Red Sun Farms is a high-tech hydroponic greenhouse farm with locations across Canada, Mexico and the U.S., focusing on cultivating cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. The company is a proud industry leader in sustainable agriculture, closely working with packaging suppliers to develop new and sustainable options. Environmental impact and sustainability are at the forefront of the company's process from growing to packaging to shipping and finally to the customer.

Over the past six-plus years, Red Sun Farms has developed several recyclable packaging, including the following:

• Peppers are packaged in a Polypropylene flow wrap, which is a recyclable material if the labels are removed.
• Snacking tomatoes are packaged in plastic bowls and clamshells that range between 60-90 percent recyclable content.
• Six years ago the company launched its 10-ounce organic grape tomatoes packaged in a fiber pint, which is a recyclable/compostable option that reduces plastic use by over 90 percent; this package captured an innovation award in Berlin, Germany, in 2019 and is quickly achieving success across the globe.  To date this has avoided the equivalent of 7.5 million units of plastic on this variety — the same weight at 20 elephants.
• Last year the company announced that it was transitioning its organic peppers, TOV’s and cucumbers with a backyard compostable PLU label. This option allows for landfills to be avoided and encourages consumers to compost the pepper stem and PLU in their backyard composters.

Now, Red Sun Farms has introduced its newest sustainable solution — SustainLabel! from Yerecic.  This new technology developed by Yerecic includes wash-away technology and have passed Association of Plastic Recyclers Critical Guidance testing.  “By separating cleanly from PET flake and floating during the recycling wash process, SustainLabel! constructions positively contribute to the recycling stream by increasing the availability of food grade rPET. Yerecic Label also utilizes 100 percent recycled content cores for all label rolls and a targeted 70 percent PCR in corrugated,” said Elizabeth Yerecic of Yerecic labels. This medium change also created the perfect opportunity for a brand refresh across Red Sun's entire portfolio of packaging.

“The investment of this new technology demonstrates our continued commitment to delivering sustainable solutions to our customer, while improving our product visibility and transparency,” said Carlos Visconti, CEO of Red Sun Farms USA & Canada Operations. “Our graphic refresh places the produce at the center of our design.”  

At Red Sun Farms, its high-tech cultivation facility has a much lower environmental impact than conventional open-field agriculture, consuming 95 percent less water than open-field cultivation. Most of the water Red Sun Farms consume is rainwater that has been collected from the roof of the greenhouse and channeled through the duct system, which is filtered and fed to the plants. From one square yard, Red Sun Farms can yield upwards of 150 pounds of produce while open fields will produce between eight and 10 pounds in the same area, thus occupying significantly less land than field farming.