When Costco examines retail product packaging for the thousands of items offered in each of its warehouse club stores, only one issue is on the table: making merchandise available to its members in the ‘right way.’ The ‘right way’ includes offering packaging that does not rely on environmentally-harmful materials. Now, after two years of research and development, this industry leader is replacing some plastic clam shells with Natralock™, a new paperboard-based product made by MeadWestvaco that lets consumers in, reduces shrink to a minimum, and is kinder to the environment.

The predominant component in Natralock is the paperboard card – made from trees, a renewable resource, that MeadWestvaco carefully stewards from harvest to replanting of the next forest. MeadWestvaco’s forestry and fiber procurement practices have been third-party certified to meet the requirements of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI). SFI^®, in turn, has been endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), an internationally-recognized organization that evaluates forest certification systems.

Costco is a world-class company that really does try to do the right thing by their customers and by their employees. Despite countless enlightened business practices, I was always troubled by their excessive - and hard to open - packaging materials. It's good to see that they're moving forward in this area as well.

• Costco Rolls Out Environmentally-Responsive Retail Packaging
• Natralock

via treehugger

previously on wtg:

• Yeo Valley Organic's Clever Packaging
• holiday gift guide 2005: earth-friendly edition
  

Filed In: earthfriendly