It's been a big week for Cruz Foam, the Santa Cruz, California, based company aiming to revolutionize the sustainable packaging world with their new earth-friendly alternative to foam products.
Every year, an astounding 380 million tons of plastic waste is generated globally, of which over half is single-use. This startling statistic underscores the urgent need for a solution. Cruz Foam, with its innovative use of chitosan -- a derivative of chitin, nature's abundant biopolymer -- aims to redefine this narrative. Their vision is profound yet simple:
A product's packaging should never outlast the product itself
This week Cruz announced Cruz Cool, their new sustainable solution for cold chain packaging needs. Their insulated boxes offer 48-hour protection, making them perfect for frozen food packaging, meal kits, sea food and even pharmaceutical shipping needs.
Cruz Cool is the latest in their rapidly expanding product line that includes Cruz Wrap (designed for shipping bottles) Cruz Cush (foam bracing materials for appliances and electronics) and Cruz Pack (a padded mailer for fragile and temperature sensitive products).
"We've seen ever-increasing demand from the world's biggest brands for sustainable protective packaging that offers high technical performance and is earth-friendly," says John Felts, CEO, and Co-Founder of Cruz Foam. "It would be difficult to overstate how profoundly we can change the current state of the environment through the mainstream adoption of these solutions."
Earlier this year, Cruz Foam chose Atlantic Packaging, the largest privately held industrial packaging firm in North America, to be their go-to market partner. Atlantic's 75-year track record of helping packaging vendors and customers craft solutions to shipping needs, and their serious commitment to creating packaging circularity made them a perfect fit.
"Helping organizations develop breakthrough technologies in sustainability for key industries where products can have the most impact is critical to the success of a closed loop economy for our world," says Wes Carter, president of Atlantic Packaging. "Our partnership with Cruz Foam is the most exciting and potentially impactful innovation in sustainable packaging to date."
Together, Cruz and Atlantic are helping many brands make the shift to more sustainable shipping options. Many brands simply want to do the right thing, while others are simply trying to stay ahead of the curve as new laws like California's SB-54, The Plastic Waste Reduction and Producer Responsibility Act, and SB-343, The Truth in Recycling Labeling Law, are set to force the issue.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) themed bills are going to have a dramatic effect on the packaging landscape in California in the years ahead. And several other states have adopted similar legislation. The earlier brands begin to prepare for this future the more likely they'll make the transition seamlessly.
Cruz Foam is poised to be a lead alternative for EPS and polystyrene foam, which falls squarely within the crosshairs of these bills.
If you're a brand in need of a sustainable packaging solution, A New Earth Project is here to guide you. Our team, powered by Atlantic Packaging, can examine your current packaging status, and show you how it can be improved.