Posted by Les Mauvaises Herbes
Sometimes, there are two worlds between desire and reality.
Today, let's take the example of glass containers and compostable bags. Let us tell you why we had to give up (partially) these elements of our business. Reluctantly, of course, but completely consciously, pragmatically, out of respect for our customers' wallets... and for the love of the future of our business.
Once upon a time... compostable bags that composted on the shelves
In the early days of our business, we absolutely wanted to sell our ingredients in glass OR compostable containers. Nothing else. We were very strict about this detail. And we had every reason to be, didn't we? More sustainable, more eco-friendly, more consistent with our mission and values.
Except.
In the world of compostable bags, greenwashing is rampant. Many manufacturers sell so-called compostable bags... while in the end, the zip and the valve are not, and you have to take a week off and make a bin to learn how to deconstruct the bag before putting it in the compost... IF the bag is actually compostable! Because here's the thing, these bags are compostable in very, very specific facilities that are far from being accessible everywhere in Quebec. Wow.
When it's not a greenwashing problem, other obstacles show their face... their whole face. An example? Easy. Shortage of compostable bioplastic film (PLA). So, a shortage of our bags. So, an inability to have a reliable supply of said compostable bags.
What do we do in that case? We develop products often starting with the packaging. The format. The color. When we have a shortage of this packaging, it implies a major reorganization on our end, which we have done many times because of these famous compostable bags suddenly being unavailable.
So for this specific problem, we turned to alternatives several times, until we found a supplier that seemed like the right one, but... (hold on tight) After a few months of working with a new type of bags from the new supplier, we realize that, well, damn*, compostable bags are literally composting on the shelves, right before our eyes.
YES YES. Look, we want to, but in the impractical field, it really hurts.
Our ingredients often last a very long time, from 1 to 2 years and even longer! You will understand that this situation is highly problematic to preserve the integrity of our products, even on the shelves of our workshop, while they are simply waiting for you to buy them.
Unicorns and butterflies
The concept of a compostable bag is beautiful on paper. Until you want to ensure the integrity of your product, that you want a reliable supply, that you refuse to greenwash because you would really like your bags to actually, completely, and easily compost (but not on your shelves)... well, that's where the equation becomes difficult to bear for an SME, and for any type of business in fact! It's a lot of pressure on our shoulders and it's just completely unmanageable and not profitable.
And then, add to that inflation and people's tighter wallets.
Cash!
So imagine that compostable bags are really more expensive than a recyclable plastic bag. Like, solidly.
So... what do we do? Do you come to the same conclusion as us? Do we continue to struggle like trout swimming against the current to keep our compostable bags at the peril of our mental health and our business, OR DO we accept that it's a losing battle and focus our energy on our mission and our message?
So there you have it. After so many misadventures and headaches, we ended up turning to kraft bags and recyclable bags for some of our products.
We still have compostable bags for some items, like our plants. One type of compostable bag works well! But it is not suitable for all our products. In any case, rest assured that we always indicate on the bags whether they are compostable or recyclable. Our desire is to always be transparent with you!
And what about glass in all this?
Oh boy. The other file!
We love glass. Really! But it makes our lives a hell of a lot harder, hahaha.
First of all, you should know that glass is very little recycled in Quebec. A still important and relatively non-negligible fact, isn't it?
In addition, it represents a huge challenge in terms of postal shipping: it not only costs much more to send than plastic because it is heavier (and shipping costs are already a BIG challenge for SMEs, as we talk about here), but it is also more breakable and therefore involves more packaging and handling.
So in addition to costing more to buy, it costs more to package in materials and assembly time AND it costs more in shipping costs AND it involves breakage risks (a broken oil bottle in a package, that scraps the entire contents of the box: product losses for us, disappointment for customers, free return of products...) AND it is very little recycled.
You see the kind?
If in addition our customers want more affordable products (that's one of the things revealed by a large survey conducted recently), you will understand that selling many ingredients in glass containers is problematic.
This is why we have started changes for some of our ingredients. We assure you, we are not going to eliminate glass entirely from our business, but we are implementing strategic changes, for example for our largest containers which are more breakable, heavier, and more expensive.
In the end, in this beautiful process, we understand and accept that we cannot fight every battle.
Because fighting every battle deviates us from our mission, exhausts us, and endangers the survival of our business and our vision.
The time and money we "lose" struggling to find compostable bags or to package, repackage, return super heavy glass packages, well, that's time and money we cannot put into the development of our business and the pursuit of our mission. It's less money to improve the working conditions of our team. It's less energy to create new recipes, new workshops.
We learned
After now almost 5 years in the business world, we learned that we cannot do everything. That we cannot be perfect, and that it's perfect just like that! We now know that we must have a global and broad vision, at the risk of displeasing some.
You know what? It's a price we are ready to pay because we know it's the right thing to do.
