Why Tissue Paper is the Smart Choice for a Sustainable World

Ott 31, 2023

Too much of what is produced on our planet is made from non-renewable materials. No material can be reused or recycled forever as losses and degradation will always take place and virgin material will be needed in the loops. In the case of paper, the raw material is renewable and supplied to the loops in line with the principles of a circular economy. Through sustainable forestry practices the tissue paper industry regrows and regenerates its raw material and provides a sustainable resource. Trees are positively beneficial for our planet. They capture and store billons of tonnes of carbon dioxide while at the same time providing the earth with much needed oxygen. They emit particularly large quantities of oxygen during the growing phase, hence underlining the importance of continually replanting trees. Trees play a crucial role in the earth’s eco-system and paper boasts first-class environmental credentials: It is natural, biodegradable, and comes from a renewable resource.

COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN

ETS is committed to driving sustainable practices throughout the industry. It is also looking to increase sustainability across the supply chain – from water and energy through to transport and recovery. Tissue paper production also ensures that every part of the raw material – trees – is put to good use. It uses mainly bark and twigs from the lumber industry which are made into pulp that is the basis of tissue paper.

SUPPORTING CERTIFICATION SCHEMES

Third-party certification is one of the best ways to ensure that suppliers meet recognised standards. It lends credibility to the sector and offers reassurance to both customers and consumers. Most tissue producers support the different international and national forest certification schemes and over 80% of the forests owned by paper and lumber companies in Europe are certified. Some tissue producers have chosen to carry labels on their products in order to show their high environmental credentials – such as the EU Ecolabel, the FSC and PEFC labels and regional labels including Nordic Swan and Blue Angel. The paper sector is also signatory to the Legal Logging Code of Conduct which condemns illegal logging. The EU timber regulation furthermore upholds industry standards and ensures that only products from legally sourced wood are sold within the EU. Some 11% of timber felled in the world is used to make paper, and 83% of Europe’s paper mills are certified by an environmental management system.

TISSUE PAPER IS
NATURAL
AND MADE FROM A
SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE.
SUSTAINABILITY
HAS BEEN
A WAY OF LIFE
FOR THE TISSUE INDUSTRY
FOR GENERATIONS.
IT HAS ALWAYS HAD TO
THINK LONG TERM
AS ITS RAW MATERIAL
TAKES MANY DECADES
TO GROW

SUPPORTING THE EU AND UN GOALS

Tissue paper producers are active supporters of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan – a key building block of the European Green Deal, which has a number of sustainability targets including transforming the EU into a modern and competitive economy. The goal of the Action Plan is sustainable growth and it lays special focus on resource efficiency with more waste prevention, reuse and recycling and the phasing out of wasteful practices like landfill. This goal of enabling sustainable consumption and production is also reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production. Tissue products have an important role to play here. They are essential for people’s health and hygiene. While paper is the most recycled material in Europe, with recycling rates of over 70%, tissue paper, because of its applications in toilet paper, tissues etc, is usually a single-use product which typically goes to waste after use. Tissue products nevertheless fit neatly into existing waste management schemes and can in many cases provide a benefit such as incineration with energy recovery or composting.

DRIVING CIRCULARITY UP AND DOWN THE VALUE CHAIN

Many tissue paper producers are supporting the development of new, circular business models using innovation to create closed-loop products and processes. This will serve to increase product recovery and minimise waste. There is a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transferring to renewable energy and decreasing water use. Some 58% of the Europe’s pulp and paper industry’s energy consumption already comes from renewable biomass, and it is proud to be the largest single user and producer of bio-energy in Europe. The sector also continues to work on reducing its impact on water consumption and is an active partner in the development of water stewardship. Paper making machines have reduced water consumption by 30% over the past 10 years as a result of more efficient water circulation (Kemira), and the amount of water needed to produce one ton of pulp has fallen five-fold since 1970. Many individual producers are promoting zero waste to landfill, eliminating waste, reducing packaging weight and fostering recyclable packaging and the use of recycled content. They are also exploring innovation in product design and development. In the area of ‘reduce’, the industry is seeing the emergence of new products that use less material for the same functionality. It is also witnessing new sustainable products that use fresh, wood-based fibre, recycled fibres and alternative fibres. It is important to promote circularity in this regard in order to increase the availability of paper for recycling as a secondary raw material. Recycling plays an important role in the sustainability of the paper cycle. Paper recycling rates rise every year and currently stand at 71% in Europe (https://www.paperforrecycling.eu/). Tissue paper producers are working together with their packaging suppliers to turn waste into a resource through collection, sorting and recycling.

