4 types of reusable shopping bags that are eco-friendly

Most consumers are nowadays environment conscious and are looking for the products coming in eco-friendly and sustainable packaging. Thanks to the “go green movements” and environment awareness campaigns being run on the global scale.

And this is downright essential as only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling while the rest goes to the landfills as litter. Plastic bags not only clog the waterways, but also pose a great threat to the wildlife. Nearly 100,000 marine animals are killed by consuming plastic bags annually. The plastic releases toxins and harmful chemicals into the environment.

Here both consumers and businesses can save the environment and wildlife by carefully choosing the packaging. And using eco-friendly shopping bags can be one of those great initiatives to save the environment.

In fact, the ecofriendly packaging may not remain optional for a long time due to the increasing awareness, corporate demands and government policies regarding the environment.

Giving your products in ecofriendly or reusable packaging or bags not only helps your business minimizing waste and pollution but also attracts today’s environment conscious consumers towards your business.

Here we have rounded up some reusable shopping bags that are eco-friendly.

Reusable Paper Bags:

Paper bags are used by the most grocery and non-grocery stores. They are biodegradable and create less litter. They can be continually reused and recycled, posing less threat to environment and wildlife. Paper bags are made from a renewable natural resource. They can be used repeatedly and can be sent to a paper mill where they are transformed into new paper.

Besides, they are good for the branding of your business as they are ideal for printing. You can put your brand logo on them in any style you want. They are ideal packaging for coffee, tea, nuts, cookies, candy and spices.

Despite the fact that they lose strength and tear when wet, they can be reused (at least to wrap up small items.)

Jute Bags:

Jute bags are made from the fibers obtained from jute plant. These plants grow in heavy rainfall areas and no pesticide is used in their cultivation.

They also have a very low water and CO2 footprint. Since jute is a natural renewable resource, it is decomposed without posing threat to the environment.

Besides being eco-friendly, jute is strong and highly durable fiber. The bags can be reused for many times. Unlike plastic, jute bags don’t contaminate the products in them.

And they are good for branding as you can have your business logo on them. For example, sturdy and affordable jute bags carrying your logo will be used again and again by its recipient, leading to wide exposure to your business. This way, jute bags are the great alternative to the plastic bags.

Cotton Bags:

They are made from natural fibers like organic cotton, recycled cotton and traditional cotton. Since cotton is a plant product, the bags are ultimately biodegradable. They are eco-friendly bags and don’t cause harm to wildlife.

These bags are easy to clean when they are dirty just like you wash your cloth.

Coming to their strength, they are thicker than plastic bags—which makes them durable enough to be used again and again. Some types of cloth bags come with a stiff cardboard at the bottom for additional stability.

Cloth bags are available in variety of shapes, sizes and colors. They are not only great for shopping, but also complement your personal style. The surface of cotton bags is ideal for printing, making them suitable for your brand promotion. These bags are good for exhibition, promotions and product giveaways.

Hemp Bags:

Hemp is an eco-friendly crop as its cultivation requires no pesticides and little water. Its long roots minimize erosion and maintain topsoil. Hemp is counted among the strongest fibers in the world. In fact, it is three times the strength of cotton. Hemp can be blended with fibers like silk and cotton. Hemp bags are easy to wash and dry in machines. Although they are a bit expensive, they give wide exposure to your business. They can be used for years and people always see your logo wherever the customers carry them.

So these are the reusable bags you can use to save environment. They are eco-friendly, practical and cheap alternative to most of the disposable bags. Customers can use them for years, given that these bags are durable and can carry all routine items. Besides, it helps market your business as eco-friendly.

What do you think? Do you have other eco-friendly packaging ideas? Please share with us by commenting below.

Benefits of Biodegradable Plastic Bags

Biodegradable items tend to break down into natural materials by the microorganisms without harming the environment. The examples of biodegradable items are food scraps, wood, cotton, human and animal waste.

Can plastic be biodegradable? Well, it sounds strange if this term is associated with something “eco-unfriendly” like plastic.

To your surprise, it is true. Plastic bags can be biodegradable. Biodegradable plastics are made of specialized enzymatic or chemicals that break down the material once exposed to sun and air. Standard plastic is made with chemical fillers that can be a threat to environment when they are released when the plastic is burnt.

