Napa Valley wine packager Vinpak today announced an exclusive agreement with Michigan based manufacturer KTM Industries to supply its proprietary Green Cell Foam, the first available 100% biodegradable, backyard compostable material for wooden box and wine bottle shippers for the wine industry. As compared with traditional petroleum-based polystyrene and polyethylene, Green Cell Foam decreases CO² emissions by 80% and energy consumption by 70%. Green Cell Foam meets ASTM D6400 test protocols as a biodegradable material and recently received BPI certification – the new gold standard in environmental excellence for materials. Vinpak’s direct relationship with KTM, for the first time, secures cost-effective sourcing of this revolutionary packaging for the wine industry.
First introduced to the US packaging market in 2002, Green Cell Foam is a diverse and customizable bio-based/biodegradable material used in protective packaging applications to replace non-biodegradable polyethylene and polyurethane, and thermal insulator, polystyrene. The foam is made from non-genetically modified cornstarch capable of absorbing multiple impacts typical of small parcel shipping environments like FedEx®and UPS® while at the same time provides excellent thermal insulation. Green Cell Foam allows unparalleled convenience in disposal:
- Backyard Compostable – completely biodegrades in 60 days or less
- Dissolvable – rapidly breaks down for easy disposal in the drain (larger pieces are dissolved in a
- bucket of water and poured on plants as a food source)
- Landfill – Green Cell Foam breaks down in a landfill and biodegrade if there is
- moisture/microbial action in the soil
Wineries, wine packaging, DTC distribution companies and wine suppliers will be able to work directly with Vinpak to customize Green Cell shippers to their specifications, from size and shape to cutouts and colors, and have confidence that their packing materials are completely, conveniently and quickly biodegradable. For many wineries, who work hard to achieve “organic” certification for their wines, but must rely on Styrofoam to ship, now have a truly “green” alternative to traditional packaging materials. “We are delighted to be able to offer this revolutionary packaging to the wine industry – an industry with a consumer base that is progressively more selective about sourcing their food from suppliers accountable to environmentally sustainable practices. We look forward to working with local wineries and packaging companies to educate them about the benefits of Green Cell,” states Vinpak owner Keith Kaarup, Jr.
Green Cell Foam has been successfully integrated into the packaging designs for many Fortune 500 green conscience companies to protect products such as windshields, electronics, auto body panels, lighting tubes, aircraft parts, automotive components from damage during shipping. For the past five years, it has been used in shipping coolers as a thermal insulation material to effectively protect pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements and specialty foods during shipping.
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Based in California’s Napa Valley and in business since 2003, Vinpak is a family-owned, bonded and temperature-controlled custom wine packaging and staffing company committed to providing superior service through stringent quality control methods, trained on-site staffing, prompt turnaround on timesensitive projects and client-specific custom labeling, re-labeling and packaging programs. For more information on Vinpak or its sister company Vinstaff, please visit vinpak.com or call 707-255-2511.
