Ben & Jerry's Introduces Environmentally-Friendly Packaging

Ben & Jerry's (Burlington, VT) has announced that, beginning with its World's Best Vanilla flavor ice cream, it plans to switch to a more environmentally-friendly unbleached paperboard container. A significant portion of containers will be converted by the end of 1999.

"We're hoping what we call the 'ECO-Pint' will become the new industry standard for ice cream containers," said Andrea Asch, manager of Natural Resource Use for Ben & Jerry's.

Standard papermaking uses chlorine compounds as a bleaching agent -- a process that discharges organochlorine-laced wastewater, according to Greenpeace. Some of these chemicals are considered human health hazards, and EPA has identified a few, such as dioxins, as carcinogens and highly toxic.

Searching for an unbleached packaging material to meet environmental, commercial, and FDA requirements eventually led the company to an Atlanta-based paperboard manufacturer.

After more than two years in the making, Ben & Jerry's new ECO-Pints are constructed from unbleached brown (kraft) paperboard, with an exterior clay coating that allows it to be printed with the familiar company logo. The new ECO-Pint is being printed and formed by the Sweetheart Cup Company at its facility outside of Baltimore, MD.

Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super premium ice cream, ice cream novelties, low fat ice cream, low fat frozen yogurt, and sorbet.