Califia Farms®, a leading, premium, plant-based beverage brand, today announced that it has transitioned all of its bottles in the U.S. and Canada to 100% recycled plastic (rPET), a move that will help reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 19% and cut its energy use in half. The packaging update impacts the brand’s broad portfolio of refrigerated plant milks, creamers, coffees, and tea. The switch reflects Califia’s ongoing commitment to a cleaner, healthier planet and its efforts to curb demand for new plastic.
“This transition to 100% rPET represents a significant commitment to soften Califia’s environmental footprint,” said Dave Ritterbush, chief executive officer at Califia Farms. “While Califia is an inherently sustainable business thanks to the plant-based products we produce, we recognize the importance of ongoing, forward progress in our sustainability journey. By moving to 100% rPET for our iconic curvy bottle, we’re taking a major step in reducing our reliance on virgin plastic and advancing the principles of a circular economy.”
The concept of circularity – one that includes reducing virgin materials and promoting the use of recycled ones – is firmly embedded at Califia. Through the brand’s wide-ranging sustainability programs, including those led by an internal ‘Green Team,’ Califia has completed several light-weighting projects that have helped slash the total amount of plastic used in its caps, bottles, and labels. Between 2019 – 2023, these efforts have kept four million pounds of plastic from being madeiii.
“Replacing virgin plastic with recycled plastic is a critical part of ‘closing the loop’ in a circular economy,” said Ella Rosenbloom, vice president of sustainability at Califia Farms. “When it comes to circularity, we’re focused on accelerating change and thoughtfully considering how best to innovate, circulate, and eliminate the plastic that we use. This rPET project has been an enormously rewarding and complex one that has involved countless team members focused entirely on driving positive impact.”
While all Califia bottles in North America have successfully converted to 100% rPET, the brand will update its packaging to communicate the change to consumers starting in the spring of this year. The refreshed packaging includes QR codes linking to an rPET landing page as well as the brand’s sustainability reports. Both include additional details about Califia’s work with important leaders in the sustainability space – leaders such as Climate Collaborative, an industry group taking action against climate change and How2Recycle, a standardized labeling system that promotes circularity by providing consistent and transparent on-pack disposal information to consumers in the U.S. and Canada.
