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Plant-based businesses from around the world are coming together to fight plastic waste.
Twenty brands, including The Very Good Butchers, No Evil Foods, Myvegan, and V-Dog, have partnered with rePurpose Global. The plastic action platform helps companies reduce and offset their waste. Some of its biggest clients include Google, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate.
According to rePurpose, together, its plant-based partners will remove the equivalent of 27 million plastic bags from nature every year.
It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of a global plastic crisis. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a minimum of 14 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every single year. There isn’t a continent in the world where beaches aren’t lined with plastic waste.
There are a number of sources of ocean plastic pollution, and the fishing industry is one of the biggest culprits. These brands are plant-based, so they’re already fish-free. But the littering of packaging is another way that plastic enters the waterways.
Going plastic negative
“As an industry with sustainability built into its core, we need to recognize the unintended consequences of our reliance on single-use plastic,” said No Evil Foods CEO Sadrah Schadel. She added that the brand worked with rePurpose to become the first “plastic negative” plant-based brand in 2020.
“I’m very proud of our work together, resulting in the removal of over 17,000 pounds of plastic waste from natural ecosystems,” added Schadel.
To receive a Plastic Negative Certification from rePurpose, brands must recover the plastic waste equivalent of twice their unique plastic footprint. Brands can also receive a Plastic Neutral Certification, which means funding the removal of as much plastic as they use.
“We are living in a plastic epidemic,” said rePurpose Global’s co-founder Peter Wang Hjemdahl. “There is no single solution. Now more than ever, there is a critical need for like-minded brands to come together and use their collective strength to help tackle plastic pollution head-on.”
