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Starbucks has a new hot-cup 'EarthSleeve' which claims to be environmentally friendly—and the institution backing those claims is… Western Michigan University.

The new sleeve is made with 34% less raw fiber material and 25% more post-consumer content. Starbucks says the new sleeve has been approved for 'repulpability' by WMU—meaning how much yield a fiber-based material gets when recycled and if the material can be used in a pulper.

Joel Kendrick became an academic source for Starbucks nearly three years ago, around the time he was invited to a Starbucks' Cup Summit in 2009— he had been conducting research on cups that were ending up in landfills.

With nearly three billion hot cup sleeves produced in the U.S. during 2011—the new sleeve will mean a substantial impact.

Joel Kendrick is the Director of Paper and Coating Facilities at the WMU Pilot Plant, which is a part of the Department of Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging, in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The program was established in 1948 is well-known in the industry.

To learn more, and view a video of Kendrick, please follow the link below:

KALAMAZOO GAZETTE — STARBUCKS GIVES NOD TO WMU