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Burlap bags find new life as insulation for meal kits

Meal-kit delivery service Plated switches from plastic insulation liners for its shippers to ones made from recycled jute, a rapidly renewable material that is also compostable.

Pw 138744 Plated Box Shot

Among the first cook-at-home delivery services, New York City-based Plated was launched in 2012 with a strong commitment to food quality standards. The company provides a flexible, weekly subscription service for consumers that provides them with everything they need to cook a chef-designed meal from scratch at home. Choosing from among 11 new recipes each week, consumers receive a customized kit with farm-fresh, ethically sourced ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card.

With the growth of its business, however, has come an increase in packaging—an environmental consideration that Plated is just as committed to addressing. Its goal is to have 100% carbon-neutral packaging by 2016. “With the rise of subscription services, the number of boxes people receive on a weekly and monthly basis is steadily increasing,” says Katie Horgan, Director of Operations and Logistics at Plated. “One of the more unforeseen consequences in the e-commerce boom is that plastic packaging has risen right alongside it, far outlasting what’s being shipped.”

Until mid-2014, Plated’s packaging comprised a corrugated shipper, an insulated plastic liner, and frozen gel packs. Since then, the company has been shifting to 100% recycled material for its shipper and is looking for a way to get recycled plastics into its ice packs. But the most unique change in its packaging is the material chosen to replace its plastic liners: recycled jute sacks.

Before settling on jute, Plated looked at other options such as recycled, denim-based liners. “But as far as we know, jeans are not rapidly renewable,” says Horgan. Not finding an off-the-shelf alternative, the company looked for a materials supplier that could help it build a sustainable solution. It found a partner in TemperPack, the creator of Jutebox insulation material, which is made from the discarded burlap bags used to ship coffee and cocoa.

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