Dennree is the first German retail company to introduce fruit and vegetable packaging made of cellulose fibers. Customers of the more than 1,400 organic markets that Dennree supplies in Germany and Austria, can now find the fully compostable nets in the fruit and vegetable department.
"With the help of these cellulose nets alone, we can save seven tons of plastic per year," says Ralf Schwarz, head of goods management at Dennree. With the introduction of compostable fibers, Germany's largest organic retailer is underscoring its ambition to go ahead with new ideas for the benefit of the environment: "Biodegradable packaging is an important step in further reducing plastic waste," says Schwarz.
Residueless & compostable
The fiber nets used for Dennree lemons, clementines, oranges, potatoes, garlic and onions, rot within no more than eight weeks and are certified to European standards for compostable materials. This includes the paper labels as well as the coloring agent of the net.
Customers of the organic markets supplied by Dennree in Germany and Austria, are now the first who are able to convince themselves of the new types of cellulose nets, thus actively contributing to the avoidance of plastic and packaging waste. "Our premise is to go beyond packaging alternatives wherever possible and meaningful, and to dispense with packaging wherever possible," explains Lukas Nossol, Marketing Director at Dennree.
Loose goods
In the fruit and vegetable range of Dennree's organic markets, the proportion of loosely offered goods is just over 70 percent. The fact that customers bring their own containers to transport fresh goods is already a matter of course, today. The reusable alternatives on offer, such as nets or pouches made from organic cotton from the Living Crafts brand, coffee-to-go cups or "I'm Green" knot bags made from renewable raw materials are also very popular.
And now there is the residue-free compostable fruit and vegetable net. The clever packaging should not only protect tubers and fruits, but the environment above all. "Compostable packaging looks to make an important contribution. Going for a clean world in which we can all manage with even less plastic," says Nossol.
The idea of the residue-free decomposing fruit and vegetable packaging originates from Austria. The organic material that naturally occurs in most plant structures is made from 100% beech wood from sustainably cultivated trees. The natural fiber fabrics are woven in Zwickau in Saxony, only 60 kilometers away from the company-owned fruit and vegetable warehouse of the dennree group, in Töpen in Upper Franconia. This is because short traffic routes in turn are better for the environment.
For more information: www.denns-biomarkt.de