BTB: What's up with my supp? Part II: SmartPak's guilt-free plastic

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What's up with my supp? Part II: SmartPak's guilt-free plastic Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:44 PM PDT Well, you read my little diatribe on meds/supps. Here's another little issue with supplements. As a barn worker and horse owner, I like Smartpaks. They're easy to feed,  easy to track, and easy to keep fresh. But I have to admit I used to feel bad about all that plastic. My horses already consume  a lot of the planet's resources -- the shavings, the manure, the long horse baths, the fly spray, and the list goes on. I have used Smartpaks for some time, but not without "green guilt."  It turns out, though, that this guilt is misplaced. I'm green after all! Last week I added another supplement to Riley's Smartpak -- and in talking with the Smartpak rep I confessed my green guilt. Well, God bless the rep. She referred me to Smartpak's green policies and practices (and a statement they published for Earth Day 2008)... Smartpak uses recycled plastic (PET #1) that customers can re-recycled  in virtually every community in the US.   It's the easiest  plastic to recycle, it's impermeable, and it's light. Many standard supplement buckets are PET 5 or another type of plastic that is not easily recycled. Smartpak recently made it's plastic "blister packs" thinner so that even less plastic is used. Supplement products are delivered to Smartpak in bulk,  in reusable containers. Most of the Smartpak processing and production is tracked electronically (no paper). Their shrinkwrap is biodegradable. Smartpak uses certified recycled cardboard and they reuse it. They don't use styrofoam in shipping. They're extremely efficient in their shipping and delivery (Barn Buddies is the tip of the iceberg), plus you save gas from trips to the tack shop. The Smartpak literature provides a lot more detail, but to sum it up, green is their thing.  I may be a gluttonous consumer of unnecessary and frivolous equestrian products -- bling browbands, for example --  but I need not feel guilty about Smartpaks. It's amazing and wonderful that something that's actually convenient is also green. It doesn't usually work that way... Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com

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