Hefty is an American brand of household products such as trash bags and trash cans, disposable

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of obj ...

, children's disposable tableware (including their defunct '' Zoo Pals'' product line), slider closure food storage and freezer bags, plastic storage bins, and disposable

cookware Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookwa ...

. Originally a

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

product, the brand has been owned by Reynolds Consumer Products since 2010.

Retailers

Hefty products are sold nationwide (in stores and online) at grocery stores, drugstores, and other mass merchandisers in the United States. Hefty square styrofoam food container closed

Hefty square styrofoam food container closed

History

Hefty was founded by

Mobil Chemical Co Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

in 1965. Plastics Division headquartered in Macedon, New York, was acquired by Tenneco Packaging in 1995 with a $1.27 billion purchase of Mobil's 4,100-employee plastics division, then

Pactiv Corporation Pactiv Evergeen Inc., is a manufacturer and distributor of food packaging and foodservice products, supplying packers, processors, supermarkets, restaurants, institutions and foodservice outlets across North America. Operations Pactiv Evergreen ...

(1999–2010). Hefty products have been owned or licensed by Reynolds Consumer Products, Inc, headquartered in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

since Pactiv was acquired by Reynolds' parent company, Reynolds Group Holdings, on November 16, 2010.

OneZip

The Hefty OneZip sliding tab sealable bag, formally known as the "rolling-action zipper profile and slipper", was created by Eric A. St.Phillips and F. John Harrington Jr. at Mobil in the early 1990s at a cost of $25 to $50 million, after having developed and evaluated various different

zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other bags, camping ...

designs, and finally deciding to roll out the "boxcar-shaped version", which slides over dual plastic tracks.

Environmental concerns

Hefty was one of the brands (along with Kordite and Baggies (another Pactiv brand)) named in a complaint brought against Mobil by the United States Federal Trade Commission in 1992, regarding claims made by the company in advertisements and packaging, which allegedly led consumers to believe that the bags were more

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...

than other brands of bag, despite a lack of evidence to support this claim nor presentation of a specific definition for the term. The FTC dropped their complaint after Mobil agreed to cease making such claims.

References

External links