When we talk about sustainability, we don’t just mean the financial and ecological kind. Our reliance on plastic is doing tremendous damage to our planet, some of it irreversible, and we simply cannot afford to continue on the path we’ve been walking for so many years. In a very real financial sense, the cost of plastic is rapidly exceeding our ability to pay its price.

As business owners, we must look to the many alternatives to preserve both our financial and our environmental well-being. Some people might tell you that we can’t do anything on our own, and conventional wisdom rejects the impact a single person or business can make. At Zume, we reject the conventional wisdom, as we have seen for ourselves how much is saved simply by making one, small change to the way we do things.

The Cheapest is not Always the Best

How many corners are you willing to cut when it comes to how your business operates? Chances are good that’s a short list. You know that your bottom line doesn’t move into the red or the black by doing the easy thing. Even if it did, you’re willing to put in the extra hours or the extra work to make sure you’re operating at a level your customers have come to expect.

Switching from plastic to sustainable materials like molded fiber is worth so much more than the slight increase you might see in the price (although you can take a look at what we make yourself–it’s probably not much more than what you’d pay for high-quality plastic). By moving your business’s materials from plastic to plant-based solutions is measurably better, especially when a company like Zume is the one making it.

Throw it Away, Or Keep it Forever

Another aspect of sustainability that is often overlooked is how we think about the products that are only meant to be used once, like food packaging. Either we want something that we’ll have for decades, like the stoneware and cutlery we use every day at home, or we want something that won’t “sustain” at all, like a molded fiber food bowl that closes tight and won’t leak a drop but will also break down quickly when we throw it away.

Sustainable From The Start

The expectations we have for the way we do business at Zume are clear and carefully considered. We derive as much power in our factories as we can from sustainable sources of energy, like solar. Our process for creating our molded fiber containers is chemical-free and makes no negative impact on precious sources of groundwater. At Zume, the sustainability starts with us.

If you want to start out on the road to a green to-go, Zume can help you get there. Learn more about how Zume’s molded fiber products can help your business be plastic-free.