When it comes to entertaining and special occasions, eco-minded consumers can be torn by two apparently conflicting desires: the need to be green and the easy clean-up made possible by disposable dishes. Thanks to a new innovation from VerTerra, however, that conflict can finally be put to rest.
New York-based VerTerra offers a collection of single-use dinnerware including plates, bowls and platters made from pressed fallen leaves. Originally inspired by a technique used in rural India, VerTerra's dishes are 100 percent renewable and made entirely from compostable plant matter and water, with none of the chemicals, waxes or dyes found in disposable paper and plastic options. VerTerra products are made in South Asia, where it ensures that employees have fair wages, safe working conditions and access to healthcare. After collecting the fallen leaves, the company applies steam, heat and pressure to transform them into products that are durable and versatile, and can be used in the microwave, oven or fridge. They biodegrade naturally in two months. Sold in packs of 10 or 12, VerTerra's dishes are priced at roughly USD 1 per dish.
Not only does VerTerra's innovation solve a real consumer problem and protect the environment, it's also a beautiful example of an eco-iconic solution that helps consumers spotlight their "greenness" for all the world to see. As we've said before, when it comes to green, subtlety is not a virtue—make it bold, make it different, make it obvious!
Website: www.verterra.com
Contact: michael@verterra.com
Spotted by: Claudia Allwood
Oh man its amazing as well as interesting.
Sachin
I dispute "Thanks to a new innovation from VerTerra". This concept is not new at all. In India these kind of plates and bowls have been used for quite some time. Most of the 'Pani Puri' (a street side delicacy) vendors use these kinds of plates.
I would just be interested in how the ecobalance is, since if someone buys it in the United States it has to be shipped from Souteast Asia.
Mitul -- Are those made from plant waste, too? Would love to see a picture, to see how they compare!
Daniel -- Valid point. Although they're light and stackable, this seems like something that could/should be made locally. One day soon, all products will be tagged with their eco-footprint...
i don't think they're microwave AND oven safe as this article suggests. they are microwave-oven safe according to the verterra website.
Usero -- Verterra claims that they're oven-safe. From the FAQs: "It's perfectly safe to heat VerTerra in the microwave for up to 2 minutes or in an oven up to 350 degrees for 45 minutes."
Well, in any case, this is an excellent idea but the price point would need to come down for it to be widely-adopted in place of throw-away paper plates. But, I love the product and hope it gains market share traction!
These are not new at all. Just packaging and branding. Lesson - go to asia, take some idea they've been doing for years and build a nice website around it and watch the PR and awards come in. And he claims he worked for 2 years to develop this - thats just not ethical.
persimmon -- "just packaging and branding"? That doesn't seem fair, and to say this entrepreneur is not ethical really goes too far. Look around you, look at the products and services you and other people buy. Aren't most of them based on other people's ideas and innovations? Unless you're infringing on copyrights, there's absolutely no shame in using an existing idea and improving on it.
In this case, VerTerra's founder saw a smart concept in India, one that wasn't being produced on a large scale and wasn't available in North America, so he developed and is marketing a new product line based on that existing idea. Sounds innovative to me!
I have to agree with Daniel about the eco-footprint thing. The amount of energy used to create this product and ship across the world far outweighs the washing of a dish. Hand washing of dishes is fairly wasteful, but modern dishwashers are very efficient. So I wonder how many disposable plates it takes to match the eco-footprint of a ceramic plate. I don't know what the eventual payoff is, but it has to happen somewhere along the line.
All that being said, I do occasionally use paper plates. I always feel bad about doing it, but it does happen.
Liesbeth is correct, these should be made locally. The eco benefit from a locally made version would be much higher.
Amazing.. Me and a friend Frederic from Sanders have just started workin on the same since 1 month.. wwww.hampiproducts.com
We are introducing these plates, called "hampis" for ease of reference... starting mid july.
my mistake, thats Frederic Sanders from Amsterdam.. and the plates will be lanuched in Amsterdam...
I agree with persimmon to an extent that it is not something new and it is not innovative because I don't see anything that is original from it BUT just as Liesbeth said, this product might be used in India but it is not mass produced in America so it does seemed like a profitable business in America especially it is totally natural. It will be more cost efficient if it were to produce locally right since America also have leaves right? Why must produce in South Asia?
