About Steenbergs' Packaging
Packaging causes us one of our biggest headaches. There are balances to be made between the different standpoints individuals have on each problem within the whole area of packaging. For example, what primary packaging do you use: plastics are lighter and save transport energy, but are petroleum based, and furthermore few plastics really genuinely recyclable?
Yes, we could pack in small "plastic" bags, then in an outer board box, but then the Steenbergs brand would be tied into plastics and could not be differentiated from other brands like Bart, Schwartz or own label eco-brands like Crazy Jacks or Suma, so commercially it does not work for Steenbergs; however these refill packs are no good for keeping the long-term quality of herbs and spices and, once opened, are not great for herbs and spices, so should be decanted into more appropriate packaging. Then, the plastic pouches they are packed are petroleum-based and are usually sent to landfill where they do not degrade and pollute our seas.
Rightly or wrongly, Steenbergs’ branding is, and has always been, based around glass and steel, because these are, in our opinion, the best ways to pack spices and herbs to maintain their quality. In the sections that follow, we explain the packaging materials we use and their environmental impacts, as well as how to reuse, and recycle. As always, life is a compromise between various contested positions, but you must start with some conviction from some firm position and this is where we begin, thereafter we try to do the best we can within the contextual framework that this creates. There are other standpoints and other businesses frameworks, which are equally valid and equally strongly argued, while each different actor has his/her own ideas and ideals, as well as specific issues and conflicts, but that creates all of our own unique identities. We all present different approaches to the world of seasonings and teas, and, through providing choices for potential customers, we leave it to you to decide which fits best with your own personal standpoints on how seasonings and teas should be packaged.
