Homemade Harvey: “This Package Is Landfill Friendly”

By Nick Aster | November 7th, 2009 View Comments

Opportunity Green’s been brimming with great speakers and quality products to talk about. But occasionally there’s a lemon. I was puzzled to see what looked like flattened toothpaste tubes in a bucket of ice on the patio today. They turned out to be a crushed fruit product called “Homemade Harvey” – an all organic fruit paste that squeezes out of a pouch.

Now, there’s nothing un-green about selling fresh crushed fruit. In fact, the product is probably good for you if you can stomach the aesthetic of squirting goo into your mouth. But Harvey’s stated claim of “100% Crushed Fruit, 0% Bad Stuff” overlooks a rather obvious element of the big picture: Non-recyclable, heavy and probably unnecessary packaging. What really cracks me up is the claim on the bottom of the pouch, and I quote, “This Package is Landfill Friendly“. Uh huh. And so is the chair I’m sitting in. At least we can’t accuse them of greenwashing….

Categorized: Events, Greenwashing|

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  • Nick Anger
    What's worse is the company says that their "crushed fruit" is good for three MONTHS. This means they have pasteurized it (see: boiled). That means all the natural enzymes and growies have been killed so you get just the sugar. Great.

    Honestly why not just buy baby food and refrigerate it. It's also "crushed fruit" and has the same consistency, but at least the glass jar is recyclable...
  • Carly Smolak
    Seriously. It's hard to believe that this is the most environmentally friendly packaging a "crushed fruit company" could come up with. Is the problem that more sustainable materials are heavier, and therefore embed a greater carbon footprint in their transportation? I guess my first question for a product like this would be, does the world really need this product? Canning locally grown produce in the summer months for consumption throughout the year is, in my opinion, the most sustainable and healthy way to eat fruit year round.
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