Will 2025 finally be the year governments prioritise human health, and crackdown on plastic? Kicking off the year with a bang, the media has sent a stark warning that consumers should stop drinking water from plastic bottles, due to its health impacts. A study from Columbia University found that an average one-litre bottle of water contains around 240,000 plastic particles, a figure that is 10 to 100 times higher than previous estimates. Nanoplastics have been associated with a wide range of health issues including cancer, heart disease, birth defects and fertility problems. So why is it down to consumers to stay clear of plastic water bottles? Shouldn’t governments implement bans and enforce alternatives to protect the public from plastic’s harmful effects on our health?

Now here’s some good news to avoid fuelling January blues – the likes of changemakers Rypax (creators of fibre-based bottles) and Reposit (the returnable packaging platform) have already created scalable plastic-free solutions to on-the-go water bottles.

A Plastic Planet and Plastic Free will be at Davos this month with NBCo launching the fiber bottle as an alternative to plastic bottles – at COMPETITION VS COLLABORATION – Why our global challenges can never be fixed using 20th century thinking – showing that solutions are here today.

A Plastic Planet are intent on focusing on solutions vs problems and this was evident in three major events during October. The NYU Plastic Health Symposium during New York Climate Week brought together the most eminent scientists to explain in detail the impact of plastic and its 16,000 chemicals on human health. Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California, announced that the State are now suing Exxon for the decades of deceit and health consequences of plastic. Sian Sutherland wrapped up the 2 day session with 90 minutes of hope – bringing 5 scalable, viable solutionists on to the stage, demonstrating that plastic can be replaced with nutrient materials that are safe for both nature and humans. The Blue Earth Summit took place on London with 1,500 attendees left feeling hopeful that solutions are already with us. Next up, the 2025 Plastic Solutions Summit with the British Beauty Council gathered major personal care brands and retailers together to discuss collaboration and to agree to collaborate to scale faster.

A Plastic Planet are excited to announce that their partners at PlasticFree have launched a new white paper in collaboration with creative futures agency FashionSnoops. Titled ‘The Post-Plastic Economy’, the report unpicks why we’ve become addicted to this brilliant yet toxic, indestructible material, and reveals the steps brands must take to design plastic out at the source. Discover how transitioning away from plastic can set a business up for future success, spearheading new value creation opportunities in a world looking for healthier, planet-supporting solutions. Download the free white paper HERE and dive into a bumper section of case studies, design inspiration and strategic product development insights that will catapult you into the post-plastic economy before it’s too late.

April and May have been extremely busy months in the plastic crisis for A Plastic Planet with speaking engagements at the Economist Lisbon Ocean Summit on system changes to eradicate single-use, hosting the Plastic Solutions and Health Summit in Washington DC attended by many members of the Senate; and convening a major conference at the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Ottawa. A Plastic Planet have also been asked to join the Stewardship Council of the Alternative Materials Sprint in Charlotte, NC, working with brands and plastic free materials manufacturers to build a framework that will help advise the UN on the final Treaty before INC5 negotiations in S. Korea. Through all these industry and policy events, A Plastic Planet continue to highlight the need for solutions AND legislation to empower industry to turn off the plastic tap.

As we welcome sunnier days our thoughts should also be turning to SPF and daily application against harmful UVA and UVB rays. The team at PlasticFree are championing Attitude, the Canadian beauty brand which has launched a range of plastic-free mineral sunscreens known as Sunly. This line of sun care products are made with non-nano zinc oxide, which creates a reflective barrier on the skin and is considered to be the safest mineral filter by experts. Shop the range HERE.

The team at PlasticFree keep their fingers on the pulse when it comes to innovation in design. On their radar this month is the material science company Pangaia who have launched Fruit Suit, an oversized blazer and trouser set made from repurposed fruit waste. Made with FRUITFIBRE, a Cotton alternative, the suit fabric consists of 20% banana leaf fibre, sourced from agricultural waste, 20% pineapple leaf fibre, and 60% Bamboo Lyocell. The genderless blazer’s lining is made with 100% Cupronickel Bemberg, a cellulose-based fabric. Fruit Suit is available to pre-order HERE.

Save the date! On March 11th – 13th the Economist’s 11th Annual World Ocean Summit and Expo is taking place in Lisbon. Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet + PlasticFree, will be speaking on Rethinking Plastic Reuse at a Systemic Level; bringing the plastic crisis to the heart of oceanic industry and policymakers. The 2024 agenda will focus on ocean health, industry strategies for a sustainable ocean economy, and ocean-climate solutions. The summit will feature more than 200 expert speakers and convene the widest cross-section of the ocean community from business and finance to government, national and international policymakers, civil society and academia. Click HERE to register.

The votes are in. The EU has decided to outlaw the use of misleading environmental claims. Terms such as environmentally friendly’, ‘natural’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘eco’, and ‘climate neutral’ will be banned from 2026 unless used alongside quantifiable evidence. This is big news. Incidences of greenwashing increased 35% between 2022 and 2023, according to a report from RepRisk, with a 70% increase seen in the financial services and banking sectors. As ever, the EU is ahead of the curve, cracking down on language that implies planting trees in the rainforest negates the environmental and social impacts of production. As Anna Cavazzini, the Green MEP and chair of the Committee of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection said, “deception is now a thing of the past.” We thank the European Commission for being brave enough to fight it.

Plastic Free is almost one year old, and they couldn’t have done it without you. It’s been a huge 12 months, not only for the team at Plastic Free, but also for the brilliant brands and agencies who have joined the army of change makers. A few highlights from last year:

• Plastic Free was launched to the world at Parson’s School of Design
• 32,000 visited plasticfree.com
• The first regenerative, plastic-free sneaker was designed
• Launched the world’s first plastic-free technical sportswear

To name just a few! Here’s to 2024.

A Plastic Planet are the cofounders of The Plastic Health Council, supporting the expert scientists. During the November UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations – INC3 in Nairobi, they hosted a significant event attended by delegates, policy makers, industry, scientists and lawyers. The launch of The Health Scientists Global Plastics Treaty – the Treaty expert scientists want to see to protect human health impact from plastic and chemicals – also received attention from the media and over 20 scientists signed an open letter calling for a more robust treaty in support of the Plastic Health Council work. Read more here.