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By Jen Elks<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been a dizzying amount of activity, especially in the past year, from companies seizing the myriad business opportunities inherent in\u00a0eliminating waste<\/strong>\u00a0from their operations \u2014 either by redesigning products and processes or finding new life for existing products post-use \u2014 laying the groundwork essential for building a global circular economy.<\/p>\n While a growing number of industries are joining the party, two in particular \u2014 which happen to be two of the world\u2019s biggest culprits where waste is concerned \u2014 also have me feeling particularly inspired.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Dozens of the world\u2019s household-name brands (and\/or their parent companies) have joined forces and are now signed on to at least one \u2014 if not multiple \u2014 coalitions, task forces or partnerships of some kind, dedicated to eliminating the glut of plastic clogging up our landfills and oceans.<\/p>\n Many of the initiatives revolve around\u00a0extended producer responsibility<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 companies finally holding themselves accountable for their packaging waste in a variety of ways.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n In late 2017,\u00a0Lonely Whale<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 along with\u00a0Dell<\/strong>,\u00a0General Motors<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Interface<\/strong><\/a>,Humanscale<\/strong>,\u00a0Bureo<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Herman Miller<\/strong>, to name a few \u2014 launched\u00a0NextWave Plastics<\/strong><\/a>, a group developing a sustainable economic model and global supply chain for ocean-bound plastics. Since then, the\u00a0Ellen MacArthur Foundation<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0New Plastics Economy Global Commitment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has rallied over 250 signatories, including companies representing 20 percent of all plastic packaging produced globally and over 70 well-known consumer\u00a0brands \u2014 the coalition\u2019s goal is for all plastic packaging to be 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable; and to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation and new delivery models. Along with the chemical industry\u2019s\u00a0Alliance to End Plastic Waste<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Quantis<\/strong>\u2019\u00a0Global Plastics Leak Project<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(which will create a guide that any company can use to locate plastic leakage along its value chain), the number of engaged companies, the number of tools and solutions promised, and the funding directed at the cause (over $1.2 billion) has skyrocketed. These initiatives have a lot of overlapping players, but those players have some of the biggest product \u2014 and therefore, packaging \u2014 footprints in the world.<\/p>\n One of my favorite new initiatives to date is\u00a0Loop<\/strong><\/a>, an online shopping platform through which dozens of trusted brands \u2014 including\u00a0The Body Shop<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Clorox<\/strong>,\u00a0Danone<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Nestl\u00e9<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0P&G<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Unilever<\/strong><\/a>\u2014 ditch plastic packaging for hundreds of their most popular consumer products, in favor of customized, brand-specific, durable packaging that is collected, cleaned, refilled and reused. Launched in January by\u00a0TerraCycle<\/strong><\/a>, pilots are planned this year in the UK, Paris and the northeastern US \u2014 with any luck, the model will succeed and continue to proliferate.<\/p>\n While these commitments and innovations are all very exciting, they\u2019ll take time to produce results. In the meantime, the NGO community has had enough with the plastic pollution and has started\u00a0calling out these big consumer brands<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 many of whom are now front and center on these efforts to overhaul the system \u2014 for the damage their products and packaging are causing to the environment; the\u00a0Story of Stuff Project<\/strong>\u00a0is in the midst of the first-ever\u00a0brand audit cleanups<\/a>\u00a0to collect plastic waste in coastal and inland communities across the US and identify the companies behind that trash, the results of which will be made public in October.<\/p>\n While we wait for the system overhaul, it helps to think we can do our part by wearing clothes by companies including\u00a0adidas<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0G-Star Raw<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Girlfriend Collective<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0H&M<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Outerknown<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Thread<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0andUnifi<\/strong><\/a>, to name a few \u2014 which are already giving plastic pollution a purpose.<\/p>\n Speaking of clothing, we\u2019ve arrived at my second reason for optimism \u2026[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” color_scheme=”white” css=”.vc_custom_1555362673054{background-color: #18ad96 !important;}”][vc_column width=”2\/12″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/12″][vc_custom_heading text=”Get News & Updates About SB’19 Detroit” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/12″][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/12″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n From the natural resources that are used to create our clothing to the number of textiles that end up in landfills when they could be reused, the fashion industry has become one of the world\u2019s top polluters. Globally, 73 percent of the materials used to produce clothing are landfilled or burned at the end of their life, while less than 1 percent of old clothing is used to make new. But a growing number of global brands are beginning to do their part to change this.