U.S. Environmental Agency has alarmed that only 8% of the 31 million tons of plastic is recycled each year. The rest part goes to landfills and waterways, creating litter and threat to the wildlife.

In this scenario, biodegradable plastic bags can be a savior to the environment. Here’s how…

1. Less Carbon Emission:

Traditional plastic releases four tons of emissions while biodegradable plastics only emit nearly .8 tons of carbon. This way, they ensure the minimal amount of carbon emissions into the air in the process of manufacturing.

Also Read: Going Green is Not Easy: Top Green Packaging Challenges

2. Waste Reduction

Traditional plastics make up the 13 percent of the waste. As we have told you that only 9 percent go for recycling, while the rest enters water bodies and landfills. The good thing with biodegradable plastics is that it breaks down over the course of time, depending on its exposure to sunlight, soil and air. Although not all biodegradable plastic will completely break down, any reduction will create space and minimize the pressures on the waste fills. Therefore, biodegradable plastics may eliminate the need to add more landfills, saving lands for other purposes.

3. Recyclable:

Given that they take a lot less time to decompose than traditional plastics, they are easy to recycle, that’s too without releasing toxic elements. Another advantage of biodegradable plastic bags! They are moldable as traditional plastics and can be turned into various appealing ways to suit your requirements.

4. Source Reduction:

Biodegradable plastics also minimize the use of petroleum supplies. Nearly 2.7 percent of country’s petroleum is consumed by the manufacturing of traditional plastics. Their oil molecules are heated and treated so that they convert into polymers.

Biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, are manufactured using corn, orange peels, starch, plants and switchgrass. Their manufacturing requires less energy and generally not involves the burning of fossil fuels. The corn based plastics require 60 percent less energy than generating a similar polymer from raw petroleum. Many bags are also made from organic materials or paper.

More biodegradable plastics can be manufactured with less energy which also lowers the amount of pollution.

5. Non-Toxic:

It can’t be denied that traditional plastics are made using harmful by-products and chemicals which are a threat to environment and life as well. They are likely to emit these harmful substances during the breakdown process. But this is not a case with biodegradable plastic.

They are safe and don’t release toxins during their breakdown process. They are absorbed by the soil. Such benefits of biodegradable plastics are welcoming, as the toxic plastic heap on the planet is on the rise and this ever increasing rate will pose health problems for both human and wildlife.

Bottom Line:

So these are the benefits of using biodegradable plastic bags. They are safe for the environment and their use should be encouraged. However, the need of plastic usage awareness and education regarding their repurposing is necessary as the wise use can make a difference.

The best diy ideas to reuse the empty plastic bottles

DIY is the next big thing!

It is eco-friendly, challenging, and it is awesome. Drawing imaginative lines on the cloud is so possible today (speaking metaphorically), all you have to do gather the empty unused items around your home and build a castle out of it. Today we are not talking about castles, but the most common by product of soft drinks and its availability in abundance. Plastic bottles can be shaped into numerous things and if you let the horses set free who know you end up making a sports car out of it. Till the time you come up with an idea and execution plans for building a sports car, let us go through something easy and can be done in a matter of minutes:

1. Plastic Bottle Supply Cups:

Be the man who takes the different road and thinks of the environment. DIY does not means cheap but can be as classy as you want. Pickup the bottle cut the neck or 1/4th of its height and put an iron over it to get soft edges. Stitch chain zipper on the edges and make a superb supply cup of desired size.
2. Coffee Creamer Containers:

Coffees are the life saver when you are in stress or need more time to work at night, but you can make the containers containing coffees to help you out. You can reuse plastic coffee creamer bottles and make it a snack storage container. It will make the pouring easy, and would allow you to take all types of food for the road trip. It can also be used to store salt and sugars.
3. DIY Plastic Bottle Planter:

“The pot with a cat face”. Oh yes, you can make it, and it is just a simple paint work which can be done at home it-self with not much use of tools.
1. Cut out the bottom like one third of a 2-liter bottle.
2. Apply paint on the bottle with white or the color of your choice.
3. Use the remaining parts of the rest of the bottle to cut out ears.
4. Start drawing a face and other features on the bottle.
5. Fill in the bottle with desired seeds, manure and soil.
Turn any 2 litre plastic bottle into something which everyone will adore.

