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EarthBottle™

“Gaia Herbs has always stood for eco-friendly products…
…now we also stand for a deep commitment to eco-friendly packaging!”

— -Gaia Herbs, Inc
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Background of the EarthBottle™

This is the story of what one small sustainability-driven company from the Carolinas can do to transform an entire industry. In 2005 Gaia Herbs started a research collaboration with Clemson University to develop an all-natural and renewable composite packaging material that could overcome the high supply chain costs of pharmaceutical glass used for our supplement packaging. After years of development and testing, this joint effort – now formalized through the establishment of Earth Renewable Technologies, LLC("ERT"), has resulted in the world's first all-natural, plant-based composite packaging material.
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What is the EarthBottle™?

The EarthBottle™ is essentially an agricultural product, since it is a patent-pending composite of natural food-grade plant biopolymers including polylactic acid (PLA), natural fibers, minerals, and strategically selected antioxidant-rich botanical extracts. The natural components provide for improved oxygen and moisture protection, physical strength, and heat stability vs. pure PLA – all of which are necessary to manufacture a stable, protective bottle or canister. Our PLA comes from Natureworks biopolymer and is, at this time, derived from corn. Efforts are underway to source suitable lactic acid feedstocks from other fermentable agricultural sugars such as sugar beets, sugar cane, potatoes, cassava, and/or dairy whey acids.
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Why Create an EarthBottle™?

More than 2 million plastic bottles are used in the U.S. every 5 minutes! The dominant packaging types in the natural products industry are PET and HDPE, which are in theory recyclable. However the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cites that only 10.6% of plastic containers are actually recycled…leaving 89.4% in landfills or as trash on our Earth and in our oceans. The EarthBottle™ is made of renewable resources and converts to renewable resources in industrial composting situations. And when put in the traditional waste stream, the material will biodegrade to natural substances over a far shorter time in landfills than PET or HDPE containers, helping to minimize solid waste toxicity and build-up.


We're the FIRST!

Gaia Herbs Is The FIRST Company To Use The EarthBottle!
At the Natural Products Expo East in Boston the week of October 15th, Gaia Herbs introduced our new CHIAFresh Daily Fiber – packaged in the very first canister made of the EarthBottle material! Retailer excitement was clear, with most orders including full floor displays of the product.

ERT Commitment

Earth Renewable Technologies Continues Its Commitment to the Environment
• ERT will support the IATP¹ Working Landscape Certificate Program through Green Harvest Technologies, allowing Midwest farmers who grow feedstock crops sustainably for the EarthBottle™ to receive energy credits ¹Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
• ERT will broadly advocate for expanded industrial composting facilities so that EarthBottles™ will become soil food at the end of their useful lives
• ERT will negotiate for other non-corn based lactic acid supplies that reflect highly renewable crops
• ERT will pursue commitments from other large natural products manufacturers to convert to EarthBottles™ in order to decrease the “plastic footprint” in our industry

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