Sustainability

This planet means the world to us

Good things come in renewable materials!

Clover is the first dairy in the U.S. to switch to a 100% plant based, renewable carton.
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Healthy Communities & Sustainable Practices:

How Clover Is Leading the Way

Our longstanding support of family nutrition, sustainable family farms, thriving communities, and renewable packaging has helped set the high standard for the dairy industry. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously. And it not only impacts how we produce our dairy, it drives us to find innovations in packaging and to share our passion by educating the communities we love.

Recycling your food packaging

Food residue is the #1 Reason

Packaging does not get recycled

The solution:

1 RINSE out the package
so it’s free of
icky stuff
2 DRY the package by letting it sit out
3 RECYCLE like you
normally do

Collect your foil lids

Individual foil lids are too small to be recycled.
Rinse & squish your foil lids
 together into a 3 inch ball.
That’s big enough to recycle!

No more plastic Caps

By not including plastic caps on our milk cartons, in 2019 we saved over 227,000 lbs of plastic from being produced and likely ending up in the landfill.

That is equivalent to the weight of over 11 million plastic water bottles.

1% for the planet

We are donating 1% from every sale of our organic DHA Omega-3 Milk to the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a global alliance working toward a world free from plastic pollution.

Learn More about recycling & Food Packaging

Ready to wade into the world of packaging recycling?

Better put your boots on.

What are the issues with plastic? What are the challenges with compostable packaging? What is Clover doing? Glass vs. Cartons
What are the issues with plastic?
1

Base Material Used

The vast majority of plastic base material is fossil fuel, a finite (non renewable) resource that requires energy/fuel for extraction. Bioplastic options exist that use plants as the base material. These options are more expensive, but much better because plants recapture carbon as they grow, and therefore reduce the carbon footprint of bioplastic vs. fossil fuel based plastic. In fact, studies in Europe show that the carbon footprint of a plant-based carton that uses bioplastic liner is less than 50% compared to traditional cartons that uses a fossil fuel based plastic liner.1
1 Study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

2

Recycling/Waste

Although plastic can be recycled, it is a highly imperfect process. Plants in other countries purchase recycled plastics from the US, and process them into small plastic pellets to sell for use in other products (children’s toys, flower pots, etc…). Unfortunately, plastic can only be recycled 1-2 times before it degrades too far and must get thrown away. This is why Clover is aggressively pursuing alternative packaging options that don’t utilize plastic and/or are compostable.

Currently, a perfect solution for packaging does not exist, but there are options that provide drastic improvements to the current packaging in market, such as our renewable carton.

Learn More
What are the challenges with compostable packaging?

A compostable package must be able to:

1

Be stored for up to 6 months minimum in ambient temperatures

2

Withstand high moisture and stay intact while being filled with milk or other dairy products

3

Stay intact as it is shipped to store, then as it sits on shelf, and finally on its journey to your home

4

Biodegrade within 90 days after disposal, as most compost facilities require this time frame

It is very challenging to find a compostable packaging type that can maintain its integrity and still look good up until it is consumed, and then quickly biodegrade. Nonetheless, we are not giving up and we are working everyday to identify better solutions for our packaging.

What is Clover doing?

Clover recognizes that fossil-fuel based plastic is not a viable long-term solution for our products. We are collaborating with multiple companies on packaging innovation.
This year, we are ecstatic to be the first milk brand in the US to launch our fully renewable, plant based carton.
We intend to transition all of our cartons to the fully renewable carton by 2025. In addition, we are working on sourcing alternative materials for our other products. While we might not be able to fix the problem overnight, every incremental step we take away from fossil fuels is a huge step in the right direction.
Our renewable carton is available in organic half gallons and quarts Summer 2020.

Fully renewable
low carbon footprint*
FSC® CertifiedPaperboard
100% PLANT-BASED MATERIALS

*vs. traditional carton with fossil fuel based liner

Glass vs. Cartons

We have looked into glass a number of times. The biggest challenge is that producing one new glass bottle requires an incredible amount of energy/fuel. Because of this huge initial upfront energy requirement, glass underperforms paperboard cartons unless it gets reused 4-5 times, which is challenging because not everyone returns their glass jars. Glass is also considerably heavier than paper to transport, requiring more fuel for each trip.

Environmental Impact

Fully Renewable Carton

Glass Bottles

base material

 Carton Image Glass Bottle Image

Production

 Carton Image Glass Bottle Image

Transportation to manufacturer

 Carton Image Glass Bottle Image

Transportation to producer

 Carton Image Glass Bottle Image

post-consumer

 Carton Image Glass Bottle Image
Learn More

Clover PackOur New Fully Renewable Carton has...

  • 100% PLANT-BASED MATERIALS
  • FSC® CERTIFIED PAPERBOARD
  • A SMALLER CARBON FOOTPRINT THAN TRADITIONAL CARTONS1

Learn more about how it’s made in the video.

1 Study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

  • CAN YOU RECYCLE OUR NEW RENEWABLE CARTON?

    Yes, our fully renewable carton is recyclable if your local waste hauler accepts it.

