Amber Grant Awarded to Green Duck Compostables, LLC

We are pleased to announce the December 2009 Amber Grant Recipient is Green Duck Compostables, LLC, owned and operated by Jocelyn Tice of Williamsburg, Virginia. The company’s website is www.shopgreenduck.com/. ShopGreenDuck.com sells compostable and biodegradable packaging. I know, it isn’t going to make you thinner or arrange your weekend plans for you — but this is our planet we’re talking about. And we have to live here for a long time!

This decision was not difficult. After you read further and visit Jocelyn’s site, you too will feel grateful that she and her Mom have started this business. They sell a product that can help (literally) the entire planet.

When asked why she started the business, Jocelyn noted, “I want to improve the quality of not only my life but the lives of other women who may work for me now and in the future. Also, I am environmentally aware that the earth needs fewer landfills and more people who are willing to use compostable products that will not become part of a landfill. We need to protect mother earth by composting every bit of food waste and garden waste to which we can add the products that I promote in my business: compostable clamshells, cutlery, plates, cups, and soup bowls as well as bags of every size.”

About Green Duck Compostables, LLC:

Jocelyn visited colleges, restaurants, government facilities, grocery stores, and private clubs, such as country clubs, to promote the use of compostable packaging.

A year ago, she wrote a business plan that won an award in Richmond, Virginia, and was recognized by the Virginia Museum Business community; the specifies that the products marketed are ONLY products that will contribute to the health of the earth as they degrade into compost.

Video Transcript

 

When asked what Green Duck Compostables would do with the Amber Grant:

“I will use the funds to support the marketing and advertising part of the business because I have not yet been able to advertise (except for seminars, meetings, college speaking engagements, and word-of-mouth). I would like to be able to go to more events where people can see and use my products so that they can become accustomed to them. I would like to be able to buy advertising in the local newspaper to make more people aware of compostable products.”

I think that Jocelyn’s quote below will make us all think a little further. “The project is close to my heart because I want to not only make the earth healthier for people, but for animals. The name of the company was born from an experience with a duck that had plastic wrapped around its bill so that it could not eat properly. This company represents my purpose in life and my driving force: to do my best to change the world so that it is safer and healthier for all animals, all humans, all of our environment.”

Additional Questions that Womensnet.net had for Jocelyn:

How has the public responded to your product once they are told about it? “The public has responded in a very positive way. Most of the people I speak with about the product did not know compostable packaging exists and the importance of it. Currently, approximately 6% of what is in the landfill is to-go packaging…it seems like a small number, but in reality, it adds up. Once people learn the facts about how much waste is created as a result of to-go food consumption they wonder why we are still using petroleum to make plastic and Styrofoam.”

What is the cost difference between these products and non-biodegradable products? Is the perception that these products will cost more? “The biodegradable/compostable products made from plants do cost more…they cost about 25% more than traditional petroleum-based plastic and Styrofoam. I have found that restaurant owners and facility managers who are interested in doing the right thing related to the environment don’t mind the 25% increase and find it a wise investment towards a cleaner future. “

Womensnet.net agrees with those restaurant owners and facility managers, this is the right thing to do. We wish Jocelyn and http://www.shopgreenduck.com/ the best of success, FOR all of us.