At Blue Coffee Box, all of our packaging is 100% compostable. We’re the UK’s first coffee subscription service to package coffee in fully compostable bags, as well as shipping it in compostable boxes and envelopes. In a world filled with plastic-lined disposable coffee cups and pods, we believe that every company has a responsibility to do better. If you’re looking for a sustainable coffee subscription , for yourself or for somebody eco-conscious in your life, keep reading to find out why we believe we’re a cut above the rest when it comes to eco-friendly coffee deliveries.
Often when you see a coffee retailer mention biodegradable or compostable packaging, what they really mean is that it degrades slightly faster than regular plastic, or it’s mostly compostable, but still features plastic parts that aren’t. We’ve seen other brands advertise ‘compostable’ coffee bags that are only 60% compostable, and we believe that the planet, and our customers, deserve better.
The difference between Blue Coffee Box packaging and other coffee delivery packaging is simple: everything we use can be put in your garden’s compost bin, where even the zip-lock seal and valve from the coffee bag are designed to break down within three months.
When it comes to the standard cardboard boxes that many retailers use for shipping, you’ll often find that the inks and glues used by everyday brands are not as sustainable as the cardboard they’re attached to, or that the cardboard is ordered new every time instead of being made with recycled materials wherever possible. Well, our EcoBox postal packaging is not just certified plastic-free and fast-compostable:
Because coffee is a fresh foodstuff, it needs to be packaged in a way that reduces air, moisture and light – and because our coffee is freshly roasted, our coffee bags also need a valve to expel CO2.
Most coffee bags use an aluminium liner to achieve this. That’s an invisible plastic lining that sits inside each bag of coffee to enable heat sealing, and it’s usually accompanied by a plastic coffee valve, too. But since we believe in doing better, we’ve spent our time carefully researching the right materials to enable us to package our coffee in 100% fast-compostable, plastic-free bags.
So what’s our solution? EcoBags. Combining specialised, compostable materials to ensure your coffee is kept in perfect condition, Blue Coffee Box EcoBags contain:
NatureFlex™ films are made from wood pulp and other natural, renewable resources, and are currently the most eco-friendly solution there is when it comes to sealing freshly roasted coffee for delivery.
Certified compostable (7P2305), NatureFlex™ is designed to break down in your garden with the help of microorganisms found in soil, waste water and compost heaps, but has been carefully designed and tested to ensure it won’t break down while storing coffee in your kitchen.
Our EcoBox and EcoPack packaging is already fully certified plastic-free, and our coffee bags are currently going through the same certification, thanks to their innovative, fast-compostable design.
We don’t just work to provide you with coffee that tastes great, we also make sure that it’s ethically sourced. Our speciality coffees are bought using the Direct Trade method, which means that with your support, we enable farmers to invest in sustainable crops, and to earn more money from their sales so that they and their families can enjoy a better quality of life. On average, our farmers earn 30% more than the Fairtrade price.
Our coffee concierges have visited the farms where your Blue Coffee Box coffee is grown, to ensure that international labour laws, social and environmental standards are being met.
At Blue Coffee Box we are proud to offer our customers a sustainable solution for their coffee subscription service, and proud that our environmental footprint is smaller and more closely watched than many other brands. It's not always easy, and there will always be more to be done – but you can rest assured that we’re continuously working to raise our standards to the best they can be.