PLACING THE CUSTOMER AT THE CENTER

Key to driving a more sustainable and circular tissue paper industry is placing customers at the centre and ensuring that they are kept informed. Many tissue paper producers provide easy-to-understand information about sustainable production and consumption, proper waste disposal and anti-littering. It is provided to both consumers and professional customers to keep them up-to-speed and encourage them to play their part in driving circularity. Sustainability is often described as having three pillars – environmental, economic and societal. Tissue paper products play an essential role here too. Tissue is a material that makes our world better. Tissue products are essential for people’s health and hygiene and reduce the risk of infection while upholding cleanliness.

Tissue paper product from toilet tissue and handkerchiefs to paper towels and kitchen roll will continue to offer a sustainable, hygienic and practical solution both inside and outside the home in the years to come.

Tetra Pak is focussing on sustainability because Millennials like green packaging

Carmela Ignaccolo

Gen 22, 2016

Tetra Pak is convinced of this: sustainability applied to food packaging is to be considered a factor of competitiveness in the future. And this is well demonstrated by the fact that globally, the impact on the environment influences the purchasing decisions of 1 out of 2 consumers. It is no coincidence, in fact (and this is confirmed by the latest global survey conducted by the Tetra Pak Group on approx. 6,000 consumers) that awareness of environmental concepts (37% compared to 29% in 2011) and attention to these issues (+7%) has increased, but above all, the influence of the impact on the environment has grown in purchasing decisions (50%, + 28% compared to 2011).

The protagonists of this evolution in consumption are the Millennials, characterized by a green lifestyle and active in safeguarding the environment: 53% would like to do more to protect it.

And sustainability for young people is one of the 5 main reasons for choosing a packaging. The other 4 are: aesthetic appeal, handling, ease of drinking, possibility to close the container.
“In the food packaging field, sustainability must be demonstrated in practice to be understood by consumers – said Michele Mastrobuono, Environment and External Relations Director of Tetra Pak Italia during the Brand’s workshop ‘The 3 R’s of sustainable packaging’ – Tetra Pak’s strategy is to apply this criterion to the entire life cycle of cardboard for foodstuffs”.

The green strategy
In Italy, Tetra Pak every year puts over 4.5 billion food packages on the market. The entire the life cycle of these containers is managed with a careful approach to the environmental impact. Starting with the raw materials. On the Italian market, over 4 billion packages, 90% of the total, are FSC™ (“Forest Stewardship Council”) certified, that is, produced using pulp from forests managed in a responsible manner. The goal is to reach 2020 with all packaging certified. Moreover, last year Tetra Pak launched a 100% renewable cardboard, Tetra Rex® Bio-Based, composed entirely of materials of plant origin, which won the 2015 Packaging Oscar for the environment. Continuing in the life cycle of these packages, Tetra Pak is committed to reduce consumption in production: in 2014, CO2 emissions were down by 8% over the previous year. A figure reinforced by signing the public appeal of intentions for a more stable and secure climate, launched at the UN COP21 Conference on Climate Change in Paris.
Tetra Pak’s commitment to the environment continues with the diffusion of separate collection of food cartons. In just over 10 years, thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Comieco, 67% of the Italian population now has this service, active in almost 5,000 municipalities. In 2015, 22,700 tons of Tetra Pak food packages were recycled. “A result we are proud of – says Mastrobuono – also because we have done it in the field, municipality by municipality, helping to spread awareness on the importance of recycling waste for environmental protection. With the recovery of food cartons after consumption – concludes Mastrobuono – the life cycle of this packaging continues thanks to recycling into other forms, such as shopping bags or absorbent rolls”.

Functional and sustainable foods that in two years time we will find on supermarket shelves

fabrizio.gomarasca

Ott 6, 2015

Candied tomatoes, caviar essence, green salami and whole ketchup: foods that soon, within two years, we could find on supermarket shelves. Speaking about them were researchers from the various departments of the Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry (SSICA) at Expo, in the CibusèItalia pavilion.

In addition to these is a coating for metal packaging or film with barrier effect for flexible packaging obtained from by-products of legume processing.

“All five research projects – says the coordinator of the Scientific Committee of SSICA – demonstrate the vocation of the Experimental Station to be at the service of the food industry, both improving quality standards and optimising production costs, in particular as regards waste management. On the other hand, SSICA is very attentive to the possible social consequences of the results of its research projects: corollaries of our mission to promote scientific and technological progress are increasing protection of consumer health and respect for the environment”.

