Labatt USA LLC will donate up to $20,000 as part of its support of recycling efforts at Michigan State Parks with specially labeled packages featuring images of the Mackinac Bridge and other state icons.
The brewing giant is selling its “Great State of Mine” 15- and 24-can packages of Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light from Memorial Day weekend until the end of July under the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ new business-focused fundraising campaign, These Goods are Good for Michigan.
Labatt will donate up to $20,000 of proceeds from the specially marked products around mid-August under an agreement with the DNR, said Maia Turek, the department’s statewide recreation programmer.
Donations will go toward recycling efforts at Holland State Park, Belle Isle Park and others, Turek said.
DNR staff find bushels of cigarette butts while cleaning beaches, and they want to fund recycling efforts for those, Turek said. The funds would also allow the DNR to promote recycling at campgrounds — adding bins, collecting their contents more often and adding “interpretive signage” that shows the importance of recycling and how discarded items will be used.
The DNR decided to formalize a campaign after it had already agreed to partner with Labatt and two other producers, Chateau Grand Traverse based in Traverse City and Whitmore Lake-based Espresso Royale, Turek said.
The winery is offering three custom-labeled wines and will give 50 percent of net profits to the DNR. Espresso Royale is giving 50 cents per sale of five types of custom-labeled coffee bags.
“They really made us say, ‘We’re onto something, we should expand this, put some effort behind it,'” Turek said.
The department is still looking for more participants, she added.
