Glass: Better than Mylar?
Does a flower contained by any other other vessel smell as sweet? For cannabis aficionados, that’s a real pressing question. Cultivators and consumers alike know how important containers are for the taste, smell, and shelf life of your flower. So here’s another question: what’s the superior packaging, mylar bags or glass jars?
It’s a complex balance of blocking light, outside moisture, and children’s grubby hands that makes for good cannabis packaging. But the answer to the best type of container? For us, there’s no question about it: glass jars, and we’ll tell you why.
Mylar packaging, aka those silver- or clear-backed bags you find in most dispensaries, are a popular and low-cost option for vendors, but they come with significant drawbacks. For one, mylar bags are intended for single-use; even so-called “biodegradable” mylar is destined to house one package of flower and be disposed of after consumption. Similarly, while mylar bags don’t take up much space, their shape and design can result in air leakage after opening or leave unreachable flower crunched into the bottom folds.
Glass jars, like Tree Hugger Containers, may take up more space than mylar, but they keep weed fresh longer. Airtight jars, especially if hermetically sealed with an induction liner, effectively protect plant matter from outside moisture, with screwable lids making air leakage less likely than in zipper-style baggies. This helps prevent weed from prematurely drying out or becoming contaminated with particles from outside the bag. Clear glass or glass bottoms allow consumers to see their flower before their purchase and can highlight the excellence of the cultivator. Opaque glass like THC’s help to block rays of light that can hinder the quality of the plant inside.
Beyond the benefits of jars for the quality of the flower itself, they’re also infinitely recyclable, reusable and multipurpose. Unlike single-use packaging derived from plastic, jars aren’t inherently designated for the landfill but can instead stay within a circular economy. Glass jars can be reused, recycled in common recycling infrastructure, created with recycled materials (as Tree Hugger Containers are), or upcycled for new uses. By virtue of this reusability, glass jars are the clearly more sustainable choice for cannabis packaging. More dispensaries across the country are acting on this, too, by partaking in jar buyback, discount, or BYO-jar programs for clientele.
You don’t have to take our word for it, though. Ask a seasoned weed grower you know or head over to a forum like r/trees to dive into the debate (and believe us, there is one.) You’ll find that while there are proponents of mylar, lots of people–from greenhouse to dispensary shop–prefer glass jars for one reason or another that’s important to them and their cannabis experience or business. There are also lots of folks who take their weed out of the mylar bag to put it into a jar at home just based on personal preference. Some say it’s all about preference, and that’s partly true. But looking at quality and sustainability, glass jars come out on top everytime.
Generations of growers and stoners have kept their bud in glass jars. Cannabis has come a long way since it’s roots, but not everything has to always change with modernity. Especially when modernity comes at too high of a cost for the sustainability of our environment. You know what they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.