Blogs We Like!... OpGreen Insights: Top 5 Fashionable and Biodegradable Products

Today is the second edition of a sporadic feature simply entitled “Blogs We Like!”  Since there’s such a constant flow of online coverage of our beloved GreenBox, we’ve decided to highlight, on an ad-hoc basis, some of our company faves for our readers.

This particular entry comes to us from OpGreen Insights, the blog page for Opportunity Green, a conference that brings together today's leading companies and visionaries to showcase the players, opportunities and innovations that drive today's new green economy. 

The folks at Opportunity Green scoured the design world this year to come up with a list of the most stylish and biodegradable items that have turned planned-obsolescence into compostable chic. And which product do you figure might have made the prestigious top-five?  Oh well <blush> we hate to toot our own horn, but... oh who are we kidding? We love tooting our own horn.  It was the GreenBox and we are thrilled to bits by its inclusion. 

Incidentally, this is not the first time that the country's largest sustainability conference has honored the GreenBox. Back in late 2009, Opportunity Green selected the GreenBox as a finalist in its OG25 Innovation Awards competition, resulting in an enviably large photo in the prestigious LA Times as well as a guest spot on Johnny Carson. Pretty cool. Ok, ok, there was no guest spot on Johnny Carson but had it still been airing at the time of the article we are pretty darn certain that there would have been.

Yep, Opportunity Green had some pretty kind words to say in its blog about the GreenBox as well as some other fine products  to boot (check out Verterra dinnerware, for example - very cool!). So, we'll just sign off here and and let the post speak for itself.

Ecovention, LLC Announces Launch of PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food’s Multifunctional “Serve & Store” Pizza Box

In partnership with manufacturing partners Pratt Industries and Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (NYSE: SSCC), Ecovention, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of the ROMA “Serve & Store” pizza box.  Available exclusively through PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food, the ROMA “Serve & Store” is based on Ecovention’s patented GreenBox technology.  Easy to assemble, the ROMA “Serve & Store” breaks down into plates and a smaller container for leftovers, eliminating the need for disposable plates and ancillary storage materials like aluminum foil and plastic wrap.  The technology elevates take-out pizza to a new level of convenience and creates an effective source of differentiation for pizzerias, restaurants and chains.

The technology utilized by the ROMA Food “Serve & Store” has already received an enthusiastic response from both restaurants and consumers after being placed in the spotlight by Ashton Kutcher via a ‘tweet’ to his Twitter followers.  Since then, it has been the subject of various news segments and newspaper articles, has been featured in hundreds of internet blogs and has been the talk of social networking sites around the world.  The Company’s demonstration video for the GreenBox technology has already garnered over 1 million views on YouTube.

Ecovention, LLC is a design, licensing, manufacturing and subcontract management firm dedicated to improving outmoded, outdated and wasteful food packaging. 

PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food, part of the PERFORMANCE Food Group family of distributors, specializes in broadline distribution and Italian and Italian-American food products, and services pizzerias and restaurants throughout the US.

Pratt Industries is the industry’s leading manufacturer of 100% recycled containerboard, corrugated packaging and display solutions in the US.  The company employs more than 3,500 highly skilled “green-collar” employees dedicated to the environment and sustainability.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation is one of the industry’s leading integrated containerboard and corrugated packaging producers and one of the world’s largest paper recyclers.  The company is a member of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® and conducts its business in compliance with the environmental, health and safety principles of the American Forest & Paper Association.

Whole Foods GreenBox Part of Brand Packaging's Sustainable Design Gallery

In its April edition every year, Brand Packaging Magazine gives mention to a short list of brands that are "making their mark on the ever-evolving path toward sustainable package design" and which are "thoughtfully incorporating their equities and the needs of consumers into their environmental efforts". Always a top-of-mind-brand when it comes to such criteria, Whole Foods Markets was deservedly, and not surprisingly, included in Brand Packaging magazine's round-up of sustainable packaging solutions. It was, however, the package behind the the organic grocer's mention that got us folks here at Ecovention, LLC quite excited. Yep, you guessed it - it was the GreenBox that caught the attention of Brand Packaging Magazine, and we couldn't be prouder. 


As Brand Packaging Magazine explains so eloquently: "By using 100 percent recycled material, rather than virgin or a mixture of recycled and virgin fiber, the box generates profound environmental benefits: Data from the US Environmental Protection Agency shows that recycling one ton of paper saves three cubic yards of landfill, 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity, 7,000 gallons of water and 17 mature trees."..."The package also reduces waste by eliminating the need for disposable or ceramic plates, as well as food wrap or foil for leftovers — and it can be recycled or composted in communities with appropriate commercial facilities." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.


So take a few minutes to peruse the simple, elegant GreenBox and the other ingenious packaging designs it is keeping company with in the latest edition of Brand Packaging Magazine (in print or online)... and enjoy a brick oven pizza from Whole Foods while you're at it.

Look Who’s Using the GreenBox… Blackbird Pizzeria!

Today is the first edition of a new feature on the GreenBox blog, simply entitled “Look Who’s Using the GreenBox!”  In this wonderful feature, we plan to showcase pizzerias large and small around the country that are faithfully using our beloved GreenBox pizza box.  To that end, we decided to focus our first edition on Blackbird Pizzeria, Philadelphia’s first all-vegan pizzeria.

Founded by pioneering vegetarian chef Mark Mebus and graphic designer Ryan Moylan, Blackbird Pizzeria is already making waves in the Philadelphia pizza scene. And because Messrs. Mebus and Moylan are a pair of forward-thinking, 21^st-century types, they’ve wisely decided to serve their culinary delights in a box that speaks volumes about their commitment to both their customers and the environment.

Check out recent review of the vegan hotspot in CityPaper; it gives a shout-out to the GreenBox and a nice description of Blackbird' Pizzerias signature pizzas, which use Daiya cheese and meat alternatives like seitan sausage and barbecue baked tofu. Another recent article in FlyingKite highlights the interesting backgrounds of both Mebus and Moylan, and shows some wonderful pics of the GreenBox in action to boot.  We’re particularly taken by this quotation:

“It's their punk-rock roots…that are most indicative of their willingness to challenge the long-held conventions of a food that's as popular for its simplicity as it is its consistent flavors.”

Well put, we think – using the GreenBox goes hand-in-hand with an attitude of progressive exploration. After all, the GreenBox is all about “challenging long-held conventions”. And it’s becoming increasingly obvious that smart, progressive business owners feel that it’s time to give their customers – and the planet – a pizza box that challenges the industry to be more responsible and to offer something of real value to the pizza-eating world.

Mark Mebus and Ryan Moylan are another fine example of the paradigm shift that is happening all over the industry, a shift away from waste and inefficiency and towards a product that does away with both - the GreenBox from Ecovention.