Portland, Oregon-based New Seasons Market has received a WorldStar Global Packaging Award from the World Packaging Organization. The award recognizes the Partner Brand fresh pasta packaging Graphic Packaging International created for the grocer.
Replacing the rigid plastic clamshells New Seasons Market previously used, the PaperSeal tray reduces plastic usage by 91 percent, eliminates 120,000 plastic packs from entering waste streams each year and increases shelf life by up to eight days, reducing food waste. The packaging can also be discarded with standard household recyclables.
The new fresh pasta packaging falls within the Partner Brand banner, New Seasons Market’s private label, sharing the company’s commitment to working with small regional producers. Eighty percent of Partner Brand products are made within 500 miles of New Seasons Market stores.
A portion of sales from Partner Brand products benefit Partner Fund, which provides low-interest loans for underserved businesses. Its mission-based loan program prioritizes folks often denied traditional lending, including BIPOC, women, immigrant and LGBTQIA+ owners, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equitable regional food economy.
Last year, the grocer announced a circular packaging program, recovering No. 1 PET from customers to recycle the materials into containers later used for grab-and-go items at its own stores. Since the program launched in April 2022, customers have recycled more than 88,000 lbs. to-date.
New Seasons Market seeks to introduce sustainable practices that can be scaled nationally. Most notably, it has identified three areas where it can create the most impact: preventing food waste, reducing single-use packaging and mitigating climate change.
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