Crutchfield - North America's electronics authority since 1974

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (March 11, 2008) — Crutchfield, one of the nation's leading catalog and Internet retailers of consumer electronics, is the first warehouse operation in Virginia to install a machine that makes earth-friendly packing peanuts from starch pellets.

Only a few other shippers in the U.S. have made the investment in such a packing machine, according to Dean Bartels, General Manager of StarchTech Inc., Crutchfield's supplier.

Crutchfield is at the leading edge of a growing trend of companies recognizing the benefits of producing starch peanuts in-house, saving money as well as the environment," Bartels said.

The $75,000 extruding machine is the same kind that's used to make cheese puffs and breakfast cereal. Consumers who receive packages containing the static-free starch peanuts may re-use them or dispose of them by dissolving them with water or placing them in a compost pile.

• One bag of the starch pellets makes the equivalent of a trailer load of polystyrene peanuts.
• One trailer load of the starch pellets is the equivalent of 23 trailer loads of polystyrene peanuts.
• In 2008 alone, we expect this will result in the delivery of 142 fewer trailer loads of packing materials to the Crutchfield Distribution Center.

"Producing our own biodegradable packing peanuts is better for the environment and saves us money in the long run," said Kurt Goodwin, Crutchfield's Senior Director of Operations. "It's nice when you can do the right thing and boost your bottom line at the same time."

This year Crutchfield's 68 Distribution Center employees will process more that 950,000 outbound shipments. The starch peanuts cushion Crutchfield's shipments as well or better than the polystyrene peanuts they replace.

"This is one of the many ongoing improvements we have made to our distribution systems," Goodwin said. "By continually evaluating our fulfillment processes and the materials we use, we are able to maintain very high levels of accuracy, efficiency and customer satisfaction."

The new peanut machine is an extension of Crutchfield's ongoing commitment to environmentally-friendly practices, including starting the Charlottesville area's first year-round electronics recycling program - which has kept more than 260 tons of old TVs, computers, stereos and other items out of area landfills since it opened in August, 2006.

In addition to the new packing machine and its local electronics recycling efforts, Crutchfield also encourages all its customers to re-use, repair and recycle electronics. Consumers can go to the Crutchfield website to learn more about the program and to find a local recycler in their area. More information is available at http://www.crutchfield.com/recycling.

About Crutchfield Corporation
Crutchfield Corporation, which celebrates its 34th anniversary in 2008, is the nation's oldest direct integrated marketer (catalog, Customer Care Center, and Internet) of consumer electronics products. Crutchfield has its headquarters and a popular retail store in Charlottesville. Since its introduction in 1974, the Crutchfield catalog has been a respected authority on car and home entertainment products, winning several awards for quality, design, and usefulness. The people who staff Crutchfield's Customer Care Center are noted for their high integrity, product knowledge, and technical expertise. They are available by phone, e-mail, and live online chat. Crutchfield.com offers a convenient, full-service shopping destination to buyers of car and home audio/video products. CrutchfieldAdvisor.com is an all-information website that serves as a single comprehensive source about consumer electronics. Crutchfield was the first vendor-authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet and is one of only two retailers to have won BizRate's coveted "Circle of Excellence" award eight times..

About StarchTech Inc.
StarchTech, Inc. was founded on the vision of developing and commercializing environmentally conscience products using starch-based technology. StarchTech also focuses on the principle that one can create products that are both environmentally and economically sound. It is the synergy of these two philosophies and the dedication of its people that establishes the foundation for StarchTech, Inc. StarchTech, Inc. (STI), as its name implies, utilizes starch as the primary ingredient to produce various products for multiple industry purposes. It was founded in 1996 by Edward Boehmer, with the locally run starch packaging material company, Clean Green Packing, being acquired in 1997. Our applications include a starch based packaging material (Clean Green Packing), a resin that sublicenses other manufacturers to expand starch-based packaging material for resale (ReNEW 400 Resin), and starch blended materials for specialty applications. These product lines, as well as others still in the development stages, represent the current scope of StarchTech's corporate umbrella of starch based technology. For more info, visit starchtech.com.

For more information, press only:
Bridgette King/Crutchfield Public Relations
954.937.9616
bridgette@getthescoop.com

# # #