Greeting cards are commonly exchanged for holidays, birthdays, special occasions and more. But how many of these cards end up in the trash after just a week or two?
What if, instead of sending paper greeting cards that will eventually end up in a landfill, you could send cards that won’t go to waste? That’s what small business Eat The Fine Print is aiming to provide with its edible greeting cards.
Sisters and founders Mihkel Kryman and Frith Maier say they come up with the idea for their company by combining two things near and dear to their heart: Sending and receiving greeting cards and eating fresh fruit. (See them pictured with kids Jakob and Mariel sampling their product in a photo from their official website above.)
On the site they explain:
“We love getting cards the old-fashioned way. And we love giving cards, tucking in an extra little surprise with that handwritten note delivered by the letter carrier. We also eat a lot of berries and vegetables – hence the idea for an edible greetings line made from paper that’s actually good to eat, good for you, and good for the planet.”
The cards are a bit thicker than standard printing paper, and come in different flavors like blueberry, key lime, orange and strawberry, the Huffington Post reports. They are made from a mixture of potato starch, palm oil, fruit extract, sucralose and food coloring.
They’re vegan, gluten-free, and just 42 calories each. They come with standard greetings such as “Happy Birthday” and “I Heart You.” But you’ll need to purchase your own edible ink if you want to personalize them further.
You’ll need regular paper envelopes and stamps to send them. And they come pre-wrapped in cellophane, so these aren’t completely waste-free. But the cards still go a long way toward eliminating a lot of the paper waste involved in the greeting card business.
The cards retail for $9 on the company’s website. So they’re a bit more expensive than your standard greeting cards, but Eat the Fine Print also has a novelty that could definitely appeal to consumers.
Based in Seattle, the sisters have also gotten family members involved in the business. The line of fruit flavored cards are special in other ways too. They are also dairy-free, sodium free, gluten free and soy free.
The sisters are even working on a new line of vegetable flavored products. How about some note cards made out of kale stalks? Bon appétit.
Image: Eat The Fine Print
Great idea and very fun for people that are environmentally conscious. Can’t say I’m excited about eating my birthday cards, but that’s just me.
I’d rather eat them than throw them away!
Aaaaah, I love this!!! Edible greeting cards?!!
My sister’s always throwing away cards I get her 🙁 . Now she can throw them away in her tummy :).
:-)!
Hahah yes, I used to try and hold onto cards, but now I throw them away too since there are so many. But this would be such a better option!
I hardly ever throw my cards away, unless they’re not personal at all. I’m sentimental like that.
But, yeah, the edible cards. I might have to throw sentimentality out the door if someone gave me one! Or maybe only eat half and keep the other half for sentimental reasons. I think that’s fair. 🙂