FAQ Sustainability

RPET is an abbreviation of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET. It is a type of plastic resin as well as a form of polyester. It can be fully recycled, in which case it becomes recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or RPET. RPET material can be certified by a GRS certification.

Many of our products are made of a bioplastic called PLA, which is an abbreviation for Poly Lactic Acid. This material is usually made from the sugars and starch from corn or beet. Lactic acid is extracted from this, after which it is processed into a granulate. The products are characterised by their strength and transparency, as well as being 100% compostable and food safe. Because PLA is not heat resistant, it is only suitable for cold drinks and food. The production of PLA is very sustainable because the CO2 emissions are about 75% less than in the production of oil plastics. It is also certified compostable according to EN-13432 and will compost within 90 days in an industrial plant.

The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is intended for companies that are making and/or selling products with recycled content. The standard applies to the full supply chain and addresses traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, and labelling.

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) has been developed to further produce organic cotton and other organically grown fibres into a sustainable garment or textile. The standard imposes requirements on factories regarding the use of harmful chemicals. In addition, factories have an obligation to use a sustainable wastewater system and to use water and energy sparingly. It also includes criteria relating to working conditions which are based on the standards of the International Labour Organization, such as the right to trade union freedom and the right to safe and healthy working conditions.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is a health mark for textiles, with strict requirements for residues of heavy metals, harmful dyes, and pesticides. To obtain the quality mark, the textile is tested by independent inspectors and no harmful substances may be present. In particular, the dyeing process causes the presence of these harmful substances in the regular textile industry. This label says nothing about fair production or burdening the environment. This means that fabrics with only the OEKO-TEX 100 quality mark are not organic.

Both are tested for toxic substances and hazardous chemicals. So you can be certain that it is safe for people. But OEKO-TEX is not necessarily organic. This means that the OEKO-TEX 100 label does not look at the impact on the environment. GOTS does have strict requirements for this.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an international label for sustainable forests. The label applies to wood and derived products, including many paper applications. An FSC label guarantees that a product originates from responsibly managed forests and/or recycled material. The label has three variants:

• FSC 100%: This label indicates that the product originates entirely from FSC certified forest(s).
• FSC Mix: This label indicates that the product originates from a production process in which FSC material is mixed with recycled material and/or controlled material. Each product with an FSC mix label represents at least 70% FSC-certified inputs (from FSC forests or recycling).
• FSC recycled: This label indicates that a product is made from 100% recycled wood or recycled fibres.

This indicates that an object is capable of being recycled, not that the object has been recycled or will be accepted in all recycling collection systems. Sometimes this symbol is used with a percentage figure in the middle to explain that the packaging contains x% of recycled material.

The ‘Seedling’ logo is a reliable label for compostability. The logo and the certificate number printed on the product assists in the decision of purchasing and disposing a product (packaging). Biodegradable and compostable products should be certified according to EN 13432 / 14995 standards. Independent third-party certification ensures conformity of the product with the referenced standards and certification stipulations.

For each item of our Sustainable Choice collection we have created a declaration of sustainability. In the declaration we highlight details concerning material content, recyclability, resource, trademarks e.g. of the item.

The declaration of sustainability can be found on the product pages on our web site. You can easily find and download the declaration under the documentation tab.

• Reduce means to minimise the amount of waste we create.
• Reuse refers to using items more than once.
• Recycle means repurposing a product instead of throwing it away.

We reduce plastic use by replacing plastic packaging with biodegradable or recyclable material where possible. Also, the waste plastic in our production department is collected and taken to a recycling company. For transporting fragile orders, we recycle carton boxes with a shredder to send our products safely. Reducing is an ongoing process for midocean.

We realise that we can improve both the use and consumption of our packaging. That is why we are already taking steps in the right direction. With the future in mind we are using as little plastic as possible with our packaging.

In order to make our packaging more sustainable, we always weigh the impact on the environment against the transport of empty space. For example, we are currently looking into alternatives to the filling material in our packaging for orders. Not only this, we are also looking at the size of boxes in order to pack and transport the product in a more appropriate way, reducing the transport of empty space overall.

When plastic still has to be used (for hygienic or transport reasons), we reuse as many existing packaging materials as possible and/or try to find a more sustainable alternative.