Merrick's Earthsaver Corn Hangers
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island 
on 10.26.07
We all have these in our closets. Some of us more than others but they seem to lurk in excess at times. Ah yes, we speak of hangers of course. Now the majority of us have the metal ones we get from the dry cleaner or the plastic ones that we’ve had forever. But next time you need to reload (think: sending your kids off to college), keep these earthsaver hangers in mind. They look and feel like the traditional plastics, however they are made from 100% corn that grows here in the U.S. and are compostable. Made by Merrick, the company calls the style a “heavy shirt design” which, we’re assuming, means that they are quite durable. Rumor has it that Walmart is carrying these ($3.50 for a 5-pack) but it is unknown which stores are carrying them and if they are just being tested for the time being. We couldn’t find any info about them on Merrick’s site either, which seems odd, but check out our source for some interesting observations. Via ::Sustainable is Good
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We ran a story today at Sustainable is Good on new Merrick Hangers made from Bamboo discovered at Target.
As we reported back in March the corn-based hangers appear at Wal-Mart stores.
Those dang plastic hangers account for a lot of the plastic in my life! I want an upgrade!!!
I've looked at a lot of bamboo hangers, but only found the sweat shop variety. When the source is questionable, I get concerned about the product's journey to my door. The idea is to find a better product, right, not just one posing as better. It'd be nice to know if vege-plastics are from modern farms (non-organic), GMO farms or organic farms and so forth.
My local Walmart has had these for over a year now. I was extremely impressed when I saw them and grabbed up a bunch. I haven't checked recently to see if they still have them on shelves. Although I can't imagine they are big sellers since the alternative is so much cheaper.
Do they work OK for hanging wet clothes to dry, or do they start to compost if you do that?
We, too, were hoping to use bio-plastics in our products. However the more research we did, the more problematic the material appeared:
Corn based plastic is only compostable in municipal composting facilities with temperatures that reach 140º for 10 consecutive days, an environment not possible in home composting.
Most of the country does not have municipal composting programs.
Should bio-plastic get into regular plastic recycling it will foul the entire batch and render it unrecyclable.
If bio-plastic is not composted in a landfill will last as long as oil based plastic (1000+ years).
Corn used for PLA is genetically modified and uses more nitrogen fertilizer, synthetic fertilizers, more herbicide and more insecticides than any other US crop.
Sadly the time is not right for this new material. We hope in the years ahead, however, that it will be.
Gary Barker
President
GreenHeart Global
www.greenheartglobal.com
I'm unsure about these. A lot of stores give you the hangers clothes are bought with. isn't it better to reuse them?
I first heard about the use of corn derived plastics as an alternative to oil-based ones ten years ago. The public needs to be educated on use and recyclling limitations. A time will come...
Responding to Eco.Lass: I decline the sales associates' offers for the hangers because I figure their store can reuse them.
I don't like the wire hangers from the cleaners, nor the plastic from the store. Does anyone have any idea as to what a "good" type of material (i.e., aesthetically pleasing, hardy, and on the road to one of the 3Rs) would be for a hanger in my home?
I absolutely fell in love with these hangers- they were environmentally friendly, durable, and inexpensive (approx. $5.00 per set). I was devastated when my local retail stores stopped carrying them- they are the Walmart SCs in Shawnee, KS and Olathe, KS. Last time I was them was late last year and they were on clearance for $3.00 /pk. I call the stores periodically to see if they have any in stock but they never do.
my local wal-marts recently stopped carrying them as well (portland, OR metro area). it made me sad, i love how the design doesn't stretch out the necks of shirts when you put them on the hangars