🌱 The chilling issue of food transportation
Featuring Fortuna Cools, Varcode, Landbox and more
Happy Monday!
Unless you are a recipe kit or food box enthusiast, it’s rare that you have to deal with the cooling element of food transportation…yet it plays a massive part in allowing us to enjoy fresh [temperature sensitive] ingredients from around the world! Since we aren’t ready to give up our refrigerated aisle foods just yet, we better get to know the process and explore ways to make it more sustainable.
Today we look at some innovations within “the cold chain” and as usual, roundup the positive news of the week.
Let’s dive in…
> In Focus
Keeping shipped goods and the planet cool
by Lexi Wright
A few weeks ago, we investigated whether local food was better for the environment. The answer was a toss-up, and situational, depending on food type and the methods used to produce it. Though the emissions from food transport were proven to be much smaller than the growing of the food itself, they still matter, especially when food needs to be kept cold during shipping.
Today, we’ll dig into why the cold chain is a sustainability solution at its core and what innovators are doing about it.
The chilling challenge
The process of getting food from the farm or manufacturer to the consumer often goes undiscussed and underfunded. Less than 5% of agricultural research funding has gone towards post-harvest process improvements. However, attention in this area is necessary as over 13% of food goes to waste because of inadequate refrigeration, 63% (over 300 million tonnes) of this being in the Global South.
The need to keep goods cold during shipping poses two main sustainability problems:
Problem number 1: packaging waste
A significant amount of packaging and insulation are required to keep goods cold and safe. This packaging is made of a multitude of materials, including polystyrene (Styrofoam) and a variety of other hard to recycle plastics. To make matters worse, shippers often overpack boxes to avoid problem number 2 – food waste due to inadequate temperatures.
Problem number 2: food waste
Cold chain temperature regulations are strict! If a shipment is outside an acceptable temperature range by even a single data point, the entire truckload can be rejected, leading to significant waste. Annually 526 million tonnes of food are discarded due to failure to maintain temperature during shipment. And even if the food isn’t immediately tossed due to a breach of temperature regulations, it might be thrown away later if it becomes unsightly and perishes prematurely.
In response to these problems, primarily that of food waste, cold chain management emerged – a combination of hardware and software that keeps temperatures in check. A product’s transportation, which was once a blind spot for companies, can now be tracked. This was partly due to the technology getting a kick in the butt when vaccines began needing cold transport across the world in 2021.
Tracking temperatures
The most common cold chain solutions have been Internet of Things (IoT) devices that allow for real-time location tracking, customizable alerts and warnings, and automatic temperature logging.
One innovator doing it differently is Varcode. Varcode has produced the Smart Tag™, a dynamic barcode which changes its pattern in response to temperature. Scanning the Smart Tag™ at any time can reveal the same data as the IoT devices but doesn’t require constant transmission of data – it’s just a hi-tech sticker! This reduces greenhouse gasses from data transmission.
The last mile
Especially in the Global South, shipments may not be delivered close to the final destination – due to cost or even lack of roads.
Polystyrene is often used to protect goods on the way to food outlets because of its durability and affordability. Fortuna Cools is one company trying to limit the use of polystyrene, which isn’t biodegradable or recyclable, and is also a carcinogen. Fortuna Cools, currently operating in the Philippines, is making protective packaging from natural fibres – coconut husks, to be exact! They partner with smallholder and cooperative farmers to turn the husks that were once waste into durable, insulative packaging. Coconut husks are a strong insulator because every fibre contains “thousands of tiny trapped air pockets, the same exact structure that plastic foam insulation uses to reduce heat transfer.” You can get your own coconut-insulated cooler here.
Other innovators in this space:
Widely available materials. The Eco Chill Box by Gousto made from recyclable paper and cardboard with ice packs. This solution created 80-90% less GHG emissions compared to their old insulator.
Natural fibres. Woolcool uses pure wool for their insulating solution. This lightweight insulation is used by companies such as Abel & Cole, innocent and Ooni.
Biodegradable cooler. The Igloo reusable cooler by RECOOL made in the USA from recycled paper and AKD (this one is for recreational use!).
Breathable hemp and straw packs. The Landbox by Landpack is a compostable insulating packaging solution. Though the Landbox Straw is more effective in terms of insulation and protection, the Hemp version is more compact and best for shorter shipping times.
Next time you’re picking out a trendy bevvy from the boutique grocery store cooler, stop and think about how it got there. Or if you are one of the brands in the cooler, we hope these innovative solutions provided some (chilled) food for thought for how to reduce the shipping emissions problem.
> Follow up with…
Collaborative LinkedIn Article: How can food transportation reduce its carbon footprint?
> Last week in consumer goods x climate…
The Good(s) News
Up and coming brands…
🎯 Ambercycle and Ganni A/S launched a sports jersey using cycora as part of the GANNI Fabrics of the Future Collection. Cycora is a regenerative polyester made from post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste, which gave GANNI the opportunity to achieve their carbon footprint reduction target.
🎯 MYOM (make your own milk) has developed an innovative way to make oat milk even more environmentally friendly by offering oat paste that can turn into oat milk when combined with water. This helps to reduce both packaging waste and transport emissions by fitting more in one box.
Bigger organisations…
⭐️ Allbirds announced that they are launching the Earth Day Greenwashed Collection, selling an assortment of pre-loved green styles. This collection is only available on their resale marketplace, ReRun.
⭐️ Dr. Martens plc launches its latest innovative Genix Nappa collection made from reclaimed leather, aiming to tackle waste by rescuing leather offcuts. The new material has a lower carbon impact than traditional leather and is engineered to ensure its durability.
⭐️ Tony's Chocolonely announced they are launching at Walmart. By expanding in the US, they are using this as a step towards their goal of ending exploitation in cocoa.
Want good news sooner? We post our top 5 stories every Friday on LinkedIn! If your CPG brand has good news to share, let us know.👇
> In case you missed it
Want more? Here’s what’s happening across FTF at the moment…
Denim for days — Last week we looked at challenger fashion brand Nudie Jeans in the Check-Out. The company added being too cute to their list of achievements when they reshared our post to their socials!
The team has been scouring the net for May’s most interesting sustainability events. Open up your calendar and keep an eye on our LinkedIn page over the next few days to catch our roundup.
On tour — Leone seems to be everywhere for San Francisco Climate Week, we wish her luck! If you are one of our stateside readers (as an amazing 30% of you are!) and are heading to any of these events, tap her on the shoulder…she’s super friendly.
That’s it for today!
Want more? Check out ‘The Check-Out’ this Thursday for the latest brands in our basket. In the meantime, if you miss us, reply to this email or reach out at info@followingthefootprints.com to say hi. We’re always on the hunt for contributors, cool brands, and climate memes.
Much love,
Team FTF