When Asean (a.k.a. Stalkmarket) was born in 1989, the founders envisioned that as the company grew, matured, and flourished, it would be a citizen, not only in terms of product value and quality, but in its daily interactions with staff and the community at large. As a minority-women-owned company, we have always felt that community sharing is best done locally, as opposed to helping with far away or overseas endeavors. While we believe in the importance of efforts to improve the environment and people’s lives in other regions of the world, we feel there is so much to do locally to help our neighbors and fellow citizens, where we live, that we focus on helping our community first. To accomplish this, we developed some key standards for our giving and donations: We choose organizations that we think will have the biggest impact. There are thousands of great causes out there, but we seek the ones that will make the most of donations in the long run, to provide the much-needed help in the fastest and most effective ways. In-Kind donations of our products are just that: donations. There are no sales transactions involved and no cost to the non-profit. We feel it would be misleading to sell a product at a discount, then claim as “charitable” the difference between the sale price and the product’s list price, so we donate outright. When we commit financial resources to a non-profit, it is for the long term. We provide support through thick and thin, not as a one-time, feel-good effort, but an ongoing roll-up-your-sleeves commitment to help those organizations who show they are just as dedicated to the cause as we are. The following values represent the four points of our moral compass. 
They are how we endeavor to operate as a company, and how we aim to help our community at large. They are also what we look for in those organizations that we find deserving of support to help make our planet a better place. Masquerading as ordinary paper hot cups and food containers, our Planet+® compostable cups, food containers, and lids are much more then meets the eye. Made of 100% renewable plant resources, from natural fibers to plant sugars, not a drop of petroleum is used in their creation. Freed from the guilt of using non-renewable materials, you’ll find these cups and containers fit into your life without the negative karma or bad vibes one might normally have when using a single use disposable cup or container. They’re BPI certified and ASTM compliant so once used and composted in a commercial facility, they turn into excellent soil hummus. Plus, they are good looking, feel great in your hand, and function brilliantly! Compost is organic material resulting from the decomposition of organic wastes and compostable materials. As the materials break down, microorganisms produce a rich substance called humus, a major component of compost. It’s a full-circle process, where the compostable materials return to the soil, fertilizing it and helping grow healthy plants. Our products are certified as compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), which is the current standard in the United States for composting. BPI and the US Composting Council use the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications to certify products as compostable. In the Pacific Northwest, Cedar Grove Composting offers a technical review and testing program to determine whether products will compost in a commercial compost facility. Our products meet Cedar Grove requirements. You can feel great about using them, knowing that they are good for the earth.
(Blog Text Sourced from StalkMarketProducts.com)