Vancouver, BC – Vancouver, BC-based Earthcycle Packaging and the Oppenheimer Group proudly announce their recent win at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) 2007 Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition in Houston, Texas.

Earthcycle and Oppenheimer were named the winners of the inaugural Impact Award for Sustainability by the PMA, which bestowed its first annual Impact Award for Excellence in Produce Packaging on October 13. The new award recognizes companies who are leading the way with exceptional produce packaging that demonstrates “out-of-the-box thinking” and makes an immediate impact on consumers.

The companies received the honor for their combined efforts to create a fully home-compostable four-pack of organic kiwifruit and distribute it to retail outlets throughout the U.S.

“Earthcycle is thrilled to have won this prestigious PMA Impact Award alongside the Oppenheimer Group,” said Shannon Boase, Earthcycle president and founder. “It is a wonderful feeling to know that Earthcycle’s compostable packaging has been recognized and acknowledged in the sustainability category by the esteemed panel of judges. We continue our commitment to raising consumer awareness and making real societal change within the packaging industry.”

Earthcycle is recognized for its commitment to environmental excellence, having developed a sustainable packaging option made from a renewable resource called palm fiber – a waste product discarded when the palm fruit is harvested throughout the year for its oil. Earthcycle’s packaging is a natural and sustainable product that can be thrown into the compost where it will biodegrade in up to 90 days, turning into healthy productive humus for the soil.

The Oppenheimer Group, a full-service fruit and vegetable marketing company, which collaborated with Earthcycle to bring the first palm-fiber packs to market about two years ago, views the fully home-compostable pack as an ideal alternative for many retailers and consumers alike.

“At Oppenheimer, we’re constantly seeking ways to reduce waste throughout the supply chain,” said John Anderson, chairman, president and CEO. “Our Earthcycle packaging initiative enables us to offer an ‘earth-to-earth’ option that appeals to shoppers who share our values. We’ve enjoyed our collaboration with Earthcycle, and are honored to have received this award with such an innovative partner.”

In addition to the winning kiwifruit pack, Oppenheimer also markets greenhouse-grown vegetable and other items in Earthcycle’s palm fiber trays.

PMA created the awards program to recognize and encourage excellence in fresh produce packaging, and received an overwhelming response with more than 100 entries. Seven produce companies were named the industry’s best packaging innovators in five categories by a panel of academic, produce and packaging professionals recognized in the packaging industry.

The sustainability award, presented this year to Earthcycle Packaging and the Oppenheimer group, acknowledges an organization or group of organizations that have demonstrated packaging innovations with a significant environmental application and/or benefit.

About Earthcycle

Earthcycle has used the design brilliance of nature to develop innovative sustainable packaging made from a renewable resource, called palm fiber, which composts in up to 90-days, turning into a healthy contribution to the soil.

Earthcycle’s President, Shannon Boase, was first introduced to palm fiber packaging while managing a technology commercialization fund for the Malaysian government from May 2002 to July 2004.

It is Boase’s hope that in the near future –when more municipalities implement green-waste programs and household compost bins are commonplace – that consumers will make a green decision and seek out Earthcycle packaging, not only halving their household waste through composting, but reducing the negative impacts of the landfilling of plastics.

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