WASTE NOT -
Thread, the Pittsburgh-based startup that's collected over 41 million plastic bottles from landfill communities in Haiti and Honduras and created fabric for some of the world's leading brands, today launched its own product on Kickstarter with a first-of-its-kind bag — the Better Backpack.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It’s estimated that nearly 8 million tons of plastic flow into our oceans every year; even more goes into landfills. While there are many great companies focused on recovering this plastic, there is one developing a plan for what to do with those millions of tons after the cleanup is done.
WASTE NOT -
Litter. It seems like such a ‘60s word, but it’s time to dust it off and rethink it — especially in the context of plastics and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs).
Start with the fact that more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the environment annually, much of it into our oceans. That’s almost 3 percent (and perhaps more) of all plastic produced annually.
PRESS RELEASE -
Loop Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOOP), a global leader in sustainable packaging innovation, announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with L’Oréal Group, the global leader in the beauty industry setting the stage for L’Oréal to become the first major cosmetics company in the world to close the loop on their PET plastic packaging by incorporating Loop™ PET.
This collaboration between L’Oréal Group and Loop will further accelerate the transition to the circular plastic economy. Thanks to Loop’s breakthrough technology, waste PET plastic and polyester fiber that once made its way to landfills, incinerators and our shared natural areas, rivers and oceans can now be diverted and converted into Loop™ PET to be endlessly upcycled.
PRESS RELEASE -
For more than 60 years, Disney has maintained a commitment to environmental stewardship that it has acted upon in both big and small ways around the world. Since 1995, the Disney Conservation Fund has directed more than $70 million to reverse the decline of wildlife around the world. In 2017, The Walt Disney Company reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent and diverted nearly 50 percent of waste from landfills and incineration, making significant progress on its long-term goal of attaining a zero state of net greenhouse gas emissions and waste, while conserving water resources.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Can market solutions and innovative technologies help the world solve its growing ocean crisis? That’s what the nonprofit Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) hopes, as it recently launched a new startup incubator program in Silicon Valley, the Ocean Solutions Accelerator, with five companies in the initial cohort.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Amidst the anti-plastic frenzy dominating corporate sustainability news lately, adidas and Neste have announced plans to increase their efforts to utilize more waste plastic.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Circulate Capital, a new impact-focused investment management company, launched today in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, a firm that invests in companies, technology and recycling infrastructure to advance the circular economy; and Ocean Conservancy, a leading nonprofit environmental advocacy organization working to protect the world’s oceans.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The NextGen Cup Consortium and Challenge, convened by Closed Loop Partners, announced today that McDonald’s joins Starbucks as a founding member of the group, working to develop a global recyclable and/or compostable cup solution. This announcement follows recent commitments by both companies to drive innovation of their packaging and help reduce plastic waste.
WASTE NOT -
“In 2016, Bacardi led the drinks industry with the first #NoStraws campaign focusing on eliminating single-use plastic straws from its cocktails,” explained Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale, a non-profit dedicated to positively impact the health of the ocean.
WASTE NOT -
Following Vancouver’s approval of a strategic plan to achieve zero waste and phase out plastic straws and other select packaging, its neighbor to the south is also taking action. Seattle recently became the first major U.S.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
If I took one thing away from the Circular Economy sessions at SB’18 Vancouver, it was the need to design for the end of a product’s first life. Note I said, “first life,” because ideally it will be endlessly recycled. That said, as new products come online, designers need to be asking, what materials are we using? Can the product itself be reused like the very cool fashion pieces curated by Beyond Retro (a Bank & Vogue LTD company), or will it be recycled and recreated like Brambles’ packaging solutions?
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Last week, over 2,000 representatives from our global community of sustainability practitioners, brand strategists, product and service innovators, thought leaders and other change-makers converged at SB’18 Vancouver to share their latest insights on a multitude of themes pertinent to all of those committed to improving business around the world. Here, we dig into brand and organizational efforts to get consumers to deliver their part of the equation, through responsible consumption.
P&G: The road to responsible consumption
By Marissa Rosen
WASTE NOT -
It’s a tough time to be a plastic straw producer. Over the past few months, it seems the message has broken through that plastic straws are harmful to the environment – and marine life in particular – that phase outs and bans are warranted.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Startups that positively impact people, planet and profit often bring the most exciting innovations to the sustainability space. Once again, Sustainable Brands did its part this week at SB’18 Vancouver to highlight the latest emerging companies addressing intractable issues — inspiring audiences and building connections with established brands.
Shark Tank: Circular Economy Innovations for Retail
First, in a Tuesday afternoon “Shark Tank,” startups pitched their solutions to retailers.
WASTE NOT -
Today at SB’18 Vancouver, The North Face will announce the launch of The North Face Renewed — a collection of refurbished products for consumers who want to access affordable gear and reduce their environmental impact. All “Renewed” items — which are sourced from returned, defective or damaged apparel — have been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and refurbished to The North Face quality and performance standards.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Vancouver edition of the international event will be held on June 4-7
São Paulo, June 4, 2018 – During this first week of June, Braskem is participating in the Vancouver edition of Sustainable Brands, one of the most important events in the sustainability calendar, as a sponsor and key presenter and exhibitor at the Good Materials & Packaging Pavilion. The company will take the opportunity of the trade fair to showcase its latest concept in recycled plastic resins.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
L’Oréal USA announced today that five products in its Garnier SkinActive line have achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified™ SILVER recognition. The product line, manufactured at L’Oréal USA’s facility in Franklin, New Jersey, earned this certification based on an evaluation of material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness practices. Garnier is the first mass market skincare brand to receive this certification for its products and is also one of the few skincare brands to have multiple products certified in a portfolio.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
New research released by environmental charity Hubbub reveals that 44 percent of people in the UK don’t realize that synthetic fibres such as polyester, acrylic or nylon are actually plastic. Despite that synthetic clothing is on the rise – it now accounts for an estimated 60 percent of all clothing produced – many are unaware of what the microfibres they release and the resulting threats to the environment.
PRESS RELEASE -
The 100% recyclable biopolymer will be used in the packaging of the new line of loaves with germinated grains that follow the Clean Label movement
Braskem, the largest producer of biopolymers in the world, is now supplying the Green Plastic I'm greenTM to Nutrella, a brand of special loaves from the Bimbo Group - a world leader in bread making. The raw material is used in the Nutrella Viva loaves line, produced with germinated grain flours and following the Clean Label concept.