Can “Consumerism” Save the Planet?

This post is captured from a letter by the Executive Director of 5 Gyres, Anna Cummins.

Last week I had the opportunity to join a mixed business/non-profit panel at SXSW Eco to wrestle with a contradictory question: how can consumerism save the planet? My first reaction: overconsumption is anathema to the planet. And without serious progress towards campaign finance reform, corporations will defend the status quo, and the quest for profits vs. planet will thwart our efforts towards reasonable reform.

Heavy, yes. But I walked away feeling inspired and hopeful for a few reasons, and want to share these with you.

First, we – and I mean all of you – are in fact driving change. Just a few weeks ago, the Governor of California signed into law the first statewide ban of plastic bags. This was the result of 6 years of work from a powerful coalition of NGOs working together to mobilize communities towards action. And no matter where you stand on bans, this shows that the public sector, through patience, hard work and persistence, can drive policy changes that affect seemingly impenetrable industries.

Second, there’s a groundswell happening across the country – companies that are mission driven, that put sustainability and community on par with profits, are forging new alliances and driving social change.

Closer to home, we’ve had success this year on our microbeads campaign – we identified a problem in the Great Lakes through published research, shared it with you, and you told companies to respond. It’s happening. This illustrates our potential. The power we citizens have to organize, activate, and win.

This is why its so important to us to see this campaign through. Our success is a win for our waters, and a win for the movement. Right now, we need all of you to take action now. Sign and share our petition to show companies that we’re holding them accountable. Responsible consumerism alone will not save the planet, but an informed citizenry, with the right tools, can move mountains.

5 Gyres’ achievements have been made possible because of our strong network of supporters and key partners. We thank you for your support of our mission.

Fair winds and following seas,

Anna Cummins, Executive Director

What Makes Our Solution Unique?

PulpWorks’ Karta-Pack™ is a patent-pending, paradigm-shifting, all-pulp-and-paper recycled package. In fact, we have the first (and proprietary) solution for replacing pervasive plastic blister packaging. 

The Karta-Pack™ is safe and effortless to open, easily branded, biodegradable, and cost-competitive with plastic blister packaging. And, although it’s tamper-evident, it poses no difficulties (or injuries) upon opening, especially to seniors, our planet’s fastest growing age group.

The Karta-Pack™ is available in a variety of raw materials, textures, colors, shapes and sizes. Custom-designed for each client, it is as versatile and elegant as it is eco-friendly.

It contains no plastics of any kind, doesn’t require incineration or industrial composting to be eliminated, and can be easily discarded in curbside compost or recycling bins.

The Karta-Pack™ will reduce the content of toxic landfills as well as the harmful greenhouse gases (GHG) released by landfills.

Research and development efforts with our strategic partner, Mohawk, are focused on a new source of fiber unique to the molded fiber industry. This fiber reportedly has a higher “aspect ratio” (length-to-width ratio) than any fibers previously tested for molding applications. In the molded fiber industry, higher is clearly better.

An exclusive license for the intellectual property related to this crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) will enable PulpWorks to bring proprietary molded fiber products to the marketplace possessing significantly higher durability and moisture resistance levels. This nanotechnology will enable molded fiber to replace plastic packaging in many categories that have been, until now, completely off-limits to any materials other than plastic. PulpWorks will be first and exclusive with these new applications.

The volatile cost of petroleum as well as the high health risks associated with petroleum-based packaging has become part of the consumer consciousness. This is now a worldwide phenomenon embraced not only by consumers but also by businesses, federal, state, and local governments as well as NGO’s.

Major consumer packaged goods companies, retailers, and e-tailers – examples include Pepsi (“plant bottle”), Walmart (“Sustainability Index”), and Amazon (“Frustration-Free Packaging”) – are listening to their consumers and leading the charge for more sensible and sustainable packaging.

In choosing the PulpWorks’ packaging like the Karta-Pack™, our clients not only demonstrate their social-environmental commitment but also their recognition that choosing sustainability enhances the financial bottom line as well the environmental one.

PulpWorks is on the leading edge of this shift in the status quo to safer and healthier packaging.

Written by Paul Tasner, Co-Founder & CEO

Confused About the Chemicals in Plastic?

Not sure which chemicals are safe when it comes to plastic? We’ve found a great resource that breaks down the various plastics and their impacts on the body. Check out Breast Cancer Fund’s article, Chemicals in Plastic, for a simple and easy-to-understand ingredient list.

“Plastic is everywhere—it’s used in consumer products and packaging of all kinds. And while it solves a lot of problems for manufacturers and can seem convenient to consumers, there are also serious risks to human health and the environment from its widespread use.” Read more…

Breast Cancer Fund is an organization committed to prevention through exposing and eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer. They are truly a fantastic resource for learning about the links between breast cancer, our health and toxic substances. They have done a ton of research and pioneered the movement to understand the ingredient lists of our everyday consumer products. Learn more about them and get involved here.

Our Solution to the Plastic Pollution Crisis

To address this environmental tragedy, we design and manufacture eco-friendly packaging for consumer products.  Our patent-pending (#13/872,687) Karta-Pack™ is a direct replacement for the toxic plastic blister pack.  It’s comprised of 100% recycled pulp and paper, contains no plastic of any kind, and can be composted or recycled when discarded.

The Karta-Pack™ responds to an urgent need for improved retail packages that significantly reduce the negative impact on the environment but also provide consumers with enhanced functionality and design.  In essence, our Karta-Pack™ provides all of the display benefits of plastic blister packaging but without the toxicity and danger to people and planet.

Even though molded pulp technology is commonly associated with the egg-carton or used ‘behind-the-scenes’ as protective packaging for costly or fragile consumer items, PulpWorks has elevated this material to a new level of retail elegance.  Employing different colors, textures, and designs, the innovative Karta-Pack™ has attracted customers in categories as diverse as beauty care and electronics.

Currently, with our strategic partner, the Mohawk Paper Co., we are examining how a new source of agricultural waste as well as the science of nanotechnology can impact the molded pulp packaging industry.  These innovations have the potential to create a “super pulp” – with increased durability and moisture resistance – for countless new plastic replacement packaging applications.

PulpWorks will be a market leader with this proprietary technology.

This is our follow-up to a previous post, The Problem that PulpWorks is Solving.

The Problem that PulpWorks is Solving

PulpWorks, Inc. was founded in response to a worldwide plastic pollution crisis. Merely one example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), accounts for 7 billion pounds of landfill annually. When plastics such as PVC are broken down in landfills, methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas, is released contributing to our global warming emergency. When incinerated, PVC releases cancer-causing dioxins that harm the immune and reproductive systems with links to breast cancer, as well.

As a popular packaging material, the production of PVC alone is responsible for unleashing 130 million pounds of CO2e into our atmosphere each year. Further, PVC’s principal (60%) raw material is chlorine, and energy-intensive chlorine production for PVC packaging consumes an estimated 5 billion kilowatt-hours  – comparable, incredibly, to the annual output of some nuclear power plants.

And then there’s the plastic pollution crisis in our oceans. We have massive swirling islands (gyres) of plastic packaging debris in all of the world’s oceans. The Pacific Gyre is twice the size of Texas. The dangers to sea life and the impact on the fishing industry are well documented.

A noteworthy related issue is the hundreds of thousands of persons visiting emergency rooms annually as a result of lacerations suffered while attempting to open plastic blister packaging. (60,000 in the UK alone, last year.) Seniors, in particular, have little tolerance for this dangerous packaging. PulpWorks’ easy-to-open feature addresses this significant concern among the planet’s fastest growing age group.

Our sustainable packaging addresses the health of our planet as well as its citizens.