Earthrings

About Earthrings

Earthrings is a sustainable packaging company based in Elgin, Illinois, USA, that designs and manufactures plastic-free beverage can carriers for the craft brewing and beverage industry. Created under the umbrella of Promac, Inc., a beverage-packaging supplier with decades of industry experience, Earthrings was built by beverage industry veterans who recognised the urgent need to move multi-pack packaging away from plastic. The company set out to solve a problem that has long burdened breweries and beverage brands worldwide: how to bundle cans attractively and securely without contributing to plastic pollution.

The Product: Plastic-Free, Home-Compostable Can Rings

Earthrings are 100% plastic-free, curbside recyclable, and home-compostable beverage rings made from several layers of solid fiber cardboard. A double coating of biodegradable, moisture-resistant material allows the rings to withstand coolers, fishing trips, and humid storage conditions — all while remaining fully compostable at end of life. Unlike conventional plastic six-pack rings, which persist in landfills and oceans for decades and pose a well-documented hazard to marine life and wildlife, Earthrings break down naturally in a backyard compost bin or standard recycling stream.

The product was developed over 14 months in collaboration with some of the largest cardboard manufacturers in the world, alongside printers, die-cutters, and paper specialists from across the beverage-packaging supply chain. The design went through extensive field testing with breweries before reaching market, resulting in a sturdy, moisture-resistant carrier that can be applied using tabletop hand applicators for smaller operations or automated machinery capable of packaging up to 300 cans per minute for larger breweries.

Why It Matters: Replacing Plastic Six-Pack Rings

Plastic six-pack rings have long been one of the most visible symbols of single-use plastic waste, frequently cited in beach clean-up reports and linked to entanglement injuries in fish, birds, and marine mammals. Earthrings offers breweries, cideries, and beverage brands a direct, drop-in replacement that does not compromise on durability or shelf appeal. According to the company, Earthrings are also cost-competitive — priced lower than many other plastic-free alternatives and below the cost of standard plastic can carriers — removing a common barrier that keeps smaller breweries locked into plastic packaging.

How Earthrings Are Applied

Earthrings supplies the equipment needed alongside the packaging itself, recognising that a sustainable material is only useful if breweries can actually apply it efficiently on their existing lines. Smaller operations can use manual tabletop applicators, while high-volume producers can run automated machines rated up to 300 cans per minute. Training is included with every machine purchase, delivered either virtually or in person, and the company provides ongoing servicing support so breweries are not left stranded if equipment needs adjustment after installation.

Company Background & Team

Earthrings is led by Jim Rouzer, Co-owner and President, who brings more than 40 years of product and business development experience at Promac to the venture. The wider team includes specialists in sales, operations, and marketing who collectively bring decades of beverage-industry experience to the table, alongside a dedicated Canadian operation based in Richmond, BC, serving breweries across Canada. The company’s stated mission is straightforward: help beverage brands reduce waste and elevate their packaging responsibly, without sacrificing performance.

Who Earthrings Serves

Earthrings packaging is used by craft breweries, cideries, kombucha makers, and other beverage producers across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean looking to package four, six, or eight-can multi-packs without plastic. The company provides full support — from machine setup and operator training to ongoing servicing — so that breweries of any size, from small taprooms to large-scale producers, can transition away from plastic packaging with minimal disruption to their bottling or canning lines.

Sourcing Sustainable Packaging in India

While Earthrings operates out of the United States, businesses and consumers in India looking for similar plastic-free and compostable packaging solutions can explore the Sustainable Packaging category on Prakati’s Green Directory, which lists Indian manufacturers working on alternatives to single-use plastic.