The invite to join Noble Laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart for “The Art of Chemistry: An Evening Experiencing A Skincare Revolution” was almost cryptic in its simplicity. It mentioned the introduction of something called Noble Panacea, which was to include a cocktail hour and a proper seated dinner. The venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The dress code: Black tie. And yet, the intrigue was enough to lure a who’s-who of the fashion and beauty community uptown in the rain last night. Guests including supermodel Helena Christensen, art star Chloe Wise, and lifestyle entrepreneur Julia Restoin-Roitfeld gathered over market vegetable “terrariums” while Stoddart took the podium in the Sculpture Garden in the museum’s American Wing. Only five months earlier, Cher stood on a similar stage, in the same room, belting out hits to a packed Met gala crowd while Harry Styles cheered her on. “I guess it’s obvious I am not a typical skincare brand founder,” the Scottish-born 77-year-old chemist and the Director of the Center for Chemistry of Integrated Systems at Northwestern University said with a smile. “A decade ago, my team and I were not thinking specifically of discovering technology with skincare applications,” Stoddart continued. “But inventing things with the goal of having a positive impact on people was always my intention.” The technology Stoddart was referring to is something called Organic Molecular Vessels (OMVs), a “new and remarkable material” that he designed to protect active ingredients at the molecular level as a means of preserving their potency until they are released in a controlled and precise way. Engineered out of totally natural starches, which Stoddart noted are even edible, OMVs offer an unprecedented preservation and delivery system for volatile complexion-boosting mainstays, such as retinol, alpha hydroxy acids, and peptides. “Serendipity has led to many of the greatest breakthroughs in science,” he went on of the unexpected efficacy his team was able to achieve in clinical trials, which was so impressive, Noble Panacea successfully attracted beauty veteran Celine Talabaza as CEO; New York-based dermatologist Anne Chapas, M.D. has also signed on as dermatological advisor. Officially launching in mid-November, a pre-order link went live today for two separate lines—The Absolute and The Brilliant, each of which contains four separate, refillable pods packaged with a 30-day supply of individually dosed day cream, eye cream, night cream, and serum, as well as a bag from TerraCycle to collect the waste for national recycling—the reveal raised more than a few eyebrows. “Does it actually work,” models including Elsa Hosk and Georgia Fowler murmured as dinner was served? Makeup artist Hung Vanngo seemed convinced after an early sample of The Brilliant line helped turn his skin around following a few weeks of heavy travel. In addition to its commitment to sustainability, Noble Panacea will also have a social impact initiative at launch—a must for any brand hoping to endear itself to consumers (and avoid social media backlash) in 2020. The brand has committed to a 3-year partnership with Girl Up, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the health, safety, education, and leadership of girls in developing countries and worldwide. I will have plenty of other news to share in the coming months as well, Stoddart promised. “Per aspera ad astra,” he proclaimed before descending the stage. “With hard work, to the stars.”

Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s  #UnwrapTheWaves candy wrapper recycling program is back! Partnering with 29 Palm Beach County Schools and 7 community partners, LMC will collect and recycle #Halloween and fall-inspired candy wrappers through TerraCycle‘s zero waste program. All candy wrappers will be 100% recycled and used to make school supplies and other repurposed items. Last year we recycled 19,000 candy wrappers! Do you think we can beat our record this year?! Please consider dropping off your candy wrappers at one of our locations through Nov. 11. Drop-off locations: Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Manatee Lagoon, FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Inc., and Sandoway Discovery Center Along with 29 schools in The School District of Palm Beach County listed at: marinelife.org/2019-candy-wrapper-recycling/  

Calling all musicians who play a stringed instrument: Has it ever bothered you that your used strings go straight in the trash? Did you know an estimated 1.5 million pounds of instrument strings go to landfills every year? Well, here’s some good news! TerraCycle and D’Addario have partnered to create a free recycling program for all types of instrument strings and clippings, including nylon, steel, and orchestral strings. Once collected, the metal and nylon strings are separated by type, and the metal is melted down and smelted into new metal alloys. The nylon is recycled into industrial plastic applications. We won’t be collecting strings at Weavers Way, but you can recycle them at Vintage Instruments at Broad & Lombard streets in Philadelphia, and A & G Music Center in Drexel Hill. In addition, you can collect and recycle strings on your own by sending them to D’Addario through a program called “Player’s Circle.” Once you sign up and recycle strings through the program, you’ll earn points toward new gear. All the details about both programs are at this link: www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/daddario-playback.