4. Laundry Detergent Bottles into a Watering Can:
Why to pay for the watering cans? Make sure you have kept the empty laundry detergent containers in the backyard. Simply drill or punch some holes in the cap and there you go with a brand new watering can. You have the full liberty to remove the stickers on the bottle to avoid your neighbours thinking you pouring detergent on the plants.

5. Herb Garden with an Empty 2-Liter Bottle:
This project can make you the CAPTAIN PLANET, as nothing more herbal and greener can be done with the empty bottles. You can satisfy you eco soul as well the environment with this initiative. In any way the project where the empty bottles are been used for the irrigation of small plants, this calls for the cheers to herbal army. Follow the steps to do to erect a herbal garden from a recycled bottle:
1. Let us remove the label from the bottle and clean it from inside.
2. Then take a sharp knife like object and poke or puncture drainage holes on the top third of the bottles.
3. Poke or punch a hole on the side of the bottles, near about half-way down.
4. Now wrap a piece of paper around it.
5. Now take a marker and trace the cutting line around it.
6. Now let us cut along the bottle on the line.
7. Flip over the bottle top and then insert a strip of fabric.
8. You will have to make sure the fabric stays in contact with the soil.
Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comment section below!

7 Types of Plastics and Which One You Should Use

Although go green movements are on the rise worldwide, plastics are still a packaging necessity for food products. The reason is pretty simple—they are inexpensive, easy to handle and easily available. The same benefits made them customer’s favorite. According to one study, an average American family uses nearly 1,500 plastic grocery bags in a year, meaning that 102 billion plastics bags are used in a year. Most plastics are thrown after a single use; and 0.6 percent of them are recyclable. Rest of them is transferred to landfills and oceans. It takes 1,000 years to decompose plastic bags. While plastics can’t be simply eliminated from the daily lives, they can be used wisely. All you need to determine which plastic is safe for what product. Here we have helped you by listing the commonly used plastic categories along code.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET) (Code: 1)

Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET) is a lightweight plastic known for its impact resistant properties. It is considered safe and easy to recycle. PETE is used in food packaging for beverages, oil, water, salad dressing and jam/jelly.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) (Code: 2)

Being a low-hazard plastic, HDPE is used for milk, grocery bags, cereal box liners, water and juice packaging. It is also used as a packaging for cleaning supplies and shampoo. Like most plastic, it is likely to release estrogenic chemicals. It can be recycled.

Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC (Code: 3)

Polyvinyl chloride or PVC is used in making packaging for food wrap, bottles, oil, and OTC drugs. As it contains chlorine as its key ingredient, it is biologically and chemically resistant. However, it is not safe for cooking or heating. This plastic is generally not accepted by recycling programs.

Low-Density Polyethylene or LDPE (Code: 4):

Low density polyethylene or LDPE is great for making grocery bags, food wraps, squeezable bottles and bread bags. It is thinner than some other resins and provide strong resistant against heat.

This plastic is generally considered safe. However, it is not recyclable, thereby posing an environmental issue. It should be reused or repurposed rather than throwing them away after one use.

Also Read: Highlights of Low-Density Polyethylene

PP or Polypropylene (Code: 5)

Polypropylene or PP is used to make food packaging like yogurt cups, medicine packaging and ketchup bottles. It is microwave safe as it is heat resistant. It can be made translucent, opaque or a various color during manufacturing. Polypropylene is now accepted by most curbside recycling programs.

Polystyrene or Styrofoam (Code: 6)

Polystyrene is used in food packaging like egg cartons, disposable cups, bowls, take out eatery containers and plastic cutlery. It is not safe as it leaches potentially toxic chemicals when exposed to heat. This plastic type is difficult to recycle. Top of that, it may take hundreds of years to decompose when not recycled. The optimal solution is that it should be reused and repurposed.

Also Read : Are polystyrene and thermocol same?

Other or O (Code 7):

This category indicates that packaging is made of a plastic resin other than the six types of resins mentioned above. For example, the packaging can be made with polycarbonate or the bioplastic polyactide (PLA). Or it can be made with more than one plastic material.

