Chinet has a long history of making high-quality plates; however, consumers were unaware of the “green” aspects of their favorite disposable tableware. Two Chinet lines, Classic White and Casuals, are made from 100 percent pre-consumer recycled materials, components that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill. In addition to the environmentally-friendly aspect of production, both of these lines are biodegradable … meaning: you can throw them in your compost bin and in 60 days or less, those same plates can be used as nutrient-rich soil in your garden.

Our team started by framing up the PR key messages we would tell surrounding compost education and identified the audiences who would be most interested. Our carefully assembled media outreach lists focused on national and local media, but we didn’t stop there. With a goal of reaching as many consumers as possible, placements in major daily newspapers and women’s interest magazines were key to our success in year one. Media impressions for placements secured totaled more than 250 million and the amount of positive Chinet stories equaled nearly 2,000 column inches or about 20 full pages in typical national newspaper. Key placements to date include: USA Today, Better Homes & Gardens, McClatchy News Service, Progressive Grocer, Kansas City Star and Chicago Sun-Times.