PRESS RELEASE -
Eastman Chemical Company, the world’s leading producer of cellulosic materials, introduces Eastman TRĒVATM, a breakthrough in engineering bioplastics that help global brands concurrently meet their sustainability and performance needs in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.
“Eastman leveraged nearly 100 years of cellulosic expertise in the design and testing of TRĒVATM to meet the improved sustainability profile and performance needs of brands, fabricators, molders, and other companies across the value chain,” said Burt Capel, vice president and general manager of Eastman’s Specialty Plastics business unit. Capel formally introduced the innovation to media at the Chinaplas Plastics & Rubber Trade Fair taking place in Guangzhou, China.
PRESS RELEASE -
World-leading chemical company, BASF today announced its membership of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100). As the latest corporate member of the programme, BASF embarks on a three-year partnership to bring about opportunities for a circular economy within new business models and new solutions.
BASF 'creates chemistry for a viable future'. In combining economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, it enables its customers and its entire value chain to meet the current and future needs of society. Through science and innovation, BASF investigates techniques for decreasing material use while keeping function and durability at its highest utility.
PRESS RELEASE -
Consumer goods giant Unilever has unveiled new technology that enables plastic sachets to be recycled.
The technology has been developed in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany.
The process, known as CreaSolv, was inspired by a method used to recycle old television sets, whereby brominated flame-retardants were separated from WEEE polymers. Through this method, plastic is recovered from the sachet and reused in the manufacture of new sachets.
Unilever says that it will make the technology open source so that other members of the industry can help to scale up its use.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Just weeks after releasing a new forest products policy, in which it pledges to source all of the wood, paper, paper-based and wood-based fiber used in its brand-owned products from post-consumer recycled materials and credibly certified forests, retail giant Target has announced five new sustainable packaging goals.
PRESS RELEASE -
At Target, our commitment to sustainability is how we help protect the planet, support our communities and invest in the future of our business. That means looking not only at the products we sell, but also the packages they come in.
“We know our guests pay attention to packaging and its impact on the environment,” says Jennifer Silberman, Target’s chief sustainability officer. “When we provide them with thoughtfully designed, environmentally friendly packaging, we’re able to help them take another step toward sustainable living.”
PRESS RELEASE -
It’s cute, it’s high-quality, it was developed by kids for kids—oh and did we mention it’s environmentally friendly, too?
PRESS RELEASE -
As You Sow has withdrawn a shareholder proposal with Target Corp. that asks the company to phase out use of polystyrene foam packaging in its e-commerce operations, as a result of the company’s willingness to work with its value chain and industry peers to discuss replacing foam with less harmful alternatives.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The concept of fast fashion isn’t exactly synonymous with conscious consumerism and sustainability, but major retailer H&M has been at the forefront of the movement to change that — and the fashion industry as a whole.
WASTE NOT -
Last month, Indonesia pledged to cut plastic pollution by an astounding 70 percent by 2025, in response to the UN Environment Programme’s #CleanSeas campaign. This commitment is a huge step forward in reducing the more than 8 million tons of plastic going into our oceans every year.
PRESS RELEASE -
Arrowhead® Mountain Spring Water announced today that it has dramatically increased the amount of recycled plastic used in its bottle production. Thanks to the high recycling rate of California residents, and with help from its strategic partner CarbonLITE, Arrowhead now ensures that 9 out of 10 of its Arrowhead bottles made in California incorporate 50% post-consumer recycled plastic content.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Coffee cups, coffee capsules and MDF are some of the most popular and hard-to-recycle products in circulation, accounting for hundreds of thousands of tons of waste sent to landfill each year — an issue that companies and governments are striving to address. New initiatives and innovations across industries could, however, set a new standard for these problematic products.
WASTE NOT -
Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland has launched the Timberland X Thread collection in partnership with Thread, the Certified B Corporation that transforms plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti into what Thread calls “the most responsible fabric on the planet.” The collection goes beyond environmental sustainability, creating social value and impact in the form of cleaner neighborhoods and meaningful new job opportunities.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic used each year for packaging is actually recycled. The remaining 98 percent finds its way into landfills, incineration plants and the environment. New innovations and initiatives from across the U.S. and Canada, however, are offering new solutions to tackle the ever-growing plastics problem.
PRESS RELEASE -
Biotechnology leader Danimer Scientific and global food and beverage company PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) have announced an agreement that includes development of Danimer Scientifics’ biodegradable film resins to meet the sustainable flexible packaging requirements of PepsiCo’s global food and beverage business.
The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship that has included the development of bio-based compostable packaging for PepsiCo’s snack brands, and will facilitate the expansion of Danimer Scientifics’ NodaxTM PHA plant.
NEW METRICS -
Cities are major contributors to – and battlegrounds of – climate change. According to a report from the UN Habitat, cities pump out roughly 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions whilst just occupying just 2 percent of the Earth’s land.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Plastics are an important part of the global economy and have many practical applications for everyday life, but their indisputable benefits are countered by their environmental drawbacks — especially in terms of ocean pollution. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, more and more companies are finding new and innovative ways to tackle plastic pollution both at the source and at end-of-life.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Transport constitutes approximately 20 percent of global energy use — a figure that is set to grow — and a new study published by physicist Jo Hermans in MRS Energy and Sustainability — A Review Journal has identified liquid hydrogen as a realistic option for what can be considered the most problematic modes of transportation in terms of sustainability — air travel.
While Professor Hermans of Leiden University’s Huygen’s Laboratory admits that traditional oil-based fuels such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene are both convenient and boast an appealing energy-to-volume ratio, liquid hydrogen could offer a potential solution for sustainable air travel in the future.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
This week, sustainable menswear brand Outerknown launched #ITSNOTOK, an evergreen giveback program designed to bring awareness to environmental issues – particularly the declining health of our oceans, mostly due to pollution – all over the world. #ITSNOTOK is a call to action to consumers to become part of the solution, rather than the problem, by helping to clean up the oceans.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Pittsburgh, Pa.-based startup Thread - a Certified B Corporation on a mission to end poverty by creating dignified jobs and responsibly sourced and manufactured, high-performance fabric – has just published its fourth annual impact report.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The fashion industry shows no sign of slowing down in regards to reducing its environmental impact, with new initiatives and schemes emerging almost daily. Though the concept of fast fashion stands in stark contrast to the notion of conscious consumerism and arguably sustainability itself, innovation and disruptive design play an important role in driving the industry towards a more circular, sustainable model.