Replacing plastic for a sustainable future.

Since our beginning we have always been mindful of our footprint on the earth and trying to keep it as small as we can. We knew when our journey with hemp started that our business had a real opportunity to send a message about changing the way we live for the better. That’s what we love about hemp. Hemp can make a big difference from repairing and improving soils as it grows, to replacing plastic with more durable and biodegradable plant-based alternatives.

The solution to plastic is hemp.

There are numerous US and European manufacturers of hemp bioplastics. Hemp bioplastics made from non-toxic biodegradable hemp fibres break down in soil in 6 months. Conventional plastics can take up to 450 years to decompose in landfill. Hemp plastics can be up to 3 times stronger than conventional plastics, so why aren’t we using them more? The reason is hemp bioplastics is tiny compared with the gargantuan plastics industry which produces 300 million tonnes worldwide annually. But hemp is catching up.

Small things make a big difference.

It’s easy to make a difference and halve the amount of plastic we throw away daily. We simply use our immense consumer power before we decide to buy something. Lots of food manufacturers and retailers in Australia are swinging towards more sustainable solutions to package their goods. Biodegradable, compostable and recyclable packaging options are available now from Aussie manufacturers starting to make a difference. They may cost a little more but consumer pressure will eventually help to swing the tide in favor of sustainability.

Our commitment to replacing plastic.

At Good Country Hemp we’ve committed to replacing plastic packaging as our old packaging stocks run out. This includes:

• Our hemp seed oil soon sold in 5 Litre and 20 Litre metal drums, not plastic,
• We will use green compostable bag liners for our 10kg and 20kg bulk hulled hemp seed, protein powder and hemp flour,
• Our new hemp oil capsules (available in 3 weeks) will be in a glass jar, not plastic,
• The plastic tear-off throw-away seal around the lid of our hemp seed oil bottles will be a past relic (the aluminium lid will still be tamper-proof)
• 250g and 500g hulled hemp seed and protein powder soon packed in a biodegradable pouch (made in South Australia).

The plastic bag liners and biodegradable pouches we’re using aren’t hemp bioplastics but mainly cornstarch. But as soon as hemp alternatives are available we’ll be the first to use them!

We admit there are some things we can’t change now. The plastic pourer in our 250mL and 500mL bottles, and the plastic lid on our capsules jar for instance. But as things progress we will strive towards replacing plastic whenever we can.