According to EthicalConsumer.org, “Greenwashing is used to describe the practice of companies launching adverts, campaigns, products, etc. under the pretense that they are environmentally beneficial, often in contradiction to their environmental and sustainability record in general.“ To break it down, Greenwashing is a marketing ploy used by businesses and companies to create a false image …
According to the World Economic Forum, about 4-8% of annual global oil consumption is associated with plastics and if our reliance on fossil fuel-based plastics remains, plastics will account for 20% of oil consumption by the year 2050. The problem with plastics begins with the mess of extracting fossil fuels from the earth. Oil, gas, …
The Impact of Fossil Fuel Plastics on Climate Change Read More »
According to Climate.NASA, “Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.” These effects happening now were predicted years ago by climate change scientists. Now, scientists are predicting that depending …
Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics Are Plant-based Plastics Biodegradable? According to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) biodegradables are anything that undergoes degradation resulting from the action of naturally occurring micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae. Although quickly is not defined, biodegradable products are broken in way less time than non-biodegradable products such …
Potato plastic is made from the starch of potatoes and water under high pressure and heat. Unfortunately, this material alone isn’t practical for most products so it is often blended into other bio-based or even petroleum-based plastics at ratios that companies don’t generally like to reveal. More issues with potato-based plastic are evident with many …
Often said to be the ultimate solution to single-use plastics, the potential of hemp is sometimes misconstrued in good faith by cannabis activists and advocates in an effort to destigmatize both the cannabis and hemp plants. Although there are notable benefits to hemp, the same properties can be found within corn and soybean plants at …
Ocean plastic pollution is a large global issue and is becoming worse each and every year. According to the IUCN, about 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year. This is an alarming number and the idea of harvesting and recycling this plastic into usable products sounds like a viable solution. Unfortunately, companies …
Bioplastics As a proponent of bioplastics, often referred to as plant-based plastics, there are obviously aspects that aren’t perfect about them as a magical fix-all solution many companies may try to convey. This leads to greenwashing the truth of how these plastics actually affect the environment. However, despite this, we still believe there is a …
Carbon sequestration (v.) – sekwəˈstrāSH(ə)n The process of removing carbon from the atmosphere to slow and reverse global warming. It is important to manufacture products in conjunction with life cycle thinking. By designing plastic products with bio-based polymers, we are “lowering carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons” yearly. When sugarcane grows, carbon emissions …
