Sustainability means different things to different people. To some, it means buying eco-friendly products and recycling. To others, it could be choosing to eat plant-based, organic and/or responsibly sourced food. For us, sustainability is part of every decision we make – it is even a part of our company’s purpose statement! I’m going to dive into our packaging, but first I want to share a bit more about our philosophy first!
Our world is changing. Together we can fight climate change by making better choices. At Jiminy’s we aim to be a positive force for change, making sustainable and humane choices while mindful of the bigger picture.
HOW WE THINK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
At Jiminy’s, when we consider sustainability, we think about what’s inside the bag, what material to use for the bag, where we make our products and how we ship them. We even take sustainability into consideration while choosing office supplies and branded gear. Every decision matters. We’re not perfect, but we’re trying to get better and better!
INGREDIENTS
At Jiminy’s we started by rethinking the protein that’s inside the bag. If you are reading this, you probably already know Jiminy’s replaces the traditional protein source (cow/chicken) found in other dog food with insect protein. Our alternative protein dog food is delicious, nutritious, sustainable, humane and hypoallergenic. Insect protein uses exponentially less land, emits almost no greenhouse gases and requires less water than traditional protein sources. This is where we started our sustainability mission and it continues to be core to everything that we do!
Jiminy’s insect protein naturally delivers great nutrition along with a drastically reduced carbon pawprint.
PACKAGING
From the beginning, we’ve had our eyes on sustainable packaging. We tried to put our treats in a recyclable bag several years ago, but the bags just weren’t ready for print yet. So, we joined One Step Closer’s Packaging Collaborative to continue the search for a solution. Over the past year, we’ve seen meaningful improvements from our packaging suppliers, so we tested new materials in our production process. The good news? You’ll see our new recyclable bags rolling out in 2022 and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
WHERE WE MAKE THE PRODUCTS
We source our ingredients and make our products in North America. This is important – we’re keeping it local. Experts report that domestic manufacturing is more sustainable. In North America we’re focused on renewable energy sources and once the products are produced, they travel shorter distances – both contribute to a more sustainable product.
OUR CARBON NEUTRAL PLEDGE
Climate change is a ferocious enemy and must be fought on every front. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality – a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. It won’t happen overnight, but we’re taking key steps that will move us toward that goal. The first step was to partner with veritree to launch a tree-planting program. We’ve planted 65,000 trees so far!
With the ability to store vast amounts of carbon, mangrove forests are key weapons in the fight against climate change, but they are under threat worldwide. By protecting mangroves, we can help protect the future of our planet. At Jiminy’s we’ve planted 65,000 trees and a large percentage of these trees are Mangroves!
RUNNING THE BUSINESS - OTHER CHOICES
We try to make better choices in all that we do. We’re cutting down on paper, reducing plastic in our home offices and minimizing travel (zoom has really helped to make this happen!) We try to make a sustainable choice whenever possible. A great example is the new Jiminy’s leash – it’s made from recycled water bottles!
Reduce your carbon pawprint in style. Let Jiminy’s lead you even further down the path of sustainability with our new dog leash made from recycled plastic material.
PACKAGING – THE HOLY GRAIL
Improvements in packaging is a journey. The end goal (or holy grail) is to get to a biodegradable or home compostable packaging solution. We joined the OSC Packaging Collaborative because we believe that the best way to address this significant challenge is to open source our work. Nearly every company is trying to accomplish a similar goal, and by working together, we have the chance to drive an industry shift toward a planet-friendly approach.
On the road to biodegradable, there will be many solutions that are better than single use plastic. Some of the advances we’ve noted ranges from the inclusion of recycled material in packaging, to increasing the recyclability and reusability of the materials used, all the way to simply using less material altogether.
Our new packaging at Jiminy’s is recyclable. Both the pouches and the new wet food boxes can be recycled. Our hope is that our consumers will recycle our packaging.
OUR NEW POUCHES / BAGS
Our new pouches are being printed now and they are recyclable! This is an exciting step forward. We’ve even partnered with How2Recycle to help consumers know how best to recycle our packaging. How2Recycle provides a standardized labeling system that clearly communicates recycling instructions.
OUR NEW WET FOOD BOXES / TETRA PACKS
Our new wet food is packaged in tetra boxes. It is an exciting packaging from a few different perspectives. First, it is recyclable.
Reduce your carbon pawprint in style. Let Jiminy’s lead you even further down the path of sustainability with our new dog leash made from recycled plastic material.
Our tetra packaging is also light weight. It has the lowest packaging weight of wet food packaging alternatives. Also, because of the weight and shape of the container it is more efficient to ship – you have more food and less packaging in each truck!
Tetra packaging has the lowest packaging weight of wet food packaging alternatives. Less resources are needed to do the same job.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE
We’re proud of where we’re at and we’ll continue to work with the Packaging Collaborative and others to continue to evolve and improve our packaging. The goal is biodegradable and we’re optimistic that we will get there over the next few years.