Conclusion:

The key is here to choose the plastics with little to no hazards. To conclude, plastics belonging from the categories 2, 4, and 5 are safe. As a retailer or business, use compatible plastic category for your food product to ensure safety and integrity of food packed within. Customers, on the other hand, should try to reuse the plastics that can’t be recycled.

5 amazing eco-friendly packaging tips to make a better tomorrow

From consumers to producers, nowadays everyone seems to be environment-conscious. This has lead to increase in demand of eco-friendly packaging. Learn here some tips to integrate sustainable packages for your business.

Usually companies aim at fetching consumers’ attention with those fancy packaging and flashy logos. Though these ideas work well, yet there is another element which has overtaken the forefront of packaging. Yes, you guessed it right. It is about eco friendly packaging.

Also Read: Going Green is Not Easy: Top Green Packaging Challenges

The significance of environment friendly packaging extends past getting consumer attention. It truly makes a real impact on the environment.

Do you know on an average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year? And about 42% of all plastics ever produced, have been used in packaging. So you can imagine the amount of waste generated.

Businesses need to understand the importance of sustainability in product packaging. Streamlining your company’s packaging division with eco-friendly practices will help reducing environmental footprint and boost your brand’s loyalty. Here are listed some tips to get started:

1) Reduce the weight of packaging

Of course, it is not possible to reduce the weight of the product. Here it means using less plastic to create packaging so that it results in less material to be recycled or going to waste. You can switch to options like a thinner plastic water bottle. Plus, it will help reducing overall transportation and fuel costs, which in turn will benefit environment. Similarly, you can ask your packaging manufacturer to create custom packaging boxes to preserve space and materials. Employing minimalist packaging technique offers a sleek, clean, and aesthetic appeal.

2) Choose recyclable and biodegradable material

There are some materials such as paperboard, cardboard, and plastic, which can be reconstituted to create new items. And then there are biodegradable stuffs which you can choose to save environment. Here are few examples:

Corn starch: It falls into the category of biodegradable item and is perfect for all types of food packaging. Made out of corn starch, these have limited or no negative impact on the environment.
Cardboard and paper: You can count them in biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable category, altogether. Being lightweight and strong, these are perfect to pack products ranging from medicines to cosmetics.
Biodegradable plastic: The best alternative to plastic is here. Actually, when exposed to sunlight, it decomposes well. So it is a viable and practical alternative.
Bubble wrap: Made out of recycled polyethylene, these are fully degradable. With product safety these also ensure safe environment.

3) Try post-consumer recycled material

This packaging material can be recycled by the consumers when they have finished with the product contents. You can clearly mark the packaging as recyclable. Plus, you can provide information about how to best recycle the container. It improves consumer awareness and brand loyalty.

4) Go for natural packaging

Another good alternative is natural packaging. It decomposes faster and is compostable. Over the past few years, companies have recognized that there are some materials which are healthy for the environment and attract audience. An example is coconut husks.

5) Use innovative and unique materials

There are some businesses who cannot avoid pictures or texts on their packages. For this purpose, they make use of inks made from chemicals that can cause harm to the environment. Why not move to ink made from milk proteins or food instead? For instance, you can use soy inks.

The world of eco friendly packaging is not complex at all. With the guidance of an expert packaging solutions team, you can identify acceptable and functional packaging structure.

Need some help? We will be more than happy to assist you.

Going Green is Not Easy:Top Green Packaging Challenges

Today’s consumers are more aware of environmental issues, thereby focusing on the eco-friendly products like green packaging. Industries embrace green packaging as it lowers the carbon footprint and gives them an opportunity to be termed as “eco-friendly business.

Besides, it helps them boost the sale due to customer’s preference to ecofriendly products.

This way, green packaging is meaningful for both consumer and a business.

However, the issues and challenges associated with green packaging can’t be sidelined. Here’s why…

Being Mixed with Non-Recyclable Materials:

Green packaging is not completely green. Its ingredient list also includes packaging materials like plastics, paper, metals and glass. Most of them like plastic are not biodegradable. Their benefits and pitfalls are determined by the application and the storage of the products.