Trash talk. For a Granite Gear Grounds Keeper, it happens regularly. This team of 30 Grounds Keepers, alongside Granite Gear’s local Two Harbors Team, is on a serious mission to clean up the planet. This year, Granite Gear expanded its program to include the cleaning up of waterways and lakes in addition to trails and parks. Alongside sponsors Klean Kanteen, Backpacker’s Bistro, Recover Brand, Altra Running, and Kula Cloth, Granite Gear supported 30 passionate hikers and paddlers who committed to cleaning up our wild places in 2019. The 3rd class of Grounds Keepers removed over 4,680 pounds of trash from our country’s trails, parks and waterways. Since 2017, Grounds Keepers members have removed over 9,670 pounds (and counting) of trash from our public lands. A large portion of the trash picked up has been micro trash like bottle caps and wrappers.   “Being a part of the Granite Gear Grounds Keepers 2019 has impacted my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined,” says Perry Cohen, Founder of Venture Out Project. “From the most simple things like giving me a reason to get outside and hit the trails on rainy days when I might prefer to lounge about inside, to noticing just how much micro trash there is – especially near trailheads, to seeing just how much toilet paper is left in our natural spaces. But perhaps the thing that impacted me most about being a Grounds Keeper was the way that it helped me see that natural spaces are so much more than just trails on big mountains. I learned to find trails within cities and neighborhoods. I learned just how much green is in a park. And I met so many people who, though they didn’t consider themselves outdoorsy, would go outside each and every day for a walk in a green space.”   Perry continues, “I met people along the trail who’d ask what I was doing, who’d offer to help pick up trash, or take a photo of me. I found that by stopping on a trail to pick up a stray wrapper or bag of dog poop, I made the trash visible to others. I noticed they would stop and pick up micro trash. It seemed as though seeing someone else caring for the trails made people take pause and think about their own impact, even if it was only for a second.”   A sincere thank you goes out to the inspirational 2019 Grounds Keepers team who worked tirelessly to clean up our wild spaces and to promote the “leave it better” mission: Gabriella Allen, Tim Barton, Jason Batson, Marissa Bluestein, Austin Breen, Ethan Brown, Perry Cohen of Venture Out Project, Tyler Davidson, Kate Emmons, Alexa Everson, Britany Freeman of 11 Essential, Patrick Ganpath, Christina Hickman, Josh Johnson, Michelle Martin, Katie Martinez, Chris Mejia, Lance Ness, Aaron Oschea of Midwest Color Camp, Zach Rohe, Deirdre Rosenberg, Sunshine State Seekers Chelsey Warren and Chris Stevens, Jen Theisen, Patrick Thoits, Agnes Vianzon of Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps, Quang Vo, Doug Walters, Alex Wehrle, Thea Wingert. To our Two Harbors Team: Julie Hukriede, Derrick & Cheryl Passe, Rachel Batt, Heidi Dean, Carrie Coan, Alyssa Hastings, Erin Mecklin, Eli Hastings. #GroundsKeeper4Life   The application for the 2020 program is currently live and will close on November 15th. In 2020, Granite Gear introduces the Grounds Keepers “Legacy Team” including ten previous year’s rockstars, alongside twenty new team members. Sponsors include Klean Kanteen, Food for the Sole, Recover Brand, UCO, TerraCycle and Kula Cloth. New for 2020, Grounds Keepers will be encouraged to recycle their collected waste streams via TerraCycle’s services. TerraCycle supports the Grounds Keeper passions, goals and mission fully and looks forward to being a resource for Leave No Trace practices.   Visit www.thegroundskeepers.org to learn more about the program and follow along at #TheGroundsKeepers and the Grounds Keepers Instagram. Granite Gear (@GraniteGear) and all brand partners share stories from Grounds Keepers often. For more information on the Grounds Keepers program or sponsors, please email Julie Bacon at jbacon@granitegear.com.  

