OUR STORY

TURNING OFF THE PLASTIC TAP
We are a team of ocean lovers and innovators with decades of experience in design, manufacturing, materials, circular business systems, supply chain, sustainability, research, NPD and educating change.

In 2012, one of our Founders children was diagnosed with encephalitis (brain infection) resulting in a brain injury and eight years of rehabilitation learning to walk and talk.

Swimming, playing and surfing in the South Pacific ocean proved to be the most effective form of rehabilitation for her child. The transformative health benefits our founder witnessed first hand from ocean therapy inspired and accelerated her passion to create change across the supply chain globally and turn off the plastic tap.

Salt of the Earth are turning off the plastic tap to protect our oceans and human health, our founder Melissa is passionate about raising the awareness and understanding of the interconnection between the health of the environment, humanity and joy.

The impact of everything being designed and made needs to be questioned.
The collection and recycling system for non-renewable petrochemical plastics does not currently work. Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. Approximately 12% has been incinerated, while the rest has accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.

WHAT WE DO
Salt of the Earth are New Zealand based manufacturers that specialise in functional fibre and flexible packaging. Raw materials are responsibly sourced, regenerative with a circular pathway in end of life.

We design, manufacture and sell raw materials and converted packaging to organisations seeking to create change.

Salt have three New Zealand based manufacturing sites (two in Auckland and one in Wellington). Manufacturing capability covers specialised coatings for paper and cardboard, barrier coatings, biofilm and laminates, labels and bag and pouch forming and functional paper/cardboard transport and consumer packaging.

With a long history of exporting finished products offshore, Salt has an established supply chain and network of offshore manufacturing partners to assist in large scale manufacturing and supply for export markets.

OUR VISION
Drive systematic change.
Design and manufacture regenerative and circular materials and packaging.
Remove plastic from the supply chain of organisations globally.
Reduce the amount of plastic in the environment, rivers and oceans.
Educate change and responsible business practices.
Regenerative materials and packaging for business and environmental transformation.

WHY IT MATTERS.
Reusable or circular packaging is essential in ensuring goods arrive at the end destination in a suitable condition. Packaging maintains and extends shelf life, reduces food spoilage, provides protection and product information for the consumer.

Traditional soft plastics have a low incidence of recycling globally, multiple layers of different plastics make mechanical recycling non-viable. A linear single use product that ends up in landfill, waste to energy combustion or the environment.

Rigid plastics such as PET, RPET, PP also have a low incidence of recycling globally and there are food safety concerns with recycled materials in contact with food. Many global markets have banned RPET.

Home compostable bioplastics can help divert food scraps from the landfill as the packaging can be reused to collect and carry organic food waste to the compost where it will break down alongside food.

Mechanical recycling of fibre has a high incidence of occurrence, when used in consumer or transport packaging it can be easily recognized and sorted into the correct recycling stream.

Waste is a resource, materials matter, design will save us.

The Salt team.