Oasis juice boxes now feature a paper straw — the first in North America

Lassonde Industries Inc. has commercialized a 200-mL Oasis juice carton with a paper straw—a first in North America—as part of a market test aimed at introducing a replacement solution for plastic straws.

Consumers can test the new paper straw available with 200-mL cartons of Oasis 100% apple juice. This first edition is offered in limited quantities and available exclusively in 14 IGA grocery stores and 10 St-Hubert restaurants in Quebec.

For this project, Lassonde worked together with Tetra Pak, a world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, and the first packaging company to officially produce a paper straw in Europe for 200-mL multi-layer shelf-stable (aseptic) cartons in the summer of 2019.

The paper straw made entirely of FSC-certified paper is recyclable, like the carton made mostly of paper. The paper straw and the carton comply with the highest quality standards.

Lassonde believes in the importance of promoting the circular economy and wants to take the first step towards moving in that direction. This initiative aligns with the company’s vision of sustainable development. By 2025, Lassonde wants to find solutions for replacing plastic straws and introduce 20 per cent post-consumer recycled content in its packaging and 100 per cent recyclable packaging for all of its products, while working together with governments, industry and associations to promote effective sorting and collection of recyclable materials.

Among its other environmental initiatives, Lassonde has made sustained efforts in the past several years to reduce the weight of its packaging and decrease the amount of water used in its cooling and sanitization processes.