<\/p>\n While recycling cotton and other pure fabrics is becoming common practice, blended and synthetic textiles have always presented a problem \u2014 but no longer: Enter chemistry innovators such as\u00a0Ambercycle<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Carbios<\/strong><\/a>, which are piquing interest with their ability to turn\u00a0troublesome polyester textiles into high-quality raw materials for new products. And of course,\u00a0Worn Again<\/strong>, which in 2015 developed a first-of-its-kind,\u00a0textile-to-textile chemical recycling technology<\/a>\u00a0that separates polyester and cotton from old or end-of-use blended fabrics, with the goal of enabling the recaptured polyester and cellulose from cotton to be spun into new fabric; the company partnered with H&M and\u00a0Kering<\/strong>\u00a0to pilot the technology. H&M has since launched the\u00a0Global Change Award<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 an annual search for game-changing circular apparel startups \u2014 and branched out into more partnerships around textile recycling, teaming up in 2017 with\u00a0the\u00a0Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel<\/strong>\u00a0to develop a breakthrough\u00a0hydrothermal recycling solution<\/a>.<\/p>\n A host of fashion retailers have initiated in-store garment-recycling programs: Companies including H&M, Target, The North Face, Levi Strauss and American Eagle Outfitters have partnered with textile recycling specialist\u00a0I:CO<\/strong><\/a>; and\u00a0EILEEN FISHER<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The North Face<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0have kept what they\u2019ve collected and created collections of refurbished clothes.<\/p>\n Another strategy is convincing consumers to take better care of \u2014 thereby extending the life of \u2014 the clothes they already have, as\u00a0Patagonia<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Levi Strauss<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and P&G have worked to do; while resellers such as\u00a0Savers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and campaigns such as\u00a0NYC<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0#WearNext<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are working to show people the value of donating, over tossing, the duds we no longer want.<\/p>\n While these big brands and more are beginning to incorporate circular thinking and products into their offerings, emerging innovators really own this space. Small, independent brands such asTonl\u00e9<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Reformation<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0make clothes from deadstock fabric, and some startups are pioneering closed-loop models: For example,\u00a0For Days<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a circular, subscription-based T-shirt brand, launched in September, that gives customers an unlimited rotation of shirts \u2014 which are sent back to the company, recycled and replenished at their end of life. In January, For Days began extending its circular offering to other brands \u2014 starting with DTC bra brand\u00a0Harper Wilde<\/strong><\/a>: Under the new partnership, when Harper Wilde customers receive a new bra, they can then ship their old bras, of any brand, to For Days for recycling. Speaking of underwear \u2026<\/p>\n Amidst the already dismal statistics on textile waste, underwear is among the least recycled apparel items. But our zero-waste undergarment needs are now met, from top to bottom, thanks to\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0scrappy startups, such as\u00a0The Very Good Bra<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which makes its wireless bras from water-saving Tencel, sustainably sourced rubber elastic, labels printed with zero-waste thread and organic, toxin-free inks; and is compostable at end of life. Then, there\u2019s\u00a0Knickey<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which offers organic cotton undies in recycled packaging that is designed to be reused, to send back your old pairs at the end of\u00a0their<\/em>\u00a0useful life. Knickey has a subscription service and a\u00a0take-back program<\/a>\u00a0for end-of-life undies; the company offers a free pair as incentive for sending old ones back for recycling.<\/p>\n Side note: Though it remains to be seen whether public or private sector efforts (likely, a combination) will ultimately catalyze the necessary changes at scale, the UK government has set a brilliant example, by holding companies accountable for both their\u00a0packaging<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0textile<\/a>\u00a0waste through extended producer responsibility legislation (though it also remains to be seen whether these measures will make the cut amidst all of the uncertainty around\u00a0Brexit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 but, I digress).<\/p>\n So, what does all of this mean?<\/p>\n The die has been cast \u2014 with this much momentum, expertise and buying power dedicated to designing waste out of our most ubiquitous products and processes, this skeptic sees reasons to believe we are on the right track, toward remaking our global economy into what it should\u2019ve been all along \u2014 one in which companies and consumers reward each other for responsible consumption.<\/p>\n It also means that we won\u2019t get there, unless we go together.<\/p>\n *The companies and initiatives mentioned here are by no means an exhaustive list.<\/em><\/p>\nPlastics and packaging<\/strong>*<\/h2>\n
Cleaning up our mess<\/strong><\/h4>\n
A new model for CPG packaging<\/strong><\/h4>\n
In the meantime …<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Apparel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Textile recycling 2.0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Repair and resell<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Closing clothing loops<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Unmentionables<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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