Chemistry, Materials & Packaging
The latest developments in safe and sustainable chemicals, new materials, fuels, and more.
Better Living Through Better Chemistry: A Conversation with John Warner
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. While the use of green chemistry is critical to mitigating adverse environmental impacts, there remains a gap in education of chemists and an overall lack of awareness in the industry. We sat down with John Warner, one of the founders of the field, to better understand how green chemistry is helping to enable a more sustainable future through science.
The Road to Zero Waste Is Paved with Incremental Changes
Shifting to new packaging formats can feel daunting for brands because of perceived costs and anticipated operational downtime. But through incremental changes, companies can reduce reliance on less sustainable materials in an efficient, cost-effective and scalable way.
Trending: lululemon, Pangaia Push Plant-Based Fabrics Further
lululemon’s latest partnership aims to replace conventional nylon in its products with bio-based; while two new blends from Pangaia are the brand’s latest step to delivering sustainable alternatives to overproduced materials such as cotton.
Industry Leaders Co-Creating Groundbreaking Framework to Evolve Packaging Recyclability
Designing a package to be recyclable is currently complex and ambiguous, with no transparent national framework or guidelines in place. The Pathway to Circularity Recyclability Framework will be open for comment for 30 days, beginning August 19.
New Podcast Focuses on Sustainability ‘Game Changers’ Including Advanced Recycling, Circularity Policy
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. Since we last dove into “Plastics Unwrapped,” Dow and its guests have continued to cover some of the most impressive innovations in the plastics industry, while also exploring solutions to our most daunting sustainability challenges.
CVS Health, Target, Walmart Piloting Alternative Bag Solutions to Combat Plastic Waste
Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. The partnership among the leading retailers’ different stores sets an exciting precedent; collaboration will help accelerate pathways to scale and help address the systemic challenge of plastic bag waste.
Pushing Beyond Infinite: How Circular Plastics Can Help Reduce GHGs
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. As issues caused by plastic waste and climate change come to a head, finding new uses for end-of-life plastics and other materials will be vital to achieving a low-carbon future.
Unilever to Ditch Fossil Fuel-Based Ingredients for Computer-Designed Enzymes in Cleaning Products
A partnership with biotech company Arzeda will see the companies computer designing new enzymes with superior benefits to help clean up the cleaning industry.
LanzaTech, lululemon Partner to Create First Fabric Made from Recycled Carbon Emissions
Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. The carbon-capture experts and the high-end yoga pants purveyor have developed a waste-gas-based polyester with the same appearance, properties and functionality of virgin polyester — a lower-carbon potential game-changer for the apparel industry.
L’Oréal, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, Suntory Unveil World’s First Enzymatically Recycled Bottles
Food-grade sample bottles produced by a consortium of companies dedicated to the cause are using Carbios' breakthrough enzymatic recycling process.
Trending: Burberry, Gucci Strut Ever Closer to Sustainability
Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. The luxury fashion giants continue to lead the industry toward a cruelty-free and climate-resilient future — Gucci with its new, biobased, animal-free textile; and Burberry with its bar-raising goal to be climate positive by 2040.
Best Intentions: Surviving a Sustainability Story Setback with Transparency and Truth
Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. When Kevin Murphy announced that all of its packaging would be made from “plastic pulled from the ocean,” it had every intention of delivering that. While the claim was doomed from the start, the company quickly communicated its mistake with tact, transparency and a plan to make it right.
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Advances Field of Skincare for Cancer Patients
Cross-Posted from Our Healthy Lives Mission. During oncology treatment, patients’ skin requires special care. Products such as Aveeno® Restorative Skin Therapy can help patients of all skin types avoid severe cutaneous adverse reactions, so they can focus on life-saving therapies.
Canopy Welcomes LVMH, 29 More Brands to Coalitions Working to Preserve the World’s Forests
Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Corporate participation in Canopy’s CanopyStyle and Pack4Good initiatives — which work with the world’s biggest brands to protect forests and transform destructive supply chains in the fashion and packaging industries, respectively — is at an all-time high.
Designing for Humanity: New Possibilities for Plastic
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. Ensuring recyclability starts with putting people at the forefront to develop new systems and materials to create a continuous lifecycle for plastics. We need to design systems for humanity. By harnessing design thinking, it’s possible to make human-centered recycling systems a reality.
10 Nature-Inspired Innovations Compete for 2021 Ray of Hope Prize
Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. Sustainable building materials, textiles, cooling systems and water-filtration technologies are among the top 10 nature-inspired solutions participating in the Biomimicry Institute’s 10-week accelerator program and in the running for the annual $100K prize.
Trending: Fashion, Beverage Industries Continue to Advance Solutions to Plastic Waste
The $1.2M Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize seeks scalable, alternative solutions for thin-film plastic; while Paboco has eliminated plastic from Absolut’s bio-based beverage bottle, making it fully recyclable.
Are 3D-Printed Buildings the Sustainable Future of Construction?
Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. The construction industry must adopt technologies that increase productivity while mitigating the impact of our growing housing needs on the climate crisis. Mighty Buildings’ technology may be ‘one of the only in existence’ that could unlock the needed productivity alongside reduced emissions.
Why Community Clean-Up Action Is More Important Than Ever
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. Noticing that litter is a problem is the first step in taking action to create a cleaner, more sustainable planet. The next step is taking action. Partner with community members and local organizations to get involved and create meaningful change.
Trending: Fashion Industry Advancing Transparency, Circularity – Thread by Thread
Two new initiatives leveraging connected products and scaling recycled polyester aim to accelerate industry transparency and circular materials and business models.
