In line with our mission to become a zero waste brand, JOOB is proud to partner with TIPA®. TIPA® provides compostable packaging that offers a closed loop solution to replace flexible plastic packaging entirely, and what we would normally send you packaged in plastic is now packaged in a material that, when added to a home or industrial compost, is tested and certified to break down into water, CO2 and biomass within 12 months maximum. We were lucky to talk to the CEO and co-founder of TIPA®, Daphna Nissenbaum, about the company story and the efforts they're taking to protect our planet.
How did TIPA® get started making compostable bags?
I grew concerned about our packaging waste when I had a discussion with my children about disposing of their plastic water bottles. At the time, there was a lot of conversation around plastic packaging, and I thought that within a few years’ time we will need packages that are not based on plastic. I asked myself “what would nature do? How does nature ‘package’? The first thing that came to my mind was an orange or an avocado. What if we could create a package that imitated nature’s creation? I began to look further into the possibility of a more natural solution —a package that could protect its contents but would return to earth the same way as organic material.
We started out looking for flexible package to replace water bottles, but the more I learned, the more I realized that while plastic bottles could probably be recycled, there was a whole segment of flexible packaging—like granola pouches, produce packaging, frozen food packaging, fashion polybags, wrappers, etc.— that cannot be recycled and were contributing massively to land and ocean pollution.
We focused on a solution for flexible packaging, and after years of research and development, we developed single and multilayer packaging solutions that could replace conventional plastic flexible packaging, but naturally integrate back into the environment in compost. We’ve been able to replace over 2000 tons of conventional plastic.
Where are your bags made?
Currently, TIPA’s films and finished packaging are manufactured in Europe using existing facilities and shipped internationally, and we are expanding our operations to the US and Australia.
Why are compostable bags better than regular plastic bags?
Compostable packaging does what conventional plastic packaging does in terms of protecting the product but is designed in a way that addresses the challenges of plastic pollution. In this way, consumers and brands do not have to choose between either protecting their product or the environment from pollution. It’s a win-win.
Do I need to start composting to be able to have these bags turn back into dirt?
TIPA’s packaging is designed to break down in compost, so the best end-of-life alternative to our packages would be in some kind of aerobic compost system. If you don’t have your own home compost, you can check if your municipality has an organic waste collection system that accepts compostable packaging, and discard of it in your organic waste bin with the rest of your food scraps.
Can I re-use these bags like plastic bags?
We highly recommend it. While TIPA’s bags aren’t meant to be reusable the way fabric bags are, you can reuse TIPA bags the way you would reuse a conventional plastic bag until its properties degrade, and then place it in your home or commercial compost to decompose into nutrient-rich soil.
What are Tipa's long-term plans with compostable bags?
Our goal is to keep developing and distributing our compostable packaging worldwide, so that companies like JOOB can keep striving for a better world and a better future. We will keep developing packaging solutions that fit the needs of the market, so that more brands can go compostable without compromising on quality.
You can check out the interview that JOOB did for TIPA at https://tipa-corp.com/blog/joob/