s List
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Fair Elections Center
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Fair Elections Legal Network
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Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)
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Flippable
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Head Count
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I Vote for America (what if everyone voted?)
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I’m Voting
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Indivisible
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Knock Every Door
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Latino Victory
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League of Women Voters
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Let America Vote
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Lyft: Ride to Vote
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National Democratic Redistricting Committee (End Republican Gerrymandering)
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National Voter Registration Day
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New Voters Project
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Next Generation America
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Nonprofit Vote
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Overseas Vote
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Road to Change/March for Our Lives
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Rock the Vote
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Run for Something
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She Should Run
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Spread the Vote
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Start Guide
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Swing Left
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Turbo Vote
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Voto Latino
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VOTE IS THE ANTIDOTE Pinterest Board
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Vote.org
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Vote411.org
(Voting Information You Need)
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Vote Riders
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Vote Run Lead
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Vote Smart
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When We All Vote
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‪VOTE‬
The Vote is the Antidote
Overcome apathy, voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Pin board collection of orgs here to support and engage with, that promote voting:
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#TheFutureIsVoting
#RockTheVote
#Vote
#TheVoteIsTheAntidote

 

Vertical Farms are a GREEN, sustainable solution to supplying healthy, pesticide free, local produce to people in their communities!

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Why not heavily support high rise farms? I’ve seen many videos about the use of indoor hydroponic farms in Europe. Why not do this vertically instead of horizontally?

From The Atlantic, February 2018
The Promise of Indoor, Hurricane-Proof ‘Vertical’ Farms
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/02/vertical-farming-houston/552665/

The Green Promise of Vertical Farming:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/environment/the-green-promise-of-vertical-farms

There is some controversy about hydroponic farms and the whether the products can be labeled organic.

Besides that, however, if the nutritional value is the same, and pesticides are not used, the fruits and vegetables being grown this way can be a way to give people who can’t afford quality pesticide free foods access to healthy nutrition. And, while we are at it, why not grow these products in high rise buildings that are built to have a low (or zero) carbon footprint so that large scale farms to feed growing populations don’t spread out. If some significant percentage of farms grow UP, then more land is available for trees to clean the air and water and provide habitat for animals. In addition, the buildings themselves could be outfitted as habitat for plant life on the OUTSIDE as well, like vertical forests and meadows to enhance their beauty, provide more habitat for creatures, and clean the air. Another significant advantage is distribution. These fans can also be retrofitted to old warehouse and factory districts, revitalizing depressed areas and putting high quality food closer to people. It is much more efficient for a family in Nebraska to get its vegetables from a local farm (grown without pesticides, in solar powered, vertical, air cleaning , buildings with a small or no carbon foot print) than to get produce at the store that was frown horizontally and then trucked in from South America!!

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PROJECT PUT PROGRESS AND PERFORMANCE
https://projectput.wordpress.com/put-achievements/

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PROJECT PUT SONG LIST
https://projectput.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/project-put-song-list/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPUT/
@ProjectPUT

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/singbooksemily/project-put-pick-up-trash/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Blog:
https://projectput.wordpress.com/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Online:
ProjectPUT.org

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ProjectPUT

7/20/2018 Project PUT Comment to Chobani Yogurt

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On 7/20/2018, I wrote Chobani Yogurt:

Dear Chobani,
Your yogurt is delicious. My children, especially, love it.
And your packaging is beautiful.

But oh, the packaging. It HURTS me to buy your yogurt cups and yogurt smoothies as the plastic is so THICK and HEAVY.

Single use plastics are clearly a scourge of the planet, especially to our water systems where so much of the single use plastics end up, breaking up into smaller pieces and making its way into our drinking water and food supply. God. A few minutes enjoying your delicious yogurt from a cup, the stuff of which will be in existence for generations after we all are dead. Is that really what we want?

The world is eventually going to find a way to package foods in ways that are not so detrimental to our environment.

Could not Chobani find a way to be a leader of that change? Can’t you find a better way to deliver your yogurt except in single use plastic containers?

Please.

Project PUT: Pick Up Trash
Every little PUT counts
http://ProjectPUT.org
@ProjectPUT (Facebook & Twitter)

 

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Related Posts, Information, and Links
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Writing and Calling Companies About Their Packaging
https://projectput.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/writing-and-calling-companies-about-their-packaging/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPUT/
@ProjectPUT

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/singbooksemily/project-put-pick-up-trash/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Blog:
https://projectput.wordpress.com/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Online:
ProjectPUT.org

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ProjectPUT

Comment to ZipLock Bags

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I wrote to the ZipLock bags comment form this morning:

Dear Ziplock Bags,
I am writing as both a concerned citizen and a fan of Ziplocks. The bags are handy and very much can be done with them to keep foods, activities, and precious items preserved and safe.

