Puma Bag Dissolves in 3 Minutes

by 07/05/11 20 Comments

German shoe and sports apparel company Puma is on a mission to reduce its carbon “paw-print,” starting by making its packaging more environmentally responsible.

Puma recently unveiled the Clever Little Shopper, a new shopping bag made of 100 percent cornstarch that the company says will decompose in a compost pile in three months. Can’t wait? You can also dissolve the bag in about three minutes by stirring it in a bowl of warm water. The resulting water, colored with eco-friendly red dye, is safe to pour down the drain, according to Puma.

READ: SunChips Compost Experiment: Month 1

The company estimates that the new compostable bag will save 192 tons of plastic and 293 tons of paper annually.

In November, Puma debuted its replacement for the traditional shoe box – the Clever Little Bag, a reusable bag fitted with a cardboard sheet to hold the shoes. The bag uses 65 percent less cardboard than the standard shoe box, has no tissue paper and replaces the plastic shopping bag.

It also gives customers a bag they can reuse for shoe storage in suitcases, at the grocery store and around their home. Made of polypropylene polyester, the bag is recyclable when the customer wants to dispose of it, the company says.

READ: Meet the World’s First Biodegradable Shoes

 

 

Alexis Petru

Alexis Petru

Staff Writer


  1. Maria Lima

    posted on July 5th, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    Nifty!

  2. Nancy Pickard

    posted on July 5th, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    So cool!

  3. Jacquelynn Bost Morris

    posted on July 5th, 2011 at 8:00 pm

    Love it! We've been getting items packed in cornstarch packing peanuts lately, instead of the styrofoam ones. We had fun testing how fast they dissolve in warm water :-) This is a perfect solution for all the plastic bags that seem to permeate our lives.

  4. Jen DeMarr Walton

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 1:07 am

    Neat!

  5. Lynn C. Butkus

    posted on July 5th, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    Finally, a company that really seems concerned about the earth! This is just too cool for words!

  6. Jamie Martin

    posted on July 5th, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    What happens if the bag gets rained on or wet?

  7. Jennifer 'Giacoppo' Berry

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 9:13 pm

    The water has to be hot, around 145 degrees. Don't worry Jamie, your shoes are safe for now!

  8. Tony Mohr

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    This is truly amazing...a shopping bag that dissolves in H2O in 3 minutes.

  9. Alison Langridge

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    That"s cool just hope you have nothing wet in the bag

  10. Ardavan Homayounfar

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Very solid concept!

  11. Zach Hutchison

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    Yeah this is great...until it rains...

  12. David Andrew Jeffers

    posted on July 21st, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    The water has to be hot for it to dissolve, so as long as it isn't raining boiling water, we're fine

  13. Joelbis Rosas

    posted on July 6th, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    EXCELENTE ..!!!

  14. Geraldine Canard

    posted on July 7th, 2011 at 12:54 am

    No solo me gusta!! me encantaaa!!!

  15. Catherine Lee

    posted on July 9th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    I wonder how much energy it takes to make these bags. if energy consumption isn't an issue, then we just need to figure out how to get walmart to start using these things!

  16. Alana Ramone Rasche

    posted on July 9th, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    . . . That's . . . That's what I said. You stole my thunder. >.<

  17. David Andrew Jeffers

    posted on July 21st, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    So.... Where do we get those? And how do we get these at our local grocery store?

  18. Lisa Tregarthen Fortin

    posted on August 1st, 2011 at 5:58 pm

    Not first... already bought a pair of biodegradable shoes at Whole Food Market a year ago. (My mom was afraid they would 'melt.'

  19. Filomena Laforgia

    posted on August 26th, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    very cool... wish I could do that to some people.

  20. Nicolas Chew

    posted on December 13th, 2011 at 5:23 am

    can I eat it?

Recently Added to Garden

  • 5 Simple Ways to Start Growing Edibles

    There’s nothing quite as rewarding as stepping into your garden to snip a few fresh herbs or harvest homegrown vegetables to add to that evening’s dinner.

    That connection to your food – and commitment to sustainability – is a feeling Patricia …

  • Photo Tour: Inside A Composting Facility

    Earth911 has brought you many stories about San Francisco’s successful composting program for food scraps and yard trimmings. But what happens after the materials are picked up at the curb? How are apple cores, chicken bones and fallen leaves turned …

  • 5 Reasons to Start a Container Garden

    Thanks to container gardening, it’s possible for urbanites and apartment-dwellers to grow their own food – even when space is at a premium. Getting in on the grow-your-own-food movement through container gardening comes with plenty of perks: Communing with Mother …

Advertise with us

Earth911

Earth911 helps consumers find local recycling information through the largest and most accurate recycling directory in the U.S. Read today's top green lifestyle tips and ideas. Learn how we help businesses.

News & Lifestyle

Recycling 101

Business Solutions