Being Expensive:

Cost factor is another challenge associated with green packaging. From segregation of “ideal” materials from the waste, complicated manufacturing to keeping up with the packaging laws, the process requires times, energy and investment. However, there are certain ways to lower the cost of the manufacturing of green packaging. Manufacturers should look for the contents in the packaging that can be easily recycled or can be generated from post-consumer waste.

Varying Laws:

U.S. packaging laws regulate the production, use and disposal of packaging. However, the packaging laws vary from state to state based on the standards like environmentally acceptable packaging, basic requirement for recycling and limit of using certain materials. Therefore, one state’s packaging law may not be valid in another. On the top of that, there is no comprehensive federal legislation or uniform packaging laws for all the states. So it does make sense to abide by the rules of the state where packaging is being manufactured and distributed.

Misleading:

The term “green packaging” or “green recycling” logo can be misleading in some cases. In fact, many customers are not aware if the packaging of their product is entirely green. Sadly, some manufacturers try to capitalize on consumer ignorance by compromising with the “green level” of their packaging. For example, they don’tprovide information on the label regarding the time and conditions associated withdegradability.

Limitations:

Hot stamps and laminations reduce the recyclable ability of the packaging. For example, metallic hot stamps contain metal content, thereby they can’t be recyclable. Similarly, lamination coatings are not dissolvable. Many recycling centers are not able to perform proper material testing due to limited time and resources.

So these are the key challenges associated with the green packaging. These concerns should be addressed so that more and more industries can be able to use green packaging. Though these challenges are bigger, they can be eliminated with the visionary approach; exploring new recyclable materials; making regulations packaging friendly; and raising consumer awareness for an informed purchase.

What is Packaging Waste Doing to Our Environment?

Whether it’s your favorite mushroom pizza, iPod, or a gaming console, every consumer good comes in a nice packaging. Once you unwrap the product, you just throw away the packaging (well, everyone does this.)

After all, why anyone need those corrugated boxes, glasses, colorful plastic wrappers and polythene. They are simply useless. Right?

But have you ever thought where this packaging waste goes from your trash bins? The waste goes to landfills or oceans, if it is not possible to recycling it.

And 486,116,066 tons of household garbage is thrown out every year, meaning that 50 tons of garbage in a second. Needless to say such huge amount of waste has turned our ocean and lands into a mass dumping ground. National Geographic reveals that 269,000 tons of this waste is floating on the oceans’ surfaces and that’s only plastic.

Packaging waste not only creates litter or chocks the drains, but also causes tangible harm to environment and life.

Here we have listed the impacts of packaging on environment…

Deforestation:

Cardboard boxes and paper packaging are made from wood. Nearly 4 billion trees are cut down worldwide to meet the consumption of paper. The per capita paper consumption in the US is more than any nation in the world. Paper is heavily used by American industries in making cardboard and packaging boxes. The excessive use of paper will simply lead to deforestation, which in turn risks the environment.

Besides, carbon dioxide that forests remove from the atmosphere is stored in the woods and paper products throughout their lives. Nearly 160 kg of CO2 are released during the production of 200kg of paper, which is equivalent to the amount released by a typical family car over 1,000 km.

Wildlife Harm:

Plastic packaging is notorious for causing harm to both environment and wildlife. A significant number of animals like cows die each year after swallowing the plastic bags. The chemicals used in paper packaging can affect animal health once they are chewed by them. Sea turtles often mistakes plastic bags for jellyfish that is irresistible food for many sea turtle species.

Clogged Sewage Systems:

Most packaging products like cardboard, glass and plastic don’t dissolve in water. The debris of such waste is collected and carried by runoff water which ends up into the sewage systems. The accumulation of the waste in the sewage system not only generates unpleasant smell, but also creates certain hygienic problems.

Polluting Air, Water and Soil:

Packaging waste is one of the major causes behind the environmental pollution. It affects air, water and soil. 1.9 million tons of packaging waste generates greenhouse gas which is equivalent to the amount released by 860,000 cars.

Wrapping Up…

So these are the harms caused by product packaging. With the USA is already on the verge of being the largest dumping ground, we should be aware of the ways to reduce the packaging waste.

Mind-Blowing Facts about Packaging

Packaging is the first thing a customer sees while buying the product. Packaging not only makes product look attractive, but also protects it from the damage caused by weather, transportation and handling. Besides, it makes the product look standout on the shelves. In other words, it is a final stage of branding.