Cigarettes are the world’s most littered item and pollute the oceans with toxic microplastic. Philip Morris International, the world’s biggest tobacco firm, says even with biodegradable filters, butt-flicking is not okay. Though few people would ever say this publicly, it could be argued that, by killing 7 million people a year, tobacco companies are doing the world a favour by keeping human population growth in check.   But tobacco does more harm—or good, if you’re a hardened misanthrope with a disregard for human suffering—than merely killing people.   Smoking pollutes the air with all manner of toxins, farmers fells millions of trees to grow tobacco, dropped cigarettes start forest fires, and tobacco companies emit millions of tonnes of carbon in the curing process, guzzle millions of gallons of fresh water to process their products, and use child labour.   As if that wasn’t a big enough environmental and societal footprint, tobacco companies are now adding to the world’s electronic waste crisis by pivoting towards “heat-not-burn” products like e-cigarettes that are supposedly less likely to kill their users than lighting up a Marlboro.     But an often overlooked impact of the tobacco industry is that, of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes manufactured and smoked by 1.1 billion people annually, two-thirds of their butts are dropped irresponsibly, ultimately ending up in the sea.   Cigarette butts, which are made of non-biodegradable plastic fibres, are the most common form of marine litter, and have been reigning ocean pollution champions for more than three decades, according to beach clean up data from Ocean Conservancy, a non-governmental organisation. They are, by far, the most littered item on the planet.   Yet it is the makers of plastic bags, drink bottles and drinking straws that shoulder most of the blame for the plight of the oceans.   And while a cigarette butt is less likely to choke a turtle or starve a whale than a plastic bag, there have been calls from activists in the United States to ban cigarette filters because of the environmental damage they cause.   Researchers have found remnants of cigarette butts, which contain synthetic fibres and a smorgasboard of toxic chemicals used to treat cigarettes, in the guts of 70 per cent of seabirds and 30 per cent of sea turtles.   Cigarette butts take anywhere between 18 months to 10 years to break down in the environment, depending on the conditions, and 12 billion butts are discarded around the world every day.   Marija Sommer, spokesperson for New York-headquarted Philip Morris International, said to tackle the problem requires the three e’s—empowerment, by providing smokers with places to responsibly dispose of cigarette butts; education, making people aware of the damaging consequences of butt-flicking; and enforcement, fines and other ways of punishing litterers. She added that the role of tobacco companies in contributing to the final ‘e’ was obviously limited.   Philip Morris deployed 3,300 staff to pick up cigarette butts in parks, streets and beaches for World Cleanup Day. Image: PMI   Sommer said that Philip Morris, the world’s largest  tobacco firm that makes about US$30 billion a year from selling cigarette brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield, has been stepping up its efforts to combat littering by getting involved in clean-up operations such as World Cleanup Day, and awareness-raising campaigns.   “We need to tell people [smokers] that it’s not okay to litter. We also need to raise awareness that [butts] contain plastic. Filters are made from bioplastic [known as cellulose acetate], but still, they can take years to degrade,” she told Eco-Business.   So why don’t tobacco companies, armed with vast resources to pool into research and development, make biodegradable filters? Sommer said a biodegrable cigarette has yet to be invented, that can be handled and extinguished easily and has “the right taste”.   “If it [a biodegradable filter] altered the taste of your favourite cigarette, you might stop buying it,” she said.   And even if the industry developed a biodegradable filter, it would be extremely important not to send the wrong message to smokers that it’s okay to litter, she added.  

Butt tax?

  Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of Hong Kong-based marine plastic solutions group Ocean Recovery Alliance, said that what tobacco companies are doing now to combat cigarette butt pollution is not nearly enough.   Woodring argued that it’s much easier for people to casually flick a cigarette butt than drop a plastic bottle or drinking straw. “Education [to stop butt-flicking]? Good luck with that,” he said. To tackle the problem effectively, serious legislation is required, said Woodring. He proposes a butt tax—not to be confused with anti-obesity legislation—where an additional tax is placed on cigarettes that goes towards a fund for cleanup efforts, or a system where smokers are given rebates for disposing of smoked cigarettes at public collection points.   “Without an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law [that makes tobacco companies responsible for post-consumer tobacco waste], or some kind of tax on cigarette butts, not much is going to happen [to reduce butt littering],” he said.   Sommer said that Philip Morris supports policy measures that effectively reduce cigarette littering, including EPR laws for tobacco companies, as cigarette butts could be considered single-use plastic. But she added that such laws “need to make economic and environmental sense”.   “We are often asked why were are not recycling cigarette butts. This is because they are contaminated with toxicants, and washing butts to make them clean enough for recycling does not yet make sense from an economic or environmental perspective at a larger scale.”   Woodring pointed out that recycled butts can be used to make new products. New Jersey-based firm TerraCycle has used cigarette butts to make park benches and shipping pallets. Though the recycling process is expensive, TerraCycle receives funding from tobacco companies to make the system work.   Though EPR laws for tobacco companies do not yet exist, as they do for other companies that make plastic and electronic products, soon they will, Woodring said.   “Everywhere, when you increase the tax on cigarettes, you see a decrease in smoking. If you introduce a system that holds tobacco companies to account for their environmental damage, you’ll see a decrease in their environmental impact,” Woodring said.”   The world is moving towards EPR systems for all issues, and tobacco companies that make major changes to reduce their environmental impact now could buy themselves time before regulators legislate, Woodring added.   One country that has leant on tobacco firms to help combat cigarette butt pollution is France. If firms did not take voluntary action to address the problem they would face legislation, France’s environment ministry warned. British American Tobacco responding by saying it would work with the government to educate smokers and distribute pocket ashtrays, but rejected the idea of a butt tax. Imperial Brands said it encouraged smokers to dispose of butts responsibly, and had no plans to re-engineer its filters to make them less polluting.   In June, the European Union issued a directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, a law that will apply an EPR to the tobacco industry. Companies will have until 2024 to comply.   Sommer said that Philip Morris is “not waiting for regulations” and is already taking action to tackle cigarette filter pollution, and is also well aware of the impact of the heat-not-burn electronic products the company says it wants to replace cigarettes to bring about its mission for “a smoke-free future”.   “We have set up recycling and takeback centres that cover the majority of our [heat-not-burn] devices. This is something we’re doing regardless of the regulations,” she said, adding that the industry needs to work with governments and non-governmental organisations for any measures to be effective.   Electronic devices such as e-cigarettes are much less likely to be littered than regular cigarettes, Sommer added.   Last week, Philip Morris announced a plan to make all of its factories carbon-neutral by 2030.   Though reducing the harm its products do to its customers by encouraging a switch to heat-not-burn products is the company’s main sustainability priority, the firm’s 136-page 2018 sustainability report highlights emissions reduction, biodiversity, deforestation, water, fair working conditions and child labour as other strategic priorities.

