Forever Ware is Changing the Take-out Experience for the Better
Specific Benefit Corporation (SBC), Forever Ware — though it’s durable, aesthetically appealing, and safe for people and planet containers — mitigates restaurant waste and impacts the habits and health of its users.
“Given the studies and findings that PFAS are harmful to both human health in food packaging and products, and the environment by entering our air and water system, we need to stop using them,” Nolan says. “Forever Ware plans to be a huge part of solving the takeout PFAS problem.”
Nolan Singroy, Natasha Gaffer, and Nick Krumholz, founders of Forever Ware, believe that small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. The small act they’re directly influencing is restaurant and consumer use of takeout containers. And it is indeed turning into something transformational as their business has already diverted more than 10K disposable containers from landfills since their launch.
Forever Ware was formed as an LLC in June 2020 and launched its first pilot in July 2020. On the heels of vetting of their business model through BETA MN in the fall 2020, they successfully relaunched their second pilot in November 2021. The mission has always been driven by social good so it was a natural progression to start the process to become a B Corp. “We will convert to a Public Benefit Corporation in January 2022,” says Nolan. “It means a lot to us to operate as a social enterprise. There is no doubt it will influence our growth as we reach out to more restaurant owners and present the positive social impact that can be achieved with Forever Ware.”
The business is local and all about impacting the habits and health of people right here in MSP. But it was a global experience in 2019 that really solidified Nolan’s passion for entry in the takeout container space. He visited his grandfather in Guyana, South America, and trekked to a beach his parents had frequented decades prior. There was so much trash. Even with people cleaning it once a week, the current continued to flow plastic and waste onto the beach. That visual stays with Nolan to this day as he works to combat this horrific stat: we’re producing 380M tons of plastic every year and 88% of that is single-use plastic.
Forever Ware is at a business and consumer intersection, so while they provide containers — durable, aesthetically appealing, and safe for people and the planet — most of what they do is focused on providing a seamless, easy, and positive experience for restaurants and consumers using Forever Ware. It’s 100% free for consumers to use after an initial $5 deposit and easy for restaurants to implement. Much like you’d check out a book at the library, you simply ask the cashier or order online marking the Forever Ware zero waste
option. The consumer takes their food-to-go and the restaurant sanitizes and restocks it upon that consumer’s return to any venue where Forever Ware is accepted.
As Forever Ware grows in popularity with eco-friendly-conscious consumers, there are powerful forces at work in Minnesota that also work to drive adaption of safer, greener products. In June 2021, the StarTribune reported that Minnesota’s ban on “forever chemicals” or PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in food packaging was placed in front of Governor Tim Walz, mandating companies find replacements for the harmful compounds by January 2024. Additionally, Minnesota’s Green To Go Ordinance
(found on the minneapolismn.gov website) explains container requirements for food and drinks prepared for immediate consumption and to-go. Green To Go requires packaging and containers to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable, calls out preferred plastics as numbers 1, 2, and 5; and specifies that compostable items must be BPI certified or meet ASTM standards D6400 or D6868.
The movement, legislature, and even labels and their meaning are becoming clear. “Given the studies and findings that PFAS are harmful to both human health in food packaging and products, and the environment by entering our air and water system, we need to stop using them,” Nolan says. “Forever Ware plans to be a huge part of solving the takeout PFAS problem.”
Nolan feels confident that MSP is a community that cares about the environment and Forever Ware can make waves here that translate into national and global impact. “Natasha and I geek out over the findings in
consumer behavior and data,” says Nolan. “We know people have a subconscious guilt when they do something — no matter how small — that negatively impacts the environment. That means we need to educate on single-use plastics and the harmful chemicals in plastic; and make better paths like Forever Ware more accessible for people.”
The technology behind Forever Ware provides data that can inform consumer behavior and other reuse-type systems and innovation in any industry. That seems to excite Nolan quite a bit. It’s clear he has a deep global social why for creating his business and for all his love of technology we ended our conversation with a nod to the milkman of generations past. The milkman would deliver the milk, pick up the empty glass bottles, sanitize, and reuse.
Today’s consumers and those with more altruistic views are willing to explore
new ways to consume, and it’s refreshing we might also look to models of the past to find what works.
WRITTEN BY Jennifer Gilhoi, Owner Sparktrack Consulting, for #WhySocial Campaign during Social Impact Week MN. Join the movement for businesses as a tool for social change!
