Plastic free packaging with care
One of the environmental challenges we’re all facing today is what to do with all the packaging that’s part of our food and non-food consumption.
We’ve therefore thought put lots of thought into how we can get our hot chocolate to you so that it maintains its Calm Cocoa quality, but is also kinder to the environment.
our bags
Our bags may look like plastic, but don’t be fooled! They are in fact made with a wonderful food grade biodegradable material called cellulose. Cellulose comes from renewable wood pulp rather than a petro-chemical base that most plastics are made of.
The bags can be disposed of in:
- home compost
- most roadside food waste collection bins (but check your Local Council’s recycling information to see if they will accept them; they’re suitable for anaerobic digestion or industrial composting)
If your bag has a sticker on it, don’t worry as that’s totally biodegradable too!
If you can’t do either of the above, pop them in your regular home bin. However they won’t completely biodegrade in landfill the same way they will in composting.
And just in case it’s not quite clear, the bags aren’t designed to go in your recycling (plastic, paper or card) so go with any of the above options.
Try not to let your bag get wet as it might start to degrade, but if you do manage to get the odd splash of hot chocolate on it, just wipe it off as soon as possible.
If you’re interested in the technical stuff, our bags are made in the UK and have been accredited biodegradable & compostable to 'BS EN 13432' and 'OK Compost'. They’re also approved for Anaerobic digestion (ISO 15985) & Marine biodegradation ASTM D6691-09. The film has also tested to make sure that once it’s composted it doesn’t have any adverse effects on plant growth.
our jars
Our beautiful Calm Cocoa jar is meant to be reused - whether it’s for hot chocolate or something else. Once you’ve finished your Calm Cocoa you can either buy a flavour pack bag as a refill or use it again in your kitchen, bathroom or bedroom.
The jar is made from recycled glass so no new glass bottles were harmed in the making of your hot chocolate. And the lid is made from cork, which is a sustainable material to product and is 100% biodegradable at the end of its life (you can crumble into compost or soil).
And how can you care for your jar to make it last a long time?
The jar itself can be popped in the dishwasher (or you can wash by hand if you prefer), but the cork lid should just be wiped clean. Unfortunately it’s likely to disintegrate if you put it in the dishwasher so we definitely don’t recommend doing that! At the end of its life, the lid can be composted or crumbled into soil for planting.
our labels, boxes & twine
From the stickers to the cardboard, we’ve sourced more sustainable options.
The clear stickers we use are made from cellulose, and are compostable and biodegradable.
The cardboard in both the labels and boxes contains a very high percentage of recyclable material and can easily be recycled in paper/card recycled. You may even like - and this is what we recommend - to keep and reuse your box and twine.
Wherever possible we use vegetable oil-based inks and use the ethical cooperative Calverts for the majority of our printing.
If you come and visit us at any future events or markets, we’re also planning a packaging-free option so you can bring your own containers and buy Calm Cocoa by the scoop!