Gone with the plastic and foam. And in with the recyclable materials. Including some clever rice and potato bits.
Spanish mountain bike brand, Mondraker, is going recyclable.
Following the trend towards greater sustainability and environmental awareness in mountain biking, Mondraker has focussed on its packaging. And how to make it more efficient and recyclable.
Read more: how green is the mountain bike industry
The mountain bike industry has long featured way too much single-use plastic and associated toxic packaging, when shipping products. Mondraker’s new approach sees packaging that has all its plastic, purged.
This is a logical step for the company as a responsible mountain bike supplier in a world that has become acutely aware of sustainability.
Bye-bye zip-ties
“Mondraker has long believed in working towards a more sustainable world. Industry and commerce must lead the way and commit to take steps and work towards raising awareness and creating a better, less polluted world for us all. Therefore, from now on, all Mondraker bikes will be shipped, packaged in a 100% recyclable box, custom-designed and developed exclusively to cut waste.”
What’s in the box? Well, you won’t find any of those impact foams, plastic guards or even zip-ties.
Mondraker has managed to shape and construct a bike box that keeps the frame and all components safe during transit, without using conventional plastics for tie-downs or foam to reduce damage.
Mondraker using potato and rice
Replacing the zip-ties are velcro straps, which keep your Mondraker safely secure while being transported. These veclro straps can be reused, whereas most zip-ties are single-use plastic.
Keeping the Mondraker bike box closed is an adhesive tape made from rice, while the security seal is a potato pulp product. Edible? Not quite. But definitely better than traditional packaging tape, and a great use of rice and potatoes, beyond carbo-loading for a ride.
Being sustainable doesn’t mean Mondraker has sacrificed brand visibility. These new recyclable bike boxes feature the company logo, printed with organic ink, which is biodegradable.