Palm Fiber: The Source of Our Business

At Earthcycle we source palm fiber from Malaysia, the largest exporter of palm oil in the world. According to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Malaysia is also the world’s second largest palm oil producer, behind Indonesia.

Malaysia’s palm oil industry began in the early 1900s and grew rapidly in early 1960s as part of a government agricultural diversification program. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) , about five million hectares of land in Malaysia is under oil palm cultivation today, producing about 17 million tonnes of palm oil.

For years, after the harvest of palm fruit for oil, the leftover palm fiber was mostly incinerated or dumped in landfill, causing many negative environmental impacts. As part of the effort to move the Malaysian palm oil industry towards sustainability, a more productive use was discovered for this waste – packaging.

Earthcycle has developed an innovative way to turn this former waste into environmentally responsible packaging alternatives such as produce packaging, food trays and other applications.

The raw fiber used in the production of Earthcycle packaging is sourced from palm plantations in west Malaysia that have been reviewed against principles and criteria established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) – an organization which defines and certifies sustainability in the palm oil industry.

We also provide earth-to-earth packaging solutions. That means our product comes from the earth, and after displaying and protecting products, returns to the earth through composting. Earthcycle packaging is also certified compostable. That means it has been officially recognized as a product that will break down in a backyard compost. It turns into humus which can then be added as a healthy contribution back into the earth. What’s more, the palm fiber we source is ethically sourced and is not genetically modified.

For more on the palm oil industry, check out these links:

Potential of Palm Oil for Developing Countries and Role in the Food and Fuel Debate

Malaysian Palm Oil Council