Health, safety, taste and respect for the environment are in fact the main lines along which the projects have been developed, such as that of whole ketchup, using tomato paste but together with the use of industrial processing waste products transformed into healthy ingredients, such as oil from dried seeds rich in phytosterols (anti-LDL cholesterol) and other essential nutrients.

In the same direction of functional food are going green salamis (in the large photo), obtained with the addition of natural ingredients of plant origin (polyphenols and vitamin C) in the mixture or in the muscle which, retaining the sensory and taste characteristics of the traditional product, have a chemio-protective function on intestinal cells and allow salami with reduced salt and nitrite content to be obtained.

With caviar essence (developed in collaboration with Agro Ittica Lombarda) consumers are provided with a high-protein, low-fat and low-salt product, with luxury gourmet characteristics, but at a lower cost and with practically zero environmental impact. It also exploits a by-product of the fish industry so far largely underused, but rich in nutrients.

Finally, candied tomatoes undergo candying processes which are currently not available on the market: the varieties used (Oxheart and Cherry) are usually eaten fresh.

The use of candied tomatoes ranges from garnishing for cocktails and desserts to accompanying cheeses or salamis.

All these products, as happens in the normal activities of SSICA, have undergone scientific tests to ensure their food safety.

In 2014, 5.9 billion spent for Fairtrade products worldwide (+10%)

fabrizio.gomarasca

Set 14, 2015

The turnover of fair trade products worldwide in 2014 amounted to 5.9 billion euros, with an increase of 10% over the previous year, and 105 million euros were spent for social emancipation and improvement of the production capacity of organisations. The figures come from “Global Change, Local leadership”, the new Annual Report of Fairtrade International activities, the lead organization of the international fair trade circuit. In Italy, retail sales reached 90 million euros (+18%), but the growth involved all the major markets, with the exception of the UK, -4%, but with sales in excess of two billion pounds.

Also growing was the Fairtrade Premium, i.e. the added profit margin that producers receive and invest in production improvement and social projects, which reached 105 million euros, +14% over the previous year.

Good performance for cotton and cocoa, gold takes off

Double-digit growth, thanks to the Fairtrade raw material procurement programmes, was recorded for cotton (+28%) and cocoa (+24%). In addition, with the new business opportunities addressed to goldsmiths, certified gold volumes more than doubled (+259%).

Good news also for farmers. According to a survey conducted in the organisations, 93% are satisfied with the support services received from Fairtrade. The survey, conducted by the independent certification body FLO-Cert, also found that the impact that the system has on workers and farmers is evaluated by the latter with a score of 9/10. The survey also highlighted the need for producers to increase sales, and first and foremost to develop the local market in the countries of origin of the raw materials. As happened in 2015 in Brazil, which has become the fourth producer country where it is possible to buy 0 km Fairtrade coffee and honey, after Kenya, India and South Africa.

The report also highlights the importance of the services that the circuit provides to organisations to strengthen their business. In 2014, thanks to the Fairtrade Access Fund, loans of 11.1 million euros were provided to small producers, with related training and support activities.

Despite this, the living conditions of many farmers around the world are still a real challenge. “The problems they face are the legacy of hundreds of centuries of marginalisation and exploitation – explains Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International – . Fairtrade helps to reduce the rich-poor gap, and to change the global food system that exploits people and the planet. But today, false solutions are no longer enough, and the real change will take place when the voices of small farmers will be heard at the highest levels of government and industry, and starting from these decisions will be taken”.

Meanwhile, new horizons are also opening up: at the end of the year, the new climate change Standard will be launched, which will give rural communities the possibility to access the CO2 credit market.

Costan zero-impact refrigerated counters in the Naturasì Biomarket at the Expo

fabrizio.gomarasca

Lug 3, 2015

A more sensible use of resources, low energy consumption and environmental protection are, broadly speaking, the foundations on which the organic industry is built, and are also the key themes for the Expo. These principles have led to the collaboration between Costan (brand from the Epta group) and Naturasì, which is participating at the Expo with the Biomarket, a 350 square metre retail area at the heart of the Biodiversity Park, where the buying experience is combined with sustainability. For Naturasì and Costan, this means protecting the environment, in particular by reducing energy consumption in the cold chain – which in a point of sale accounts for an average of 40% of the total consumption – thanks to the use of low emission counters and a transcritical CO₂ refrigeration system, resulting in an almost zero impact on global warming potential (GWP).