So, packaging is more than a mere material used to store or label the content.

Like everything on this planet, packaging is surrounded with many interesting facts.

Here we have listed some interesting facts about packaging that tell you about the importance and outstanding growth of packaging industry over the years.

Packaging Industry will Reach 14 Billion USD by 2022:

Research and Markets, the world’s leading research firm, has projected that packaging industry will cross USD 14.64 billion by 2022. The CAGR will be up 12.0% from 2017, according to the report.

One of the driving factors behind this growth is the ever increasing demand of packaging among developing nations. Besides, new regulations and R/D investments are other reasons behind the dramatic rise of packaging industry in the USA.

The study further says that plastic packaging will remain the largest packaging industry. Besides, Consumerreports.Org states that $150 billion is being spent on product packaging globally.

HealthCare Packaging

Employees Retention Rate is High in Healthcare Packaging Industry:

Did you know? Half of healthcare packaging professionals are working with the same organization for over a decade. According to the 2014 Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News survey, 48% of healthcare packaging employees are still sticking with the same company for over 10 years. The survey also found healthcare packaging industry best for overall job satisfaction.

This info will be a great surprise in today’s job culture where turnover rate is quite high among employees.

Cardboard Packaging

1850s Mark the Arrival of First Patent Cardboard!

Cardboard has been in existence for nearly 200 years. However, the first patent cardboard is believed to be introduced in 1856.

Interestingly, the patent mentions cardboard as a high hat worn by English.

However, the first commercial paperboard or non-corrugated is believed to be made in England in 1817 by M. Treverton and Son. It was not until 1871 that the first corrugated box was introduced which was then used for the packaging of glass items.

Today, 90% U.S. products are estimated to be packed in corrugated cardboards! There are over 1,500 manufacturing units for packaging across North America with 70,000 workers.

Cosmetic Packaging

Plastic Packaging is Most Preferred by Cosmetic Market:

Plastic packaging comes in the form of bottles, tubes and jars. It is still preferred by cosmetic industry.

Industry experts are speculating that plastic packaging will achieve a growth of 12% by 2019. With a market share of 30%, bottles are the most used form of plastic packaging among cosmetic industries. Well, the reason is pretty simple as plastic is durable, anti-spilling and easy to carry.

However, cartons are gaining a steady momentum in cosmetic industry as they rose from 9% in 2010 to 19% 2016.

Food will be used for Food Packaging! Hope and Concerns

Have you ever thought over these things while opening the wrap of a food product?

The packaging will go to the landfills, adding up to the 60 billion pounds of wastage being collected annually.
The leftover of your food will add up to the 40% food waste.
Plastic packaging may contaminate the food inside.

These things are translated into three key concerns—plastic waste, food waste, and plastic packaging which contaminates food.

All of them are mostly associated to the food we eat.

And the solution lies in the food itself.

The excess food will be used in future to make food packaging. This way, it will not only minimize plastic waste, but also turn out to be a safe and chemical free option for food packaging. It is being termed as edible or bio-gradable food packaging.

It is somewhat like killing three birds with one stone!

Many entrepreneurs and researchers have working to create a packaging from foods like milk, tomato peels, kelp, and mushrooms.

How Edible Food Packaging Will Be Like?

This new kind of packaging will be edible and soluble as well, given that it is prepared from food. For example, The United States Department of Agriculture is developing a material from milk protein, which can be used to line pizza boxes which look like extra cheese. Likewise, there may be soluble soup packets that can be simply dipped in hot water. Another striking benefit is that edible food packaging can be used for plants as fertilizer.

Edible Food Packaging is ready to make its Way to Market from Labs!

Evowarel, an Indonesian enterprise, has created an edible packaging from seaweed which can be eaten along with the food products. Termed as edible grade bioplast, these packaging are said to be rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. However, they are tasteless, odorless and can last for years. The enterprise has considered its edible packaging fit for coffee, seasoning sachet, burger/rice wrap and sugar.

Italian researchers, on the other hand, are using tomato skins to create a polish that can protect food packaged in the metal cans.

Ecovative has come with it its packaging materials that are made from mycelium fungus found in mushrooms.

