Canadian Biomass Magazine

23-year-old develops 100% compostable paper bottle

March 12, 2019
By Natural Vegan

March 12, 2019 - The world's plastics production totalled around 335 million tons in 2016, according to EarthDay.org, and continues to rise. The main reason for the increase in plastic production is plastic packaging. Providing a solution to these very significant and catastrophic environmental issues, serial-entrepreneur Jaymie Friesen and his compostable food-grade body care business are pioneering a completely new product category: compostable paper bottles. The EcoBottle is the very first paper bottle that is 100 per cent compostable and can hold liquids and consumables for more than six months.

New methods and tech use a thin layer of naturally occurring biodegradable PHA

An integral part of Natural Vegan Body Care’s family of proven environmental-friendly and functional packaging, the EcoBottle has been in development for more than three years. After rigorous testing and extensive research, what started as a side hobby, has now become a product innovation and much more than just a bottle. The technology used to design the EcoBottle can also be used across all product industries, to replace more than 80 per cent of all plastic packaging types with natural 100 per cent compostable packaging.

Founder and CEO of this innovation and purpose-driven company, Friesen has already built five businesses; he is 23 years old alongside his business partner Hannah at 22. With a passion to make a difference, Friesen’s career has spanned several industries including software technology for notable companies such as Shopify, and has managed a telecommunications SaaS business with an appraisal of $60+ million. Uninspired by his work with other companies, Friesen decided to quit his job, sold his other businesses, his home, and everything he owned, and decided to create the greenest and most pure health and wellness company in the world that people can trust.

The entire line of Friesen’s body care business is zero-waste, compostable, all-natural and food-grade quality. Products include deodorant, lip balm, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bamboo toothbrushes, organic loofahs, and hand soap — one box to turn your bathroom into a zero-waste and toxin-free environment. The company and collection of products consistently receive positive 4.8 – 4.95 star reviews (out of 5 stars), recognizing them as the most effective natural skin and body care products available. After learning there were no compostable packing solutions for liquids in his body care line, Friesen took matters into his own hands and designed the EcoBottle.

“If someone has the intelligence to see a problem, they have the responsibility to fix it, which is exactly what we have the ability to do now with the EcoBottle,” said Friesen. “With growing concerns about the authenticity and trustworthiness of products made from natural materials and how they will impact the environment, we believe it’s important to be transparent about how the EcoBottle is made. We are constantly testing our product materials to ensure the EcoBottle is 100 per cent compostable and can be the solution we’re all looking for.”

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Jaymie’s business is manufactured in the U.S. The EcoBottle is all-natural and consists of only four materials: recycled paper, natural cork, organic soybean wax and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), an FDA approved natural biopolymer. While there are products currently available made using thick layers of PHA, the EcoBottle is the only product to feature an extremely thin layer of PHA, which is applied with an innovative PHA spray. This critical differentiating feature of EcoBottle’s thin PHA liner is significant because it will not impact the environment’s delicate ecosystems. With PHA making up only four per cent of materials used, the EcoBottle decomposes in just one year, compared to 1,000 years for plastic and 1 million years or more for glass; proving it is the only effective solution that is sustainable for the environment at the scale humanity uses.

People around the world are already supporting EcoBottle Kickstarter campaign, which will further allow the company to create more all-natural, 100 per cent compostable solutions to the world’s plastic problem.

Jaymie and his business partner Hannah plan to take this development world-wide, not only using the new methods and technology to give their skincare brand an edge, but also distributing it to other businesses with the goal of influencing the largest players in the industry to make a change, and possibly creating a new business designing and patenting new innovative compostable packaging.


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