“The green, natural refrigerant solutions used,” confirms William Pagani, Epta’s Group Marketing Director, “perfectly integrate into a wider project, which sees working alongside NaturaSì to promote respect for the environment and a more sensible use of resources.”

By using technologically advanced solutions, Epta guarantees excellent presentation and perfect preservation of food items, whilst maintaining quality. In specific terms, Costan has provided the Bellini Trend and GranVista plug-ins (incorporated unit counters) from the Rev UP Family, customized with pale wood cladding and abutments, guaranteeing maximum uniformity of the display and eco-sustainability of the store, thanks to the natural, 100% recyclable, materials chosen. Furthermore, the fittings of the new Rev UP range are designed to be energetically efficient, with savings of 62% compared to an open unit, and a 49.5% lower carbon footprint compared to previous models.

“The project completed in partnership with Costan” – comments Roberto Zanoni, the general manager of EcornaturaSì – “intends to promote organic and biodynamic Italian farming and agriculture as a sustainable model which, thanks to its characteristics, is a food system which is capable of responding to the great challenges of the Expo 2015. For us, Feeding the Planet means, in fact, protecting the fertility of the land, not polluting water and respecting the balance of nature, from production through to the selling of food products.”

Contaminated pork in UK: too many antibiotics on European farms

Anna Muzio

Giu 22, 2015

It’s called MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the latest European health emergency from the animal world. An antibiotic-resistant super bacteria that is rapidly spreading on pig farms in Northern Europe. Infecting not only those who work in contact with the pigs, but also the products that arrive on our supermarket shelves. In Denmark, tests have shown that 20% of pork products are contaminated; in the United Kingdom, in a test sponsored by the Guardian newspaper and carried out by a Danish university, out of 100 products taken from the major British chains, 9, sold by Co-ops, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, were contaminated with the MRSA bacterium.

The health problem goes well beyond the rashes, sometimes serious, that some people have developed (usually farm workers, but not only), and the contamination of products which, according to the health authorities, is not directly linked to the development of the disease, and concerns resistance to antibiotics. According to the WHO, World Health Organization, by 2050 antibiotic resistance could lead to more cancer deaths, caused by infections no longer treatable with the drugs we use today, and which are heavily used on farms. The drastic reduction in their use is the only way to curb the problem.

Hence the idea of a number of associations to apply a label to the meat on sale, certifying the absence of administering antibiotics during the life of the animal. A means that would indicate, indirectly, more healthy and sustainable farming. According to some activists, however, the creation of a “not treated with antibiotics” label risks creating a protected area (a bit like organic) for higher-priced meat, while the majority of consumers would continue to buy low cost products, without directly addressing the issue. It is not so much the use of drugs, when necessary and prescribed by a veterinarian, which should be punished, but their widespread, indiscriminate and preventive use on all animals on intensive, overcrowded farms where sanitary conditions are extremely deficient.

The problem is clearly not circumscribed to Northern Europe, for two reasons. First of all, half of the pork used in Italy is imported. Moreover, as Dan Jørgensen, former Danish Minister of Agriculture, told the Guardian, “every country with pig farms has this problem: they just don’t know how big it is”. And Italy is certainly not exempt from the widespread use of antibiotics, a sign that there are health problems, often derived from unsustainable farming conditions, such as those reported by Animal Equality in certain farms in Northern Italy. It was the Health Minister herself, Beatrice Lorenzin, who said that “The figure on the use of antibiotics is high on our farms”. The Ministry also provided this data: over 10 million pigs are raised in our country and there are 137,851 pig farms. Finally, Italy is at the bottom of the league in terms of antibiotic resistance, due to the often indiscriminate use of the drug in both humans as well as animals. MRSA resistance, in particular, in Italy has European record percentages, exceeding 38%.

The European regulation which came into force in April which requires indication on the label of pig, sheep and goat meat, as well as poultry, of the country of origin, in addition to the name of the country where the animal was raised and slaughtered, is certainly a step forward, but the real problem is that the infected farms are not tracked in any way. Two Danish journalists who investigated the pig industry have been reported for “violation of privacy”. Not only that, the origin labelling does not apply to processed meat like sausages.

A problem, that of intensive farming and the use of antibiotics, which concerns not only pork but also poultry. According to the 2015 ECDC/ EFSA/ EMA report, in Italy we consume three times the European average of antibiotics for animal use.

The return to more “traditional” and “human” farms, which take into account the health and – as far as possible – the welfare of the animals and decrease the chances of getting ill would, according to many, be the solution. A step that would certainly lead to having more expensive, but presumably healthier, meat. Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly concerned about the health and origin of the meat they buy.

Alarm from Greenpeace: European apple orchards contain a cocktail of pesticides

fabrizio.gomarasca

Giu 16, 2015

Greenpeace has published a report on the presence of pesticides in apple orchards in Europe entitled “The bitter taste of intensive apple production”. And the news is not exactly good for consumers.

The report presents the results of the analysis of 85 samples of water and soil taken in twelve European countries, including Italy (in Val di Non and in Valtellina, two of the areas of greatest apple production) and examples of environmentally friendly farming practices for sustainable production without contaminating soil and water.

36 water samples and 49 soil samples were collected during the months of March and April 2015 in conventionally managed apple orchards and analysed to check the presence of pesticide residues. The samples represent a “snapshot” of the situation at the beginning of the flowering period.

On the 85 samples, 53 different pesticides were found. 78% of soil samples and 72% of water samples contained residues of at least one pesticide.

The pesticide most often found in soil and water is the fungicide boscalid (present in 38% of soil samples and 40% of water samples). As many as seven of the pesticides found are not currently approved in the EU, but can only be used with exceptional temporary waivers. The presence of these residues could be the result of previous applications, while in one case it could be a phenomenon of degradation.

Two thirds of soil and water samples taken in European apple orchards also contain residues of pesticides and 70% of the pesticides identified have very high levels of toxicity for humans and the environment. In a single soil sample collected in Italy, as many as thirteen different chemicals were found, and ten in a water sample, a veritable pesticide cocktail.

In the second part of the document, a selection of sustainable solutions for apple production and their possible application without contaminating soil and water are illustrated.

“Italy is one of the largest apple producers in Europe – said Federica Ferrario, responsible for the Greenpeace Italia Sustainable Agriculture Campaign –. Abandoning an agriculture model heavily reliant on chemicals is essential, also to protect our farmers and their families, who are the first to be directly exposed. The massive use of these substances in intensive apple production is another failure of industrial agriculture”.

Two are the requests of Greenpeace to European countries. Phasing out of the use of synthetic chemical pesticides in agriculture, starting from those that have carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic effects for reproduction, which interfere with the hormonal system (EDC) or which have neurotoxic properties. Greater commitment in promoting and investing in the research and development of environmentally sound practices for pest management and control that are not dependent on the use of synthetic chemicals.

“There are already environmentally sound solutions adopted by thousands of farmers throughout Europe. In order to develop these good practices, it is also necessary that large-scale distribution plays its part by encouraging the transition to sustainable practices” concluded Ferrario.

Fight against food waste and the grocery industry: what retailers are doing in Europe

Anna Muzio

Giu 16, 2015

After France, even Europe could come to pass a law to force large-scale distribution to take care of food products discarded because, for various reasons, they are unsellable. But many European retailers have long since embarked on internal initiatives and awareness campaigns to address the issue. An overview of the actions put in place in the field is made – with a wealth of case histories – by the 2014 “Retail Agreement on Waste” report by Eurocommerce, which includes the trade associations of the Old Continent, and European Retail Round Table.

In 2012, 20 retailers from various segments, from clothing to food, from furnishings to consumer electronics, adhered to the Retail Waste Agreement, pledging, by the middle of 2014, to put in place at least two awareness campaigns against waste addressed to the end customer. Recently, another six retailers signed the same agreement. The initiative took place within the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme (REAP) supported by the European Commission.

Below are the types of initiatives put in place and the segments covered. The full report can be downloaded here.

Consumer “Tips”. Recipes for using leftovers, information on how to manage the cold chain (starting with, simply, as El Corte Inglès does, how to transport frozen food from the store to the home, how to arrange food in the fridge and how long it lasts once opened), through leaflets, house organs, social media or in-store posters. Asda last year launched the Simply Roast in the Bag packaging, a bag for roast chicken on which recipes and tips on how to use the leftovers were printed, and a QR Code which referred to the website with videos and recipes. Albert Heijn distributed a million “measuring cups” to dose the right amount of pasta and rice. The Dutch Vak Centrum invites customers to take fresh produce with the closest expiry date if they know they will use them in a short space of time; the habit of selecting the product with the longest expiry date increases waste.

How to educate the supplier. Carrefour France has created an award for the most virtuous supplier. The jury is composed, in addition to retailers, of the Ministry of the Environment, WWF and a pool of journalists.

Sustainable promotions. The classic 2 for the price of 1 promotions have been put on trial because they lead consumer to buy more, increasing the risk of waste, especially of food with expiry date. Some chains have decided to ban them. Auchan in French hypermarkets has taken a third route: “deferred” two for the price of one. For one week a month, when buying the first product, the customer gets a voucher to pick up the second a week later. Of the 100,000 of coupons distributed each month half are used.

Ugly but good. Billa in Germany has created the “Wunderlinge” brand for fruit and vegetables with strange shape but perfectly good.

Circular economy. That is, what is produced is recycled and reused. Lidl in Germany recycles 50% of PET bottles of its Saskia and Freeway brands. Rewe is increasing the percentage of plastic recycled and withdraws on site the packaging of Frosch-Cleaning products. The Dutch restaurant Instock uses unsellable products (imminent expiry dates, damaged packaging) picked with electric vehicles from Albert Heijn supermarkets. Since last summer, it has already “saved” 20,000 portions.

Packaging counts. Coop Denmark has decided to sell bananas individually because the pack, even if it contains only one marked banana, as often happens, is not purchased, and six thousand bananas a day were thrown away. Coop UK has discovered that the holes in the packaging of fresh produce to reduce internal humidity, if managed by a laser guided by a computer, allow the shelf life to be extended by one day with a consequent reduction in waste. Coop Norway has indicated on bags and packs the percentage of waste of fruit and vegetables, but also in packaged food the waste of that particular product.

Raising staff awareness. 75% of employees in the Carrefour head office in Poland have followed a program on how to reduce energy consumption at home and at work.

Learning while playing: quizzes, games, contests. Carrefour has put on line a questionnaire to determine energy consumption: the first drawn won an energy-efficient dishwasher. Ikea in the Czech Republic has invited customers to create objects out of waste material. The creators of the best projects participated in a course held by professional designers. The proceeds from the sale of the items went to charity. Many courses and competitions involve schools.

Ugly but good. Billa in Germany has created the “Wunderlinge” brand for fruit and vegetables with strange shape but perfectly good.

Les Gueules Cassées, the fight against food waste coming from France

fabrizio.gomarasca

Giu 10, 2015

The fight against food waste is making headway in many countries. While the French law sanctioning the destruction of unsold products by distribution is raising some concerns related primarily to the fact that large-scale distribution in France already has good anti-waste practices in place, so much so as to be responsible for (only) 11% of waste, compared to the 67% of households, from France comes an initiative worthy of examination.

An anti-waste system called Les gueules cassées (broken faces, which could be translated as “ugly but good”) that involves putting products (vegetables, packaged products, cheese, etc.) on the market that are ugly looking but definitely edible. The initiative, financed in crowdfunding, was founded by two sons of farmers, has created its own label and in just eight months of operation has sold more than 10 thousand tonnes of fruit and vegetables. Of course, the pears are a bit spotted and the carrots and eggplants are not perfect and are not of the same size, but they are nevertheless edible. The same is also true for the raw milk Camembert produced in Normandy which, because of its irregular shape, cannot use the designation mark or the breakfast cereals which are too large or too small compared to the standard. All, however, have a common denominator. They cost the consumer 30% less than the normal prices. Which explains its rapid increase of notoriety throughout France and the inclusion of this range of products in the major retailers: Carrefour, Leclerc, Monoprix, Franprix, Casino, Spar and Vival.

The latest introduction is fresh products. With the Les Gueules Cassées label they cost 50% less, remain on the shelf until the expiry date and retailers do not have to incur the withdrawal costs.

The initiative will soon be extended to traditional retail and has attracted the attention of as many as 18 foreign countries and by June a meeting with a delegation from the United States has been announced.

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Tag: Sustainability

Why Tissue Paper is the Smart Choice for a Sustainable World

Tetra Pak is focussing on sustainability because Millennials like green packaging

Functional and sustainable foods that in two years time we will find on supermarket shelves

In 2014, 5.9 billion spent for Fairtrade products worldwide (+10%)

Costan zero-impact refrigerated counters in the Naturasì Biomarket at the Expo

Patented in Italy, the communicative, economic and sustainable dynamic label

Contaminated pork in UK: too many antibiotics on European farms

Alarm from Greenpeace: European apple orchards contain a cocktail of pesticides

Fight against food waste and the grocery industry: what retailers are doing in Europe

Les Gueules Cassées, the fight against food waste coming from France

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