Sam's club leads by example

Leading its suppliers by example, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have been actively working with their private-label suppliers to increase the sustainability of their own packaging, relates Sam’s Club director of house brands Mike Ellgass. One example is the packaging for the Member’s Mark private-label apple juice sold in Sam’s Club. For the last three years, it has been produced using both a more sustainable production process and materials with environmentally friendly features.

While Ellgass declined to provide specifics on the project, he did explain that for the last three years, the 96-oz PET container for Member’s Mark apple juice has been produced using 100% renewable energy generated from hydroelectric plants that use moving water to generate electricity. The mill providing the corrugated material for the packaging and the converting process used to produce the bottle have also realized a 35% gain in energy efficiency by integrating new technologies throughout the operations, he adds.

Nearly all of the apple juice is transported in corrugated cases that are manufactured with 85% post-consumer materials. The remainder is transported in cases that use 25% post-consumer materials. All pallet caps and tier sheets use 65% recycled materials

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