EVANSVILLE, IND. — On April 29, Earthborn Holistic Pet Food, a brand owned by Midwestern Pet Foods, announced it has reached its sustainability goals of recycling 1 million bags of pet food and planting 1 million trees. The brand originally announced these goals at the beginning of March.

To achieve this milestone, Earthborn Holistic partnered with Trees for the Future and created the UPCs for Trees initiative. Through the program, customers collected and returned UPCs from empty Earthborn pet food bags throughout April. For every UPC collected, Earthborn Holistic planted a tree to create forest gardens.

According to Earthborn Holistic, the UPC for Trees program collected 1 million UPCs, equaling 1 million planted trees.

Photo courtesy of Earthborn Holistic

Besides creating the UPCs for Trees initiative, Earthborn Holistic has proved its commitment to sustainability in partnering with TerraCycle. With support from TerraCycle, all Earthborn Holistic’s pet food and treat bags are 100% recyclable through its Earthborn ReBorn Program. As part of the program, consumers can drop off empty pet food and treat bags at participating retailers for free recycling and upcycling.

By Earth Day, April 22, Earthborn Holistic reached its goal of recycling 1 million bags, equal to diverting 103,356 lbs of waste from landfills.

“We’re thrilled to have hit the one millionth milestone,” said Brandi Kramer, marketing coordinator at Midwestern Pet Foods. “A big thank you goes out to all of our loyal customers and retailers who participate in both of these programs. We couldn’t have achieved this without you. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that we’re making a difference. At Midwestern Pet Foods, we love producing nutritious food for pets while simultaneously supporting sustainability.”

Read more about sustainability in the pet food and treat industry.