During this crisis period, we are witnessing our resilient planet quickly regaining control - striking images from around the world demonstrate this. Like us, you find it surely extraordinary and revealing hope for the future. Our planet surprises us - just like the snow that covers the ground this morning, end of April, in Montreal!
Today we wanted to tackle a delicate subject: our plastic packaging.
But first: Do you know the legend of the hummingbird in the Native American culture?
One day, says the legend, there was a huge forest fire. All terrified animals watched helplessly the disaster. Only the little hummingbird was active, fetching a few drops with its beak to throw them on the fire. After a while, the armadillo, annoyed by this ridiculous agitation, said to him: "Hummingbird! Are you crazy? You are not going to put out the fire with these drops of water!"
And the hummingbird replied, "I know it, but I'm doing my part.”
Ok, we hear you wonder: But where are you going with this PRANA?
Well, there is a hummingbird in our logo. In no case do we want to attribute this beautiful legend for commercial purposes, but we like its metaphor. We feel we can relate it to the story of our company and everything that is happening at PRANA right now.
At the beginning of PRANA 15 years ago, the dream of our founders Marie-Josée and Alon was to do their part by offering people a new way of consuming food, i.e. organic food (so 'hippie' at the time!). A healthier alternative for the body, but also for the planet.
PRANA was among the first “conscientious capitalist” companies to adopt progressive management practices that simply “made sense” for the founders. Alon and Marie-Josée wanted PRANA to become a benchmark for demonstrating that a synergy between nature and business is possible. That the two may "co-evolve" in abundance and harmony.
Today, as a leader in the world for our social and environmental responsibility, we felt the need to express ourselves on the elephant in the room ... something that bothers us, often blocks us, even annoys us: our plastic packaging.
The situation of food packaging is not simple. We must not only meet health standards but also strict standards of our industry. There is a reason why plastic is so used in the food industry: for its ability to keep food for a long time on shelves. And easy, green solutions do not exist.
In the following video, our Co-founder, Marie-Josée Richer, and our Sustainability Manager, Émilie Jobin-Poirier, explain our journey in the effort to find an alternative to plastic as well as the challenges in relation to our packaging.
We invite you to share your thoughts on the topic and we wish you a sweet, inspiring #EarthDayAtHome.
Much gratitude,
Marie-Josée, Alon, and the whole PRANA family.
Référence : https://www.colibris-lemouvement.org/