FRESH ATTITUDE IS 100% COMMITTED

It’s important for our family business to take steps to ensure a greener future for coming generations and the well-being of our agricultural land. Many of you also expressed an interest in more sustainable containers. For both reasons, Fresh Attitude is proud to make the transition to a greener option. Since a semi-rigid package is necessary to protect our delicate baby lettuce, our challenge was to find a more ecological solution than one using virgin plastic.

Our old containers were recyclable, but they were made from virgin material. Our new containers are still recyclable, in addition to being made from 100% recycled material. According to data from the Association of Plastic Recyclers, using recycled plastic to produce them significantly reduces their carbon footprint. It gives a second life to tons of plastic that might otherwise have ended up in landfill, or worse, in waterways. It’s another step further toward protecting our environment.

VegPro has chosen to partner with Cascades, a leader in sustainable packaging, to help bring its environmental commitment to life. Cascades is able to draw on more than 55 years of experience in recovery, recycling and production of recycled products. The company continuously works to develop sustainable and innovative processes to reduce its environmental footprint and that of its products. This is achieved by relying on strict sustainability criteria, including life cycle assessment.
The Cascades plant that produces Fresh Attitude packaging is located in Drummondville.

1. Remove the plastic wrap on the top of the package.
2. Remove the label on the bottom of the package, if there is one.
3. Separate the insert from the container.
4. Rinse the insert and the container and put them in your recycling bin.

We chose recyclable containers for the important reasons below.
– Recovery and recycling infrastructure is more prevalent than composting infrastructure.
– Recycling gives a second life to materials and therefore contributes to the circular economy. Compostable products turn into compost, which means they cannot be reused to make new products.
– Biosourced plastics are fully or partly produced using bio-based or plant-derived material. So they require the use of land to cultivate their raw material: land that can sometimes compete with human food crops.
– Compostable containers don’t contribute to the material’s reuse or to the circular economy.

Using an insert enables us to properly separate each ingredient and to control the environment in each compartment. As a result, our salads and their ingredients remain fresh, intact and crisp longer.

Yes; the plastic insert is made of recycled materials and can be recycled.

At this point, the materials used to create a plastic film that has excellent sealing properties for a container made of recycled material do not have the characteristics needed for a recyclable lidding film. Therefore, the lidding film of your salad is not recyclable.

A survey of our community made it clear that a majority of our consumers was in favour of leaving the fork out of our salads. Our decision to leave the fork out fits perfectly with our overall goal of improving the environmental footprint of our packaging. That is why we chose to do so at the same time as we introduced our containers made from 100% recycled materials.

We have the largest corporative farm specializing in growing baby lettuce in Canada. So we are committed to researching and implementing methods that help preserve our land and our environment.
Our objective has always been to reduce pesticides by, for example,
– Choosing to use biopesticides;
– Practising precision farming;
– Using artificial intelligence and robotics;
– Testing various seeds resistant to weather conditions, insect pests and diseases.

Our operations are located in three strategic regions: Quebec, Florida and British Columbia.
In season (May to October), we grow our fresh greens and vegetables in our own fields in Canada.
During the winter (December to March), we grow our produce on our land in Florida.
The transition periods when we need to obtain produce from our west coast partners last barely four weeks in the fall and and another four during the spring. These partners also use sustainable farming practices.

Because baby lettuce is so delicate, bulk handling would negatively affect its quality and its shelf life.

Our research showed that the rigid nature of the 100% recycled and recyclable Fresh Attitude containers prevents the product from being compressed and thus protects the leaves. The containers also improve air flow and extend shelf life by limiting the production of excess humidity. So the baby lettuce stays fresher and crisper longer.

It’s hard to ensure end-of-life traceability for packaging. Nonetheless, if the container is put in a recycling bin, its chances of a second life are obviously greater. That said, since a recycler is needed in order for materials to truly get a second life, this may not happen in certain regions due to a lack of buyers. This is a very unlikely situation for clear containers made of a single material like ours, because it’s the most valuable resin on the recycling market.

The red seal made of polypropylene had not been recyclable because of its size. In the transition, we have replaced it with a seal made of the same material as the container. This new sealing method is now recyclable and secure. Please rest assured that your Fresh Attitude containers are securely sealed.