SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, already the global standard for environmentally responsible seafood, has created a new tool that allows businesses to assess the potential risk of forced labor, human trafficking and child labor in fisheries.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Single-serve beverage waste is on the fast-track to obsolescence as startups, multinationals and local governments unveil strategies to keep cups, straws and plastic bottles out of landfill.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Sustainable products geeks rejoice, for 'tis once again the season of giving! And what better way to celebrate and participate than with gifts whose buying and giving creates more cheer, health, beauty and financial stability while eliminating waste, pollution and carbon emissions around the world? Here are just a few of our favorite discoveries this year of products we'd be proud to give.
Waste Not
You know we’re big fans of upcycling, here at SB! Here are just a few of the waste-turned-products we loved this year:
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The cocoa industry is undoubtedly changing for the better, but the road to a sustainable sector is a long one. According to industry experts, long-term, sustainable change can’t be made without paying farmers a premium.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
One year after the launch of the Courtauld Commitment 2025, WRAP has published its first Review of work underway in the food and beverage sector as a result of the voluntary agreement.
PRESS RELEASE -
VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, has joined the Fur Free Retailer program by partnering with the Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition of 43 animal protection organizations.
As a Fur Free Retailer, VF is reinforcing its commitment to fur free products and communicating its no fur policy, which covers its more than 20 brands, including Vans®, The North Face®, Timberland®, Wrangler®, Lee® and Napapijri®. VF released its first-ever Animal Derived Materials Policy earlier this year and announced that its brands would no longer use fur, angora or exotic leather.
NEW METRICS -
The new wave of conscious consumption, driven largely by millennials and Gen Z, is pushing companies to innovate around social causes.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
While coffee cup recycling is just beginning to gather steam, previously hard-to-recycle products such as lead batteries and contacts are demonstrating surprisingly high recycling rates.
NEW METRICS -
Live Well San Diego: A visionary partnership to define and measure 10 quality-of-life metrics
By Anna Shugoll
NEW METRICS -
As Sustainable Brands' New Metrics '17 conference kicked off in Philadelphia on Monday, speakers from SASB, CSRLab, WRI, the World Happiness Summit and more presented a range of topics revolving around a few common themes: Correctly measuring what matters, disclosing material data and knowing your audience when you do.
From disclosure to performance: Building a virtuous loop
By Jessica Bast
PRESS RELEASE -
Imagine you have landed in 2030. You walk into your usual grocery store. Only this time, every product sports a label to help you make your purchasing decision based not only on price, or calories, but also on environmental impact.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Maybe you remember visiting a post office to pick up one of your online purchases and seeing the hundreds, even thousands, of packages going to other shoppers — to be used once and thrown away.
Sure, online purchases need to be individually labelled and protected for transport, so some form of packaging is necessary. But shouldn’t we as environmentally conscious purchasers have a say in how our goods are packaged? And shouldn't sustainably minded brands be able to offer their customers a choice in this matter? Because surely shoppers and brands would choose a returnable, recyclable package for transporting online purchases — especially if it made economic sense.
This is where RePack comes in.
PRESS RELEASE -
“To sustain their business, companies need to better understand the costs and opportunities of effective water resource management”, stresses Quantis water expert Jean-Baptiste Bayart. Ahead of the AWS Global Water Stewardship Forum, Quantis shares its experience working with major industrial players over the last 10 years, laying out key hurdles and potential solutions for companies to adopt water stewardship.
PRESS RELEASE -
#MeToo is exposing the scale of sexual assault and harassment for women worldwide, prompting parents to bring up tough subjects with their children. The Health Alliance on Alcohol (HAA) has been working with Dr.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Good for your health, good for the environment, good for the future. These common themes have consumers embracing trends toward products that are responsibly sourced and manufactured.
As with many things, consumers hold the key. And for products derived from the forest, the reality is no different.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
North Americans love to celebrate Halloween — from trick-or-treating to costume parties to haunted houses, there is no doubt a Halloween frenzy takes over even before October hits. In fact, 50 percent of Americans report Halloween is their favorite holiday. However, purchasing new costumes, candy and décorations for the whole family can quickly add up. The National Retail Federation reported that in 2017, Americans are predicted to spend an average $86.13 each on Halloween costumes, décor and candy, collectively spending $9.1 billion on Halloween-related purchases.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
New insights from WRAP’s annual recycling tracker have revealed that over half the UK population wants to know more about what happens to their recycling beyond the bin. The results of the organization’s survey have shaped the theme of this year’s Recycle Week; ‘Recycling — it’s worth it.’
PRESS RELEASE -
The Carlsberg Group, together with business partners and social organisations today celebrates the third annual Global Beer Responsibility Day (GBRD) - a worldwide effort to promote the responsible consumption of beer.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Further establishing itself as a strong proponent of increasing the supply of sustainable cotton, denim brand Wrangler has joined Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture as an associate member. The multi-stakeholder initiative is working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production in the United States.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Four years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in which 1,134 people were killed, Fashion Revolution has released its 2017 Fashion Transparency Index, which ranks 100 of the biggest fashion companies on their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts.