Metallised Compostable Packs Ideal for Organic Tea
Convex Plastics, February 11th, 2009
California-based company Guayaki recently switched to a metallised NatureFlex NM pack for their healthy Yerba Mate loose tea.
Guayaki’s Creative Director, Steven Karr says, ”We chose to transition our packaging from plastic bags to foil bags in order to use the most effective moisture and flavour barrier for maximising freshness. We were delighted to find that NatureFlex satisfies those specific technical needs as well as our green mission and ideals without significantly raising our packaging costs.”
Yerba Mate is made from the leaves and tender stems of a tree found in the subtropical rainforests of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. It is marketed as a coffee substitute and contains more antioxidants than green tea, and almost as much naturally occurring caffeine as coffee.
The new Yerba Mate stand-up packs are made from metallised NatureFlex NM laminated to high gloss transparent NatureFlex NVS film. NatureFlex NM is a unique cellulose-based film, manufactured from renewable wood pulp and metallised in-house.
Aluminum acts as a very effective barrier to light, oxygen, odors, flavors, moisture, and bacteria. The Guayaki bags are designed to provide the freshness benefits of an aluminum barrier, using the minimal amount of material necessary.
NatureFlex NM is the only metallised biodegradable film suitable for home composting because the level of metal is minuscule (by overall composition less than 0.02% of the bag). In the decomposition process, the thin coating of aluminum oxidises and turns into aluminum oxide, which is inert and non-toxic. The small amount of metal slows the film’s degradation by a few days, but does not interfere with its biodegradability in any other way.
NatureFlex films are available in New Zealand from Convex Plastics.