At Harvard, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has obtained chitosan, a polysaccharide, from shrimp and lobster shells and blended it with silk fibers to make a substitution for plastic packaging, termed as Shrilk.

Skipping Rocks Lab, a British start-up, has been working over an edible water bottle named as Ohoo. It is being prepared from edible seaweed. The company is looking forward to create edible containers to hold juices, cosmetics and other liquids.

But Clouds of Skepticism are also there…

Unarguably, edible food packaging will be a great step in protecting health and environment from plastic and lowering the food waste. However, it is surrounded by various concerns regarding its usage and market adaptability.

For example, The Agriculture Department has tried to build milk protein based films over a decade ago. But they had to shelve the project as they failed to find customers for this product. Big firms like PepsiCo and Nestlé are also doubtful about the success of such type of packaging.

“Some of the stuff out there is just gimmick. They sound nice but will never be cost-competitive or, in a final analysis, don’t have the impact on waste or the environment that the people making them a promise.”said David Strauss, the head of packaging in Nestlé’s US operations.

Nestlé also raised the issue of food security associated with edible food packaging as they believe that it would lead to widespread hunger. “It’s no good to package our products in a packaging that could instead have been used to feed people,”Mr. Strauss expressed his concern.

Will biodegradable or edible food packaging withstand harsh weather? Can they keep food quality intact? Will their content seep into the packed food?

These are some questions that should be answered in order to convince the suppliers and customers to buy food products with edible packaging. As they said that every cloud has a silver lining.

The organizations and researchers are doing their best to make edible packaging ideal for common use like its plastic counterparts.

Why Learning from Paper is Still Thriving in Age of Tablets?

Over the past some years, technology has become an integral part of the classrooms across the USA. It is common to see students using tablets, laptops and other devices to read, write and learn. In this ever increasing technology intrusion, it is obvious to think that paper will be out of the scene, sooner or later. However, it seems impossible as students are still choosing to do their important learning on paper. According to a recent study, paper is still important to productive learning.

The Paper and Packaging Board found in its survey conducted over 4,300 respondents (including students, teachers and parents) that paper is still important in classroom. Some of the key findings of the survey are:

Over 90% parents believe paper is essential to their kids to do good in study.
72% parents admit that their kids are not comfortable with computer based homework.
88% parents agree that their kids remember paper assignment better.
70% junior school students prepare for tests with handwritten notes.
93% college students prefer paper for achieving educational goals.
50% college students state they learn best by writing info down by hand.

Why paper is useful for the learning of the students?

Maryanne Wolf, development psychologist and cognitive scientist at Tufts University, explains,” There is physicality in reading, maybe even more than we want to think about as we lurch into digital reading—as we move forward perhaps with too little reflection. I would like to preserve the absolute best of older forms, but know when to use the new.”

According to Dr. Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, “Print is tailor-made for helping us read continuously, concentrate, puzzle out concepts and contemplate the significance of what we have read.”

Putting in other way, paper is engaging, interactive, easy and encouraging medium of learning.

Here we have listed and explained such benefits of using paper for learning…

Paper Doesn’t Distract Your Focus:

Learning on digital screen is not easy due to several distractions like an urge to play the game popping up on the screen or brightness problems. Then, the kid may want to play the song or check the tabs holding social media profiles. But that is not in a case of paper.

It is Useful in Exam Preparation:

Students often use paper for exam preparations to grasp the information easily. For example, they use handouts, study sheets, notecards and lecture slides. One of the reasons is that a person remembers or digests the things better when he notes them down on elsewhere like paper.

Rebecca Mieliwocki, National Teacher of the Year 2012, says,” With the advent of so much technology that makes learning more interactive and vibrant, we forget that sometimes the best way to remember things is by simply writing them down. Unlike typing, the act of writing down information increases retention of that information and stores more of it into working and long-term memory.”

Comfortable for Parents When it Comes to Help Kids in Study:

The world has been using paper for over 2,300 years. The paper is like a legacy of the past generations. There is no tutorial necessary to use paper, unlike digital devices. It is easy to access and use. This is why parents who have little to no digital literacy prefer paper to teach their kids.

So you must have understood why paper is and always will be preferred by the students when it comes to academic learning.

metandienona

MInority Business Enterprise (MBE)