I’m sure you know what a scourge single use plastics is having on our beautiful earth.
Please do not discount this concern. Single use plastics are soiling and poisoning, polluting and littering our waterways, wildlife, community spaces, and natural settings. Please, please become part of the solution and not part of the problem.

You COULD become part of the solution by collecting up or creating a market for post consumer waste. You could use this post consumer waste as raw materials for your bags. You COULD make your bags out of a high content of post consumer waste. The more you create a market for and use these materials in your products, the more likely they will be disposed of properly and energetically collected up instead of ending up in landfills or slowly degrading in our waterways to poison us all with micro plastics. Yuck.

Please, please become a leader in this.
Please.
Thank You,
Emily Gleichenhaus
Arlington, VA
Project PUT: Pick Up Trash
Every little PUT counts
http://ProjectPUT.org
@ProjectPUT (Facebook & Twitter)

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6/20/2018
Kind response from SC Johnson company:

consumerproducts@scj.com

To emleatha@att.net

Today at 9:00 AM

Hi Emily,
Thanks for getting in touch about Ziploc® brand Bags. Please know, we share your commitment to the environment. For this reason, we’re continually evaluating our packages to downsize them whenever possible. As a direct result of this effort, many of our products have undergone changes to their packaging in order to reflect our stance. We deeply appreciate how you share our passion, and I made sure to pass your comments along to the appropriate people in our company. Furthermore, it might interest you to know that Ziploc® brand bags can be recycled since they’re made from Polyethylene Plastic Resin #4. You can take them to any retail location that accepts plastic shopping/grocery bags for recycling (like Walmart) and they’ll recycle them for you. Additionally, the cartons our bags come in are 100% recycled paperboard with a minimum of 35% post consumer recycled paperboard. We want you to feel good about your decision when you purchase our product; if you have anymore questions or comments we welcome your reply.

Regards,
Amber
Consumer Relationship Center
SC Johnson, A Family Company
USA  1-800-558-5252  |  scjohnson.comCanada  1-800-558-5566  |  scjohnson.ca

Reference Number: 019150957A

Received: 06/11/18, 08:50:42From: emleatha@att.net

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6/20/2018
My response to the response:

Thank you Amber!
Please know that I noticed already and praise that the paperboard product packaging is comprised of post consumer waste. This is good and an important standard to continues.

I also understand that the products themselves are recyclable. My family reuses the bags as many times and for as many purposes as possible to before discarding them in the bag of recyclable bags.

My MAIN concern was not addressed by your nice note above, however. I’m proposing that the Ziplock bags themselves should be manufactured with post consumer waste plastics. The bags could (and should, please, to create a market for these materials) be manufactured from post consumer plastics from recycle centers or those extracted out of the ocean. Some of these plastics could come, say, from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I’d be willing to bet you that MANY Ziplock products could be found there in that patch, in landfills (even 100 years hence), in sewers, gutters, lakes, streams, and just about anywhere you can find garbage. If it is true that SC Johnson Company is passionate about the environment (and not just lying to say so to give me a warm fuzzy feeling from a cordial reply to my original email) then SC Johnson will work to require Ziplock bags to begin manufacture with post consumer plastics as a raw material.

Thanks,
Arlington, VA
Project PUT: Pick Up Trash
Every little PUT counts
http://ProjectPUT.org
@ProjectPUT (Facebook & Twitter)

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SC Johnson Response, 6/30/2018
Something interesting that I did not know:

Thanks for following up, Emily.

We too share your concerns and, whenever possible, we try to reduce the amount of packaging and/or use recyclable materials.

For awareness, we must use new material in Ziploc® bags (the FDA requires the use of virgin material plastic in the manufacturing of these products) for food safety reasons, although we have been able to create packaging for these products that contain high contents of recycled material. The cartons are 100% recycled paperboard with a minimum of 35% post consumer recycled paperboard.

Best regards,

Denise
Consumer Relationship Center
SC Johnson, A Family Company

USA 1-800-558-5252 | scjohnson.com
Canada 1-800-558-5566 | scjohnson.ca

Reference Number: 019150957B

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My Response 6/30/2018

Thank you!  

I did not know that virgin material needed to be used for the plastic bags.

That is interesting and I learned something.

I’m glad that the cartons use post consumer waste.

I do very sincerely hope that your company will look to use high content of post consumer plastic, as opposed to virgin plastic, in every possible instance where it would be allowed.

Thank you,

Emily 

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Related Posts, Information, and Links
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Writing and Calling Companies About Their Packaging
https://projectput.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/writing-and-calling-companies-about-their-packaging/

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPUT/
@ProjectPUT

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/singbooksemily/project-put-pick-up-trash/

*
Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Blog:
https://projectput.wordpress.com/

*
Project PUT: Pick Up Trash Online:
ProjectPUT.org

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Project PUT: Pick Up Trash on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ProjectPUT