    Every waste hauler has different types of processing equipment as well as end markets for materials. We are actively working with the Carton Council to expand the number of waste haulers who accept cartons for recycling. Please remember to check with your local waste hauler to confirm they accept milk cartons.

    Interested in more info?

    Visit the Product + Recycling section on our FAQ page to learn more.

  • WHAT HAPPENS IF A MILK CARTON ISN’T RECYCLED?

    Some counties will ask customers to place all items in one bin, and then do the sorting themselves. In these circumstances, you would have to ask your waste hauler if they sort out cartons.

    If your local waste hauler doesn’t recycle cartons at all, then unfortunately, the cartons end up in the landfill. However, it is very important to understand what happens in the landfill as you evaluate the products you purchase given that cartons degrade considerably faster than plastic.

    Interested in more info?

    Visit the Product + Recycling section on our FAQ page to learn more.

  • WHAT DOES RENEWABLE MEAN?

    Renewable means that the materials used to make the product can be re-grown, or “renewed.” Clover’s new renewable carton is made from a combination of FSC paperboard that is sourced from trees (which can be re-grown) and bioplastic that is sourced from sugarcane (also can be re-grown).

    Interested in more info?

    Visit the Product + Recycling section on our FAQ page to learn more.

  • WHAT DOES RECYCLABLE MEAN?

    Recyclable means that the materials can be reused in other applications. Unfortunately, in the case of plastic, it can only be downcycled a finite number of times (1-3) before the material degrades too much to be useful. At that point it ends up in the landfill and could take up to 450 years+ to biodegrade, if it ever degrades at all. Because plastic was only recently invented, it’s hard to say for certain how long it will actually take for it to biodegrade, which is why you will see varying estimates. For this reason, Clover is passionate about transitioning any of our products that are currently in plastic into other formats.

    Interested in more info?

    Visit the Product + Recycling section on our FAQ page to learn more.

  • WHAT DOES COMPOSTABLE MEAN?

    Compostable means that all materials in the product or package will break down into—or become part of—usable compost safely and in about the same time as the materials with which it is composted. While this is, in fact, the legal FTC definition, it is important to note that most compost facilities need to be able to turn compost within 90 days, otherwise their business models are not economically viable.

    Interested in more info?

    Visit the Product + Recycling section on our FAQ page to learn more.

How sustainable are different types of packaging?

Environmental Impact
Base Material
Production
Transportation to manufacturer
Transportation to producer
Post-consumer
Fully Renewable Carton

Sustainable: Sugarcane Poly & FSC® Certified Paperboard

Check / X Image

Moderate energy needs for initial production

Check / X Image

Shipped flat, require significantly fewer trucks

Check / X Image

Efficient product to packaging ratio

Check / X Image

Requires energy to separate; paper can only be reused 4-5 times

Check / X Image
Aseptic cartons

Not Sustainable: Paperboard, fossil fuel, polyethylene, aluminum

Check / X Image

Moderate energy needs for initial production

Check / X Image

Shipped flat, require significantly fewer trucks

Check / X Image

Efficient product to packaging ratio

Check / X Image

Requires substantial energy to separate layers; high level of contamination across materials

Check / X Image
Plasticjugs

Non Sustainable: Fossil Fuel

Check / X Image

Moderate energy needs for initial production

Check / X Image

Shipped formed, requiring more trucks than cartons

Check / X Image

Efficient product to packaging ratio, maximizes weight carried of product

Check / X Image

About 1-2 times and then downcycled to landfill

Check / X Image
GlassBottles

Sustainable: Sand

Check / X Image

Extremely high energy needs for initial production

Check / X Image

Heavy weight requires 40x the trucks vs paper or plastic

Check / X Image

Inefficient product to packaging ratio

Check / X Image

Can be reused infinite number of times

Check / X Image
Wood Frame
Check out our other initiatives and the impact we had in 2019! Learn more

Family Farms & Manure Management

Smaller herd sizes + Ample pasture land = More sustainable family farming

When it comes to caring for cows, we believe size matters. Clover’s herd size is 1/3 the average California herd size. That means our farmers can keep a close eye on their herds and ensure their cows are in good health.

Fewer cows also means less manure production. While manure contains beneficial nutrients that plants need to grow, those nutrients become pollutants if they’re too highly concentrated. So when farms are densely populated, manure management becomes more challenging and the risks of pollution increase. All Clover dairies recycle 100% of their manure production, either using it on farm as fertilizer or other capacities, or providing it to local organic farms.

Clover’s average herd size: 400 Cows
vs
California’s average herd size: 1,200 Cows

the scoop on poop

Healthy soil is the foundation of any sustainable farm. Livestock manure is a critical fertilizer in organic farming because it contains important nutrients to support soil health.

Wood Frame Wood Frame
Organic farming WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT livestock manure The only alternative is chemically-produced fertilizer. And that's just not our thing.
manure is an excellent source of plant nutrients POTASSIUM, NITROGEN & PHOSPHORUS
K N P
Manure + Soil
manure returns organic matter and other nutrients TO THE SOIL SUCH AS CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM & SULFUR
Ca Mg S