Daniel and Eric, good point about the eco-footprint. If only the plates came with a "carbon credit" stamp! Just take the bleach out of ordinary paper plates and they probably have a small eco-footprint, since they're paper and can be composted. The $1 VerTerra plates appeal more to the heart than the head, but kudos to the entrepreneur(s) who have tapped into that feeling. I think the plates would compete nicely against their styrene plastic counterparts at a catered event. They might go over big at the Democratic Convention in Denver, where caterers have been given a list of environmentally-friendly rules to follow.
No one here concerned about the damage to the soil the trees are grown in??? The leaves would normally fall to the floor, decompose (biodegrade) and in turn return many of their nutrients and ions to the soil. The tree would then in time absorb these nutrients and ions to help future growth. The only way this can be a sustainable concept is if the business is adding fertilisers to the soil.
I wonder what the sorce for these leaves are. Are you growing trees to chop them and make these plates? In India we use banana leaves from the plants that have already given fruit, as these plants then die a natural death. Im not sure, if you are commercially producing these dishes from trees grown for this particular purpose; then it is not eco-friendly at all.
Hi all, I am the founder of the company and just wanted to chime in on the dialogue. I am going to try to hit all the points so this may be a bit long and may not flow so well so please excuse me, and if I miss points do let me know and I will happily expound upon them. To the points that a few people made accusing us of stealing products from India. We fully credit the original idea as Indian, the traditional beetul, pani puri plates (which are made from neehul (sp?) leaves held together with toothpicks, the banana leaf ones, and many others are wonderful products influences us. It is an impressive country with an amazing culture and rich diverse products and we are proud to be doing business there; however, we did spend over 2 years taking the rural product and remaking it for the export market. In India the products are made and almost immediately used. To be able to bring them into the US or any European country you need to prove food safety, lack of bacteria, lack of colliform, shelf stability. The rural product has none of these we had many brilliant botanists and chemists work with us to reinvent the product based on the original idea, maintaining the ethic that it should be done without the use of any chemicals, glues or bonding agents. I would warn people that just because others may look like ours or describe themselves as the same please be careful. We have exacting quality control standards as some leaf types look the same, but will react differently (ie when a little wet they will warp) and some are toxic, additionally more than half the process we invented is around sterilization.
The question of footprint comes up. When you grow tall palm trees the leaves are not left to sit and decompose since that would become a barrier to rain water from getting to the roots. Rather, most farmers burn the leaves we use just to get rid of them. Last year we used over 40 tons of leaves, that is 80,000 lbs of material we stopped from being burnt. That is a huge impact. Negating the energy use of our factory and shipping, our product is still carbon negative. We have also created jobs for hundreds of people in India, in an area with nearly 35% unemployment. While making the products here would be wonderful, the US does not have the amount or concentration of raw material we need in to produce this product. Often ignored is the fact that India produces 85% of the spices in the world and has an amazing farm system which facilitates agricultural based products.
The products are microwavable and oven safe, in fact we sell an industrial line to bakeries which actually bake pies in a custom made “pie tin.” We have also passed testing with a major packaged organic food producer to be used in their microwavable ready meals so it is not just our claim, but labs and other companies. I welcome you all to buy them and try them. We are actively trying to lower costs, but for every efficiency we realize oil and transport eat it away. Perhaps if the 8% of the oil coming into the US to make plastic was used for fuel prices could be cheaper.
To the further accusations that things we have done are unethical, the Indian Government itself fully aware of the products culture and history have already used and purchased the products and applauded the work we have done in taking a forgotten rural product dramatically improving it, creating jobs for the rural poor left behind in the IT boom, and that we proudly saying we produce in India.
As far as the paper plate comment, paper plates are far from paper, and the bleach isn’t the only reason they don’t compost, most paper plates are made with oil based waxes and plastics which are the reason they don’t soak through and the reason they last as long as paper.
I know this product costs more than some are willing to pay, but the point isn’t to use this everyday. You should use real plates and cups, we wanted to create a product that was beautiful and chemical free so when you have a family event, a wedding a BBQ, some event where the 8 plates in your cupboard weren’t enough, you had a credible alternative, one that was attractive, durable, convenient, and chemical free (no leaching of toxins).
Critique of Michael Dwork, founder of Verterra
By Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia.