In the Western world, people have generally got the message about recycling. Over the last 10-20 years, we’ve stopped throwing everything into landfill and have begun to take more responsibility for tossing recyclable materials into separate bins. In fact, in some parts of the world, people now have nearly half a dozen different bins to recycle everything from plastic packaging to paper to food to glass bottles.   THE FORCE OF INNOVATION  But…is recycling really worth the effort?   The sad reality is that over half of the items we put into the recycling bin aren’t even recycled at all. In the USA, only around 9% of all plastic is recycled, and what is given a second life is likely to have a huge CO2 footprint, as it’s probably shipped to a developing country for sorting and processing. In fact, we pass off such a huge quantity of trash labelled as ‘recyclable’ to other countries that they are starting to refuse it – China and the Philippines being the two most current examples.   Businesses in particular are reluctant to recycle because unlike households, they’re often charged for baling cardboard and other waste, and whilst costs are high now, these are expected to increase in the future. That’s discouraging, because businesses generally create more rubbish than the average household. Oh, and be careful you throw out the right kind of plastic into your bin, as even a small amount of the wrong type can cause an entire batch of recycled plastic to become contaminated.   So, does that mean we – households and businesses alike – should stop recycling altogether? Or is there a better way? Is Recycling Really Worth The Effort? If you think your bottles, packaging and tins just go into some magic recycling machine that makes them into other materials, well, you’re wrong. Here’s what generally happens when you recycle say, a plastic bottle: 1. Materials are collected from household bins. These are usually mixed plastic, paper, and aluminium that need to be separated by companies (and it’s not cheap to do so!). Around half of all materials received by the recycling company are not actually recyclable due to being the wrong type of material or too dirty, and will be incinerated or thrown into landfill. 2. When the plastics have been separated from metals and papers, they’re then sorted into type of plastic and sometimes, colour. 3. The plastics are run through a shredding machine. Afterwards, the shreds are washed, dried and melted. 4. The melted plastic is transformed by a large machine into flakes, which can then be spun into a very fine ‘thread’ like cotton candy. 5. These threads are used by industry to make a wide variety of products, from clothing and carpets to packaging and new bottles.   The saddest part of this is that even when used materials are perfectly and easily recycled, they tend to be made into ‘lesser’ products. A plastic bottle, for example, may be processed into unrecyclable packaging materials that end up in landfill. So, recycling often only delays the inevitable pollution by say, one disposable product’s lifetime. Greenwashing Is Rampant The problem with today’s current recycling programs is that they just don’t work. As mentioned above, half of all rubbish tossed into ‘recycling’ bins isn’t actually recycled, but it does give the consumer the sense of satisfaction that it’s ‘ok’ to buy stuff in plastic packaging because it can be recycled – though often, this is not the case. The best example? Coffee shops like Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Dunkin’ Donuts etc all have recycling bins in store for their coffee cups. They ask customers to throw out organic waste in one bin, coffee cups and plastics in another, and paper in another. But guess what? Apart from Tetrapaks, one of the most un-recyclable items we use every day are takeaway cups. Why? Because they’re lined with a fine film of plastic that’s impossible to separate from the paper cup- and which doesn’t biodegrade.   And if that’s not bad enough, consider this: a whopping 6.5 million trees are cut down each year, just to make takeaway cups. Think of how many entire forests that is! If you love coffee and tea on the go, please always bring your own refillable cup (and that goes for water, too – take your own thermos with you!)   After all, is recycling really worth the effort when you can eliminate the need for disposable products in the first place? Better Solutions A better solution is obviously to cut out plastic altogether from the product’s lifecycle. Plastic only became popular in consumer markets around one generation ago, and we did just fine without it before. But since younger generations are more accustomed to using this material, we should be using only biodegradable plastics made from plant based materials. These do exist, and they are fairly cheap to make. The problem is that the plastics industry is tightly connected to the petroleum industry, which is still very powerful. Alternatively, the responsibility for recycling plastic could be placed where it properly belongs: in the hands of the manufacturers. If they are forced to pay for the disposal of their own products, you can bet that they’ll quickly switch to the cheapest option, which is often reuse. For example, glass bottles were once the only option for purchasing soft drinks, and because the manufacturer could re-use them, deposits were left. So, if you bought a Coke for £1, you’d also have to pay a 10 cent deposit fee, which would be refunded when you returned the bottle to the shop. The bottle would then be collected by Coke to refill. This is called a closed loop recycling system, and it’s older than you think. The same system was used by milk delivery trucks to refill milk bottles when the stuff was sold in glass. It’s only recently that drinks have been packaged in Tetrapaks (which are 100% non-recyclable) and plastic bottles. A closed-loop recycling process, on the other hand, ensures we get the maximum amount of use out of any material, reducing the amount that ends up in landfill. Tech – And Creativity – Can Help Within 20 years, I predict that there will be a closed-loop recyclability index (CLR) displayed on every product, indicating both the sustainability of the manufacturing process and the cash value of the packaging once recycled using an appliance like ReCircle. Just like ingredient labelling on food, the CLR will influence what we as consumers decide to buy.   