Cannabis and the Environment
One harsh reality of the cannabis industry is that most business do not engage in environmentally sound business practices. Some state regulations have reduced the amount of water waste, pesticide and herbicide pollution, as well as piles of trash left at cultivation sites, but environmental harm is still prevalent on both legal and illegal cannabis farms. This is partly due to a lack of clear-cut policy specifically addressing environmental compliance with a focus on the ecological challenges present in hemp and cannabis cultivation. However, a lot of the harm can be attributed to a disappointing lack of awareness by corporate cannabis operations that seem more focused on turning profits than building a culture and brand that values our environment.
One of the biggest environmental challenges in the industry right now is the excessive amount of plastic utilized by many companies for cheap, compliant product packaging. Every joint, cannabis concentrate, vape pen cartridge, and edible comes in government mandated child resistant packaging. While some of the more environmentally conscious companies in the industry choose to use glass or recycled materials, the majority of the packaging you see is plastic. For example, concentrates are packaged in a thick glass jar. Edibles are packaged in a plastic bag that then goes inside of a plastic container. Pre-rolled joints and cannabis flower are sold in plastic tubes or jars. When any of these products are purchased, they are then put into a large dispensary printed plastic bag. Considering the massive scale of a continuously expanding industry, that’s a lot of plastic put out into the world on a daily basis. Browse the following article to learn more about marijuana growing statistics, data and trends in 2020.
Why Your Cannabis Brand Should Go Green
In an ideal world, every company would embrace environmental responsibility and make their business practices more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The human race has done enough damage to our air, water, and soil quality. We believe it’s time for a change. And the best way for change to occur, is to lead by example.
PufCreativ encourages our clients and partners to implement sustainable practices in their business models. We believe it is possible to run a profitable business while also engaging in responsible production, growing and packaging practices. Employing this ideology is not only the moral thing to do for our communities and society as a whole, it also creates a positive, forward-thinking reputation for your brand.
PufCreativ is incredibly proud that many of our clients are leading the way in the cannabis industry, influencing brands to develop eco-conscious business models while wholeheartedly demonstrating that you can indeed run a profitable business while engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.
Our client, WaxNax offers pre-loaded and unloaded glass inserts used for dabbing cannabis oil. These inserts reduce the amount of glass cannabis concentrates currently are packaged in by half, and also are sold in recyclable packaging that’s made out of food grade polypropylene and can be used in many other ways, like storing your dab tools or flower.
Another client, Pot Zero, runs the world’s most sustainable cannabis farm. The farm sits at 8,000 ft and receives its water from a 12,500 ft peak that provides a snowmelt water source located just above the expansive outdoor grow. The water from the snowmelt trickles down the mountain and rests in a reservoir below the farm. From the reservoir, the water is pumped to the plants through a hydroelectric turbine. The farm has a zero carbon footprint. It’s remarkable.
Dr. Robb is another PufCreativ client engaging in eco-friendly practices by employing horticultural methods to create the cleanest and highest quality of flower possible for the brand’s California consumers. Dr. Robb grows are entirely pesticide free and use hydroponic crop optimization. Hydroponics are great for reducing environmental impact because they require less land use and depletion, reduce fossil fuel use and pollution associated with production, use 90% less water than traditional soil grows, avoid soil erosion and eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides that can damage or contaminate community water sources.
Terrapin Care Station is yet another PufCreativ client that prides themselves on their efforts to minimize their environmental footprint in the cannabis industry. Terrapin Care Station implements environmentally friendly packaging in the form of TCS jars and closures to bottle flower products in BPA-free packaging manufactured through an eco-friendly process that utilizes I’m green ™ renewable polyethylene, produced from Brazilian sugarcane ethanol. The sugarcane ethanol is a renewable source that is recyclable in the same chain used for recycling traditional polyethylene that is sourced from fossil fuel.
Due to WaxNax, Pot Zero, Dr. Robb and Terrapin Care Station’s environmental innovation, they are being recognized as industry influencers by media agencies such as High Times Magazine, Leafly, Dope Magazine, and Now This News. From my perspective, this a perfect marketing situation. We are proud to partner with clients leading and influencing the newly forming and highly malleable industry to elevate the standard and encourage new and existing companies to seek and engage in sustainable practices. While these practices are smart and beneficial to our world, it also provides organic positive press about each company’s conscious culture that can be exposed through digital marketing strategy. This in turn, generates revenue, builds positive brand awareness, and sets an elevated environmental standard in the industry.