I am an occasional reader of Time magazine and stumbled upon a business article by Jeremy Caplan on Verterra Dinnerware in the October 13, 2008 edition (Australian) of Time (page 52). Also at: www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1706699_1707550_1846340,00.html
Jeremy Caplan’s article is careful not to over-state or claim. However, it strongly implies that Michael Dwork had an "idea" in southern India in 2006, that Mr Dwork developed his idea with "engineer friends", "crossed Asia to find plants for his plates", "through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia", "testing dozens", "in search of the perfect leaf" and so on. Before settling on a palm leaf in southern India - wow.
I think it should be known that plates and bowls steam-pressed from the leaf-base (sheath) of the Areca (the so called ‘betel nut’) palm (Areca catechu) have been manufactured in southern India since long before 2006.
Indeed, in 2006, steam-pressed Areca palm plates and bowls were already in Indian city stores and on display at trade expos in southern India, and have been imported into Australia with the name of Eco-Vision Bioplate since 2005 or earlier. Areca plates have also been imported into Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom since or before 2003.
Jeremy Caplan’s article includes a photo of Mr Dwork leaning on a small palm tree. I can say, with reasonable certainty, that this small palm is of the species Areca catechu, the common, plantation, Areca palm.
It seems Mr Dwork copied a well established product (material and method) and imported Areca plates into the US market - which is hardly an "entrepreneurial gamble" and is definitely not an original idea.
Mr Dwork was a member of the ‘entrepreneurship class’ at Columbia School of Business. Mr Dwork went on, with ‘his idea’, to become the 2007 winner of the A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition, and received $100,000 in seed funding from the Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund - which is remarkable considering the Lang Fund’s emphasis for originality.
What is outrageous is Michael Dwork appearing to grab the credit and failing to acknowledge Indian ingenuity, Indian producers and Indian exporters who have manufactured quality steam-pressed Areca plates identical to the Verterra product, and who have done so for years before Michael Dwork arrived in 2006.
For a history of the Areca plate visit:
www.ecovision.com.au
www.eco-vision.in/companyprofile.htm
This limited critique has been sent to the following:
Michael Dwork michael@verterra.com
Jeremy Caplan via Time
Time magazine
Columbia School of Business
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The New York Times
New York Post
And others.
Richard
Critique of Michael Dwork and Verterra - continuation.
The overdeveloped salesmanship practiced by Michael Dwork and Verterra includes the assertion that shipping palm leaf sheaths from India to New York is okay because rural people would otherwise only burn the sheaths. This claim by Verterra is deceptive.
Although palm leaves may sometimes be burnt for mosquito control, it is arrogant for Mr Dwork to infer that Indian farmers are not aware of the benefits of putting organic material into the soil (composting/mulch).
Also, in rural India cooking is usually over a fire, and dried palm sheaths are an excellent fuel for the domestic fireplace. Removing Areca palm sheaths from rural areas may have unforeseen impacts, as other sources of cooking fuel need to be collected from the forest or fields.
Verterra are proud to own extensive production facilities in India, which is, no doubt, the optimum for New York based Verterra’s balance sheet.
Although Verterra’s facilities provide employment, its wider value for rural development is questionable, and may even be detrimental for rural self-esteem, as the villager labours for the foreign company that stole ‘their’ product.
Other producers of Areca plates include village cooperatives, the greater benefit for rural development would be obvious.
If your concern is to support rural development in India, please consider Areca products from village manufacture.
I like to have Areca palm containers for display in the home. However, from the environmental perspective, the promotion of any single use dishware is not appropriate - unless intended for areas with serious water shortages.
In Australia, artists make delightful baskets and sculptures from the leaf sheaths of the Bangalow palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which is also an Arecaceae Palmae.
Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia.
Yes, I am a frequent visitor to India, and I do not have any financial interest in any business associated with Areca products.
14th November 2008.
I have been contacted by Mr Michael Dwork. He disputes my critiques, I believe my comments to be valid, readers may choose to disregard my previous posts, and should make their own inquires.
Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia.
Seems to me that these plates are a gimmick product. They serve no real purpose, verterra did a good job marketing them to be something that they aren't.
Lets see so he claims that the farmers just burn the leaves? that is beyond stupid and perhaps even a blatant lie, are these farmers morons? do they not know the benefit these leaves provide?