As with plastic alternatives, technological innovations can further help to reduce waste. For example, the ReCircle appliance uses sensors to identify and segment different types of plastic, glass and metal. The appliance then washes and grinds the recyclable materials for storage in its base. These pure materials are then picked up by recycling companies, and the best part? The recycler is reimbursed for the weight of recycled materials.   Appliances like this encourage all of us to recycle by offering monetary incentives, and since they only provide pure, recyclable base materials, they are a key step towards achieving 100% closed-loop recycling and helping to empower households to make purchasing decisions which take into account a product’s lifecycle assessment – after all, if you could buy product A which isn’t recyclable, or product B for the same price – but you’d be helping the planet and getting a bit of extra cash when you use the ReCircle app…well, the choice is a no-brainer.   Creative entrepreneurs have come up with other technological ideas that can reduce waste. Loop, for example, gives new life to everyday items from foods to plastic combs by transforming them into reusable packaging, which is delivered in a specialized reusable shipping tote. When finished with the product, the packaging is cleaned, collected, refilled and reused – creating a revolutionary, closed-loop shopping system.   The Future Is Sustainable So, is recycling really worth the effort? The answer is yes – kind of. Metals and paper are much more easily recycled than plastic, and for that reason, I believe the latter should be completely phased out of most consumer products. After all, it’s plastic, not paper or tins, that has cause an island of waste three times the size of France floating in our oceans! The worst part of plastic recycling schemes in general is that the public doesn’t think twice about consuming stuff packaged in plastic – the attitude is ‘oh well, I can just recycle it.” But as I explained above, plastic is a problem. Period. Fortunately, people are becoming more aware of the problems with recycling, and are demanding change from their governments. For example, in January 2019, UK Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to eliminate the UK’s plastic waste by 2042, and many countries, including Mexico, England, Burma, India and Rwanda have banned free plastic bags in stores. But how do we ensure such promises aren’t yet another greenwash? After all, the UK already said they were banning free plastic bags, but those are still readily available in any supermarket – the 3 cent charge doesn’t really deter anyone from using them. Still, my vision of the future is a positive one. More innovative technological solutions and plastic alternatives are being created all the time, and it seems Generation Z is particularly enthusiastic about ending plastic – after all, it is their future.    

While many individuals may be rightfully concerned with what’s inside their beauty products, it is equally important to consider the packaging surrounding those products. Consumers have made the push for all-natural, organic ingredients in cosmetics, but it’s time to examine the environmental impact of the product as a whole, too. The beauty industry has been widely criticized for its excessive use of packaging. The culture surrounding beauty products often revolves around the idea of luxury; whether it’s excess plastic wrappings, paper inserts, cardboard sleeves or just over-the-top use of materials for bottles and tubes, the beauty industry was founded on the idea of aesthetic surplus. Cosmetics, hair, and skincare products are responsible for enormous amounts of packaging waste, much of which is, unfortunately, not recyclable. As reported by Zero Waste, more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry. Even worse, it’s reported that only 9 percent of plastic packaging is actually recycled. Additionally, only 14 percent of Americans are recycling their bathroom bottles, while more than half of American households recycle kitchen items. Meanwhile, our oceans are becoming saturated with plastic waste.  Earth Day reports that by 2050 our oceans will have more plastics than fish, by weight. All industries need to re-evaluate their relationship with plastic waste, and the beauty industry is no exception. While some plastic use is inevitable, it’s important to be aware about its impact and to have a plan in place to reuse and recycle as much as possible.    Several beauty companies have already made efforts to prioritize sustainability in packaging. My startup Beautiac uses 100 percent fully recyclable packaging for its makeup brush subscription service. We’ve also joined TerraCycle’s zero waste program, which turns our old disposable products into community beautification projects like park benches, planters, and picnic tables. LOLI is another beauty startup using sustainable packaging, from its food-grade, glass yogurt jars (that can be reused for food storage) to certified compostable labels, bags, and boxes. Sustainability is not just for startups though; corporate giant Unilever is also working towards eco-friendly packaging. By 2025, Unilever is committed to using 100 percent recyclable plastic packaging across its entire line of products, including cosmetics. These brands among others are beginning the revolution when it comes to eco-friendly packaging.   Consumers can send a message to larger beauty brands by giving their patronage to companies that embody sustainability, which is why it’s so important to incorporate environmental awareness as a part of your brand from the ground up. Purchasing power can be a huge asset in the movement for environmentally-friendly beauty packaging. According to one study, most consumers are willing to switch brands and/or try new packaging to decrease their waste. I believe that when armed with the proper knowledge, customers will act sustainably when it comes to both the outside packaging of a product and the product itself. If companies in the beauty industry can educate their customers, with honesty, about the importance of sustainability in cosmetics, a shift will occur. It’s up to us to help the industry reverse the idea that “luxury” in beauty equates to excess. Less truly is more when it comes to beauty product packaging.

