Plastic-Free Food Packaging Wholesale: Materials and Rules

What counts as plastic-free food packaging?

A container is plastic-free only if neither the material nor its grease or water barrier contains plastic. That excludes the hidden films found in most paper cups and bowls.

• Plastic-free: molded bagasse, wood, bamboo, palm leaf, uncoated kraft, and paperboard with an aqueous barrier.
• Paper-based, not plastic-free: kraft or paperboard laminated with PE (polyethylene) or PLA (a plant-based plastic).
• Plastic: PET lids and windows, PP and rPET containers, even when recycled or reusable.

Under the FTC Green Guides, a "plastic-free" claim must be true for the whole item, lid and window included. A bagasse bowl with a PET lid is a plastic-free bowl, not a plastic-free set.

Plastic-free materials compared

Direct Eco Green produces each of these materials in partner factories; the right choice depends on the food, temperature and end of life available to your customers.

Canada's single-use plastics ban and what it covers

Direct Eco Green builds its Canadian offer around fiber, wood and bamboo because these materials sit outside Canada's Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138). The regulations ban checkout bags, cutlery, stir sticks, straws, ring carriers and foodservice ware made from problematic plastics: expanded polystyrene, PVC, oxo-degradable plastic and black plastic made with carbon black. Manufacture and import bans began on December 20, 2022 and sale bans on December 20, 2023. On January 30, 2026 the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the underlying "toxic" listing, so the rules remain in force.

Note that the ban is narrower than "all plastic": a clear PET lid is not banned, but plastic cutlery and straws are. Plastic-free cutlery and straws are therefore the simplest route for Canada.

Plastic-free and PFAS-free: two separate checks

Removing plastic does not automatically remove PFAS, because fluorinated chemicals were historically used to grease-proof fiber. Intentionally added PFAS are now banned in food packaging in New York, California, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Hawaii, and in February 2024 the FDA announced that PFAS grease-proofing substances are no longer sold for food-contact use in the US. On Direct Eco Green molded fiber and aqueous-coated board, the grease barrier comes from the molded fiber itself or the aqueous coating, not from fluorinated treatments; ask for the factory's PFAS declaration with your quote.

How to write honest plastic-free and compostable claims

• Say what the item is made of: "made from renewable sugarcane fiber", "plastic-free cup with an aqueous barrier".
• Qualify end of life: "commercially compostable where industrial composting facilities accept it"; composting access varies by city.
• Back a compostable claim with ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868 certification, usually through BPI, or CAN/BNQ 0017-088 in Canada. Tell Direct Eco Green which certification your market requires and it confirms, before you order, which factory reference can document it.
• In California, SB 343 limits "recyclable" claims and the chasing-arrows symbol to materials that meet state criteria.
• Avoid unqualified "biodegradable" or "eco-safe".

Sourcing plastic-free packaging factory-direct

Direct Eco Green manufactures plastic-free packaging through audited factories in Asia and Europe and consolidates bagasse, wood, bamboo and paper items into one shipment. Known MOQs include 10,000 pieces for bagasse plates, trays and bowls and 50,000 pieces for GreenCup cups; for other items the MOQ depends on material, size and printing and is stated in your quote. Paper and board items can carry FSC Mix or FSC Recycled labels under license C204557. See the full single-use tableware range or request samples.