Wholesome!® Celebrates Earth Month by Pioneering New Eco-Friendly Packaging and Becoming the First Organic Sweetener Brand To Join the How2Recycle™ Movement

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Apr 14, 2016, 08:06 ET

SUGAR LAND, Texas, April 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Earth Month, Wholesome! is announcing its latest sustainable and eco-friendly packaging initiatives. The company's passion for environmental responsibility has driven a constant pursuit towards greener packaging options. In the past month, Wholesome! re-launched its Organic Blue Agave line into a custom recyclable green bottle. Today, the company is excited to announce that it has partnered with How2Recycle, a standardized labeling program designed to make recycling easier to understand and act upon for consumers. Wholesome! is the first organic sweetener brand to join the How2Recycle movement.

Wholesome! is transitioning its seven-bottle Organic Blue Agave line into a custom recyclable Green Bottle. The eco-friendly bottles are made from up to 30% plant-based PET and are recyclable and BPA free. The Green Bottles will be available in 11.75, 23.5 and 44 ounces and will flow through store shelves in late summer 2016.

Wholesome! will be the first organic sweetener brand to join How2Recycle in promoting recycling education. How2Recycle has created a universal recycling language for consumers through the use of special on-package logos that provide clear instructions for each piece of recyclable packaging. Wholesome! will first integrate these logos onto its organic granulated sugar pouches and then transition its remaining U.S. products to a package with the How2Recycle logo over the next year. The recyclable stand-up pouches will carry the "store drop off" logo instructing consumers to drop their empty pouches in the plastic bag recycling bins found at most grocery stores.

New Recyclable Green Bottle
In March, Wholesome! announced that it was transitioning its seven-bottle Organic Blue Agave line into new recyclable green bottles. The custom bottles were designed in partnership with Berlin Packaging's Studio One Eleven. The bottles contain up to 30% plant-based PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and are recyclable and BPA free. Berlin Packaging also supplied both the bottle and the closure, including preforms that were produced specifically for Wholesome!.

"Moving to a plant-based resin reduces the consumption of petroleum used to make traditional PET plastic, lowers carbon dioxide emissions during PET production and utilizes a renewable resource," said Tara Wolff, packaging consultant of Berlin Packaging. "Wholesome! is among the first companies of its size to take advantage of this technology, and it's not only an ideal fit with their overall corporate vision and values but also a great example for other companies who are concerned about their impact on our planet."

The Organic Blue Agave green bottles are available in 11.75, 23.5 and 44 ounces and will flow through store shelves in late summer.

How2Recycle Partnership To Begin with Organic Sugar Pouches
Wholesome! will be the first organic sweetener brand to join How2Recycle in promoting recycling education. How2Recycle has created a universal recycling language for consumers through the use of special on-package logos. The logos provide clear instructions for each piece of recyclable packaging found on a product. Wholesome! plans to first integrate these logos onto its organic granulated sugar pouches and then transition its remaining U.S. products to a package with the How2Recycle logo over the next year. The recyclable stand-up pouches will carry How2Recycle's "store drop off" logo which will instruct consumers to drop their empty pouches in the plastic bag recycling bins found at most grocery stores.

How2Recycle plans to have its recycling logos on the majority of consumer goods packaging by the end of 2016. For more information about How2Recycle, visit www.How2Recycle.info.

15 Years of Eco-Friendly Sustainability at Wholesome!
Wholesome! has a long history of practicing sustainability and environmental responsibility across its business. In addition to ensuring that its products are USDA Organic and Non GMO Project Verified, the company's farming practices all have sustainable lifecycles.

The company's organic cane sugars and organic blue agaves are all farmed without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides that can contaminate the soil. The trees that yield its organic coconut palm sugar grow wild on the farming properties and can be tapped of their nectar for up to 40 years, removing the threat of deforestation. Its organic honey beekeepers cultivate nearby organic wildflowers for the bees to feed on, and they never use antibiotics on the hives.

"Wholesome! has been committed to sustainable, organic agriculture and ethical, Fair Trade sourcing programs since our start 15 years ago," said Sarah Miller, director of marketing. "We continue to believe that protecting the integrity of the environment yields a safe and beautiful future for the planet and its people."

About Wholesome!®
Wholesome! believes that life is sweeter when you pour your whole heart into all that you do. The nation's leader in Fair Trade, Organic and Non-GMO sugars, molasses, syrups, stevia and honeys, Wholesome! has been committed to organics and staying on the cutting edge of eco-friendly agriculture since its founding in 2001. Wholesome! is dedicated to Fair Trade and partners with caring farming families across the globe ensuring them a fair price for their crops. Since 2005, Wholesome! has paid more than $10 million in Fair Trade premiums to farming co-operatives and partners worldwide helping bring clean water, electricity, schools and health care to villages in Malawi, Mexico, Brazil and Paraguay. Visit WholesomeSweet.Com or contact Customer Service: 1(800) 680-1896 or [email protected].

The Wholesome! brand is owned by Wholesome Sweeteners, Inc. located in Sugar Land, TX. The company also owns organic and natural candy company TruSweets, which operates the candy brands Surf Sweets® and TruJoy Sweets™. Visit SurfSweets.Com or TruJoySweets.com.

Holly Cassard
(281) 275-3120

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