THE success of a range of environmentally friendly packaging products has led to a County Durham-based hospitality supplier establishing a dedicated brand.

The IG Group – which has a base in London and one on North East Industrial Estate at Peterlee – last year launched its Green Planet division.

The success of its products has resulted in the company setting up Green Planet Catering Products to offer more eco-friendly items available.

The positive response from the industry to the initial products in the range has been the driving force behind the company’s launch of this new initiative – with a catalogue which will be updated every six months to reflect the need to comply with legal requirements on compliant materials.

The company has also enlisted the help of expert John Reeves of Dtangle, which specialises in advising the catering industry on up-to-date and relevant advice on compliance with foodservice legislation.

CEO Stephen Hoey said: “This is a very fast moving area and products which were seen as a good alternative to single use plastics may be banned in the future.

“We have taken on board the many requirements of our clients and can now offer solutions for every kind of catering outlet.

“What we are offering reflects the changes in eating habits, with more street food and outdoor eating, which means more disposable products which need to be environmentally friendly.”

Products will be divided into compostable, recyclable and reusable and include hot and cold cups, cutlery, tableware made of natural materials such as fallen palm leaves and sugar cane and replacements for fast food boxes.

Environmentally-friendly pizza boxes and kebab cartons made of a polystyrene alternative are part of the recyclable ranges and a range of plant-based cleaning products are on offer.

Green Planet has also created environmentally friendly items such as mop buckets, ‘danger – wet floor’ signs and cleaning cloths which can be washed and used about ten times before recycling.

“We have spent a great deal of time sourcing a whole range of products which we believe our customers will appreciate because of their desire to be more environmentally friendly,” said Mr Hoey.

“And the launch of Green Planet Catering Products means we can be ahead of the game in terms of what we can offer and the expertise we can provide.”

Green Planet Catering Products is part of the IG Group which provides bar accessories, catering disposables, glassware, crockery and thousands of other products to many of the UK’s biggest names in hospitality.

Based at the North East Industrial Estate at Peterlee, County Durham, the IG Group provides glassware, crockery, bar and cocktail supplies from its 150,000 sq ft warehouses where it holds around 10,000 branded products.

The company also has a base at the London Design Centre in Islington.

The products are available throughout the UK via the company’s wide network of distributors.

For more information visit iggroup.com