The inventions of cheap and effective plastic products are usually followed by attempts at plastic-free, zero-waste alternatives to said excessive plastic products. While these new products have had a lot to catch up on, there have been some truly remarkable inventions and ideas within the past couple decades. A popular method of making things environmentally responsible is to construct products with materials that can then be planted, ensuring not only no waste but also an addition to greenery and agriculture or horticulture. For example, there are plantable pencils, lollipop sticks, children’s books, greeting cards, and wrapping paper, just to name a few. However, there is one invention that is incredibly versatile: plantable packaging.
Plantable packaging can be suited to almost anything, making it an incredible weapon in the fight for zero-waste. Whether it replaces plastic containers or cardboard boxes, there are nearly endless possibilities for its use. Were it to become the commercial standard, everything would change. Plantable packaging includes the use of seed paper, which is eco-friendly and completely compostable paper that can be stuck in dirt, and with a little water and a little time, the paper will compost away while the seeds grow. The seeds can range from flowers, to herbs, or to fruit or vegetables.
The pioneer of commercial seed packaging is the Green Field Paper Company. Since 1992, they have used plantable eco-paper. With many awards, the Green Field Paper Company has proven their expertise and commitment to plantable packaging that will help us create a healthier world. A wide variety of plantable products are available in addition to plantable packaging -- paper, journals, cards and envelopes, gift card holders, business cards, invitations, and more.
Another major supplier -- in fact, the world’s leading supplier and manufacturer -- of eco-friendly seed paper packaging is Botanical Paperworks. With 20 years of experience in the seed paper packaging industry, Botanical Paperworks has likewise branched into other seed paper products with a wide variety of options to give you everything you need for paper needs of weddings, businesses, parties and events, memorial products, and more. Here at Kaolin Beauty, we use their packaging to hold our makeup products in a safe and environmentally friendly way.
In fact, the cosmetics industry would be the perfect place to standardize plantable packaging. The cosmetics industry creates 120 billion units of plastic packaging each year, and 95% of these are one-time uses. Plantable packaging would eliminate 120 billion units of plastic being added to the environment, and create 120 billion pots of flowers, herbs, or vegetables! Greenery would be added to the world while toxic plastic amounts would decrease.
Both Green Field Paper Company and Botanical Paperworks were founded with the investigation of how to make paper without the use of trees. On a global scale, how can packages and containers be made without the use of plastic? These questions can illuminate the path to a waste-free world, and a greener world, if the standard solution becomes innovations like plantable packaging.
