The labeling law will continue to develop in the direction of requiring all compostable ziplock bag products to be clearly labelled. Washington's law is the first evidence. If California passes a similar bill, manufacturers will need to solve a key geographic market labeling problem.
Not just food service products-some brands should pay close attention to compostable ziplock bag products (such as compostable packaging), learn from the trap of compostable plastic, and design a compostable packaging that can be quickly and easily found.
The proposed and passed labeling bill refers to “industry standards” for labels, and these standards do not yet exist—for example, there is no standard color that represents compostable ziplock bag products. Manufacturers should collaborate to develop these standards before competing, because better labels are good for everyone. It eliminates unproven claims of compostable ziplock bag products made by bad actors, and allows consumers and composters to discover and classify compostable products more quickly and easily, increasing the chance of these products being actually composted.