Moxie Cannabis Makes Move from Plastic to Paper—at a Cost

Long Beach, Calif.-based Moxie, the first licensed commercial cannabis business in that state, has made a move to switch from plastic packaging to paper for the bulk of it cannabis products, despite having to pay more for the materials. “The packaging is more costly than the previous packaging we had,” confirms Moxie Chief Marketing Officer Tessa Adams, “but environmental sustainability is more important than profits.

“At Moxie, we feel it’s our duty to protect the earth, which provides us the life we all enjoy. Sustainability is an essential part of our business, and we strive to be the leaders in these efforts.”

Moxie is certainly a leader in other business aspects. Its products are distributed in more than 350 dispensaries across seven states, including Arizona, Florida, Michigan Nevada, and Pennsylvania, in addition to California. It also has a retail license in Utah. Its products are also sold online through its delivery service in Southern California. Its cannabis products are the result of proprietary formulas and an extensive genetic library of more than 300 strains, and include concentrates, flower, vape cartridges, and edibles, as well as CBD vapes, topicals, and sublinguals.

Replacing plastic and paper sleeves for most of its products Moxie now uses cartons made from paperboard that is 100%-recyclable, Forest Stewardship Council-certified, and chlorine-free.As regards sustainability, Moxie’s vision is to become the first fully-integrated, carbon-negative cannabis company. Its move to paper is part of that initiative. Replacing plastic and paper sleeves for all of its products (with a few exceptions), the company now uses cartons made from paperboard that is 100%-recyclable, Forest Stewardship Council-certified, and chlorine-free. For its MX line of live resin products, Moxie uses cardstock. For its edibles, the company is in the process of moving products from tins to recyclable bags.

Says Adams, environmental sustainability, including consumers’ growing awareness around it, was the only  consideration in making the switch. “Things such as cost or supply hurdles were secondary because without caring for the earth, we won’t even be in a position to make a choice like that.

“Cannabis consumers are increasingly paying attention to the sustainability practices that producers engage in, and it’s been an emerging hot topic over the past months. We feel that consumers should hold companies accountable for sustainable practices, and that it should be an industry norm. Consumers, not just in cannabis, are becoming aware of the purchasing power they hold, and we think this will be an increasingly important piece for companies to pay attention to.”