By Will Novosedlik

You’re reading the Social Impact Report, a series tracking brands’ efforts to drive social and environmental good. 

Kraft Heinz wraps ketchup in paper

If it’s made out of paper, do you still call it a bottle?

Kraft Heinz is working with sustainable packaging technology company Pulpex to create a renewable and recyclable ketchup bottle made out of 100% sustainably sourced wood pulp.

With the goal of making all of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, Heinz Ketchup is the first condiment brand to test the potential of Pulpex’s paper bottle packaging. Pulpex, a collaboration between Pilot Lite Group and beverage firm Diageo, launched a limited-edition paper whisky bottle for its Johnnie Walker brand last year.

Pulpex data indicates that its paper bottles have a lighter carbon footprint than glass or plastic. The company expects the new container to be widely and readily recyclable in paper waste streams. Prototyping and consumer testing have yet to be completed.

Canada Goose greens its window displays

Canada Goose has put its commitment to sustainability on display – literally.

Using recycled fabrics and materials, window display artists have painstakingly handcrafted three-dimensional installations out of materials like cotton natural rope, preserved moss and cardboard tubes instead of steel, plastics and timber. To reduce impact on the environment they also used low VOC, non-toxic paints and adhesives.

The new window displays that can be seen in Canada Goose stores is the company’s way of exploring every possible opportunity to “keep the planet cold and the people on it warm,” the mantra behind its Humanature purpose program.

The Humanature Collection features garments made from naturally-derived, recycled and organic materials.

Zero-waste packaging comes to the deli counter at IGA

Reusables.com is helping IGA in British Columbia cut back its reliance on plastic containers.

Reusables is a cup and container sharing platform for takeout food, coffee and more, and works with stores and restaurants to replace their plastic food and drink carriers with its stainless steel vessels. The reusable containers can be used hundreds of times and are fully recyclable at end of life.

The move by IGA comes in response to the City of Vancouver’s 2019 bylaws regarding the elimination of single-use plastic containers. During the pandemic, as restaurants ramped up their delivery business, single use containers proliferated. The team behind Reusables.com established the business at the height of the pandemic, motivated by a mission to eliminate single-use plastic containers.

Tom Truchan, director of project management and logistics at Georgia Main Food Group (IGA BC’s parent company), read about Reusables.com servicing restaurants in Vancouver and explored the potential for using the stainless steel containers at grocery store deli counters.

Consumers download the app to get the first 30 days free and then pay $5 per month for unlimited usage of the containers.