Comments on: Kenco Reducing Coffee Packaging Waste With Style

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:12:04 +0000

Now I’m back on the same page with you. I missed your point before – my bad – one hundred percent agreeing now. And that’s even before I’ve had a full cup of coffee.

By: Devon Hernandez

Devon Hernandez — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:26:29 +0000

Oh I agree, I think it’s important too for large companies – I probably didn’t explain myself correctly. Going green isn’t necessarily always cheaper at first, and certainly bigger companies can afford, more so than smaller ones, to invest in the long haul. For instance, Burts Bees I heard went completely wind-powered electricity for their Durham, NC factory/warehouse/headquarters. They had to specially buy that electricity, which costs slightly more for them, but it’s obviously a much “greener” form of electric. Small companies couldn’t afford to do something like that. I do think it’s important that big companies strive for that kind of dedication; what I meant, I guess, was that, say, if you’re a Joe Shmoe “green” consumer that wants to buy the most eco-friendly coffee, you’re probably better off buying from a small local roaster that (hopefully) provides fairly traded and/or organic and operates greenly in their immediate area, vs. a larger company that may be Green Business Certified and uses alternate electricity sources to produce their product but is global and *still* has a rather large carbon footprint with shipping and delivery all over the world/country.

Plus, local stuff’s gonna be fresher roasted and taste more delish And you’re helping to support “your neighbors!” Always a good thing!

And yeah that greeting card envelope thing is pretty freaking sweet! Smart people out there

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:11:10 +0000

I agree with 100 percent, but I think it’s important for the large companies to make changes because their carbon footprint, etc is so large. By changing their packaging (and I like that greeting card idea), the large companies can make a huge difference.

But just for the record. As far as local vs big corporations, I’ll most likely choose local…just for the record.

By: Devon Hernandez

Devon Hernandez — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:08:33 +0000

I could really go into a long deal about supporting local economy vs. big corporations here…but I’ll spare you

Suffice it to say, I admire big companies that try to do more green efforts and offer fair-trade and organic coffees; that being said, I think smaller companies are the way to go on this front. They are not so spread out and far-reaching, which makes it harder for one to control TRUE greening of your business. The bigger you are, the bigger your carbon footprint, the more waste, the less eco-friendly…irregardless of how much effort you’re putting into being green. Maybe I’m being pessimistic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Starbucks does what they do to help contribute on the green front (people and planet), and I buy from/visit Starbucks. I much prefer though, to keep my dollars in a local environment, which is a green commitment in and of itself.

While I was musing on this, I couldn’t help but think of the “green” greeting cards I’ve seen at places – the ones that come with envelopes that are biodegradable, made from postconsumer recycled paper, printed on with soy-based ink, and have wild flower seeds embedded in them, so you can plant the envelope instead of burning it or trashing it. Wouldn’t that be cool if companies starting using that in their coffee bean bags? Creating less waste, increasing flora which helps with soil erosion and producing more oxygen and decreasing the large amount of harmful gases, maybe help with the bee population thing, and aesthetic value? Maybe, due to the nature of the product and needing vacuum-sealed bags, this wouldn’t be possible. But it’s a cool dream