From Founder Pam Montgomery's Desk: Chukar’s Sustainability Efforts

Reducing packaging and shipping waste takes relentlessness and creativity—you have to care and commit to action. It brings our team great joy to be actively committed to a healthy environment by utilizing sound practices and biodegradable packaging. We continually search for ways to become a 100% sustainable company. This means a net zero carbon footprint, use of 100% compostable/biodegradable materials, and reduction of waste.

To date, Chukar’s eco successes are:

*Shipments are zero carbon.

*Catalogs are printed on FSC Certified paper from responsibly managed forests

*The following are biodegradable:

• Kraft cartons & shippers
• Folding & gift boxes
• Thermo cool cartons
• Assortment box & gift tin cavity trays
• Plant-based Biotre Bags, launching on select products in late 2021!

*The following are recyclable:

• Gift tins
• Jars

*In the works:

• Moving to biodegradable ribbon and decorative jars in 2021-22
• Pushing for industry development of flexible food packaging that is biodegradable/compostable.

Our Styrofoam Story

As you can see, 100% biodegradable packaging is our goal—and we’re getting close. However, up until this year, Styrofoam thermo containers were a thorn in our flesh. We didn’t like them, but they seemed like the only option.

Then in 2019 I received a heartfelt customer email. This customer loved our Northwest Sour Cherry Pie but was upset with the thermo container utilized to keep the pie frozen during transit. Understanding her anguish, I explained the difficulty in sourcing a biodegradable-compostable thermo container that would keep the cherry pie frozen. I promised to continue my search for a sustainable option, and I did so.

While they weren’t available at the time, the following year I began to see alternative thermo containers. One by one we tracked them down and tested them. After multiple tries, we discovered an all-new biodegradable-compostable container with the properties we needed. With the help of an industry friend, we were able to locate the domestic manufacturer. This new eco manufacturer was overwhelmed with orders and Chukar was placed on a waitlist. Eventually persistence paid off. Now—thanks to a customer complaint, new technologies, industry innovators, and an industry friend—we’ve eliminated Styrofoam at Chukar Cherries!