In the News
- Fieldless has developed a cardboard-based packaging material for leafy vegetable produce to reduce single-use plastics.
- The new packaging material is made of carton and will be used to package cut greens such as lettuce.
- The package is 100% recyclable and reduces plastic used by 90% compared to conventional plastic clamshell packages.
- Fieldless Farms aims to tackle the plastic dependency and minimize its climate impacts while maintaining freshness for produce.
The Story
Canadian agritech startup, Fieldless, has unveiled its new innovative and sustainable packaging material for leafy vegetable produce, as a solution to reduce single-use plastics.
Based in Ottawa, Fieldless is a modern food and Controlled Environment Agriculture company. The company launched in 2019 to displace foreign products and complex supply chains with safer, secure, more sustainable foods for consumers. The vertical farm’s new packaging is a first-of-a-kind cardboard-based recyclable package for cut greens. The packaging is made of carton, and will be used to package lettuce for consumers.
“We’re proud to be the first to package cut greens this way,” said Fieldless CEO, Jon Lomow. “Our goal is to significantly reduce single-use plastics while maintaining a great product experience.”
Plastic manufacturing remains one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses in the world. Plastic recycling has proven more challenging than consumers are led to believe, and biodegradable or “compostable” plastic options for single use can be even worse than traditional plastic. Recycling plastic clamshells used for leafy vegetables is also a tasking undertaking, due to unique composition and sorting challenges, causing lower recycling rates.
“Food producers continue to rely on plastic since consumers want to see the produce they are buying. That is perpetuating a reliance on single use plastics in grocery retail. Our choice may seem risky from that perspective, but we have to be bold to make change,” Lomow continues, “We know consumers want less plastic. And thanks to how and where we grow, our consumers know to trust the freshness of our greens.”
Fieldless’ new cardboard-based packaging 100% recyclable, and an industry’s first alternative to plastic packaging. The cardboard is made of a removable plastic sheet that then gets sealed with another sheet of plastic with a “peel and reseal” opening. By introducing this sustainable packaging, Fieldless Farms has reduced the amount of plastic by 90% of the conventional plastic clamshell previously used for packaging leaf greens.
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Fieldless Farms has set out to solve the challenge posed by plastic packaging, with a target to reduce the use of plastic of any type. Fieldless believes that its approach to vegetable packaging cardboard-based packaging is the best possible solution within today’s reality. This alternative addresses the company’s criteria of minimising climate impacts while maximising freshness and enjoyment of products.