Thema Optical and Once Upon a Farm latest to partner with hard-to-recycle materials specialist

  By Keith Barker   October 22, 2019       Thema Optical, an Italian manufacturer of high-end and custom-made eyewear, with a U.S. factory in Miami, has announced a new recycling program in partnership with international recycling leader TerraCycle.   Thema manufacturers made-to-measure, unique eyewear through its patented 3D Acetate Technology. During production, some acetate waste is leftover in the manufacturing process. With the help of TerraCycle, Thema will recycle the excess acetate so that it can be processed into sheets and used to make new acetate products. "Thema is a global company that respects the importance of sustainability and the major role each of us plays as stewards of our Earth," ," said Giulia Valmassoi, chief executive officer of Thema Optical's North America branch. "Partnering with TerraCycle has made it possible to implement this new recycling program in our facility." "At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet," said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. "It's through partnerships like the one we enjoy with Thema that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations." For more information about Thema Optical, visit www.iGreenEyewear.com or call 786-803-8881.   Also recently, TerraCycle has expanded their partnership with Once Upon a Farm, a nutrition brand that makes organic, cold-pressed baby food, smoothies and applesauce, to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle packaging from their entire product line.   "Sustainability is an ongoing journey for Once Upon a Farm and we are always striving to do better and leave a better planet for the next generation," said Ari Raz, President and Co-Founder of Once Upon a Farm. "While our ultimate goal is a recyclable pouch, our partnership with TerraCycle gives consumers an easy, free option to recycle our packaging." Participation in the Once Upon a Farm Recycling Program is easy. Simply sign up on the TerraCycle program page https://www.terracycle.com/en-... and mail in the packaging using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Additionally, for every pound of waste shipped to TerraCycle, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice. "Thanks to companies like Once Upon a Farm, families can offer their children the high-quality, real food nutrition they need, while being rewarded for doing the right thing," said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. "Through the expansion of their recycling program, consumers have an opportunity to divert even more packaging from landfills and while making a positive impact on the environment for future generations." The Once Upon a Farm Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization.

Unilever's Dove brand will use only 100% recycled plastic bottles in North America and Europe by the end of 2019 -- “where technically feasible,” it says -- and will package single packs of Dove in plastic-free material around the world starting next year. “Development is also underway to replace the plastic outer wrap of beauty bar multipacks with a zero-plastic material,” Unilever reports. More radically, earlier this year, Unilever disclosed that Dove, Degree and Axe will begin testing new stick deodorant containers made of stainless steel designed to be reused and refilled up to 100 times. Calculating that a consumer would use one stick a month, that container could last more than eight years. Dove also reiterated its plans for this development on Monday. But for now -- or at least the near future -- the move to recycled plastic for containers will apply for Dove and its branch brands, Dove Men+Care and Baby Dove. “Dove continues to search for solutions where recycled plastic is not currently technically feasible, including for caps and pumps,” it says. A Nielsen report says 73% of millennials will pay more for a product made from sustainable material, and now many packages boldly boast their environmental qualifications for consumers to see. Many major brands are working on similar initiatives, but Dove says it’s ahead of the pack. “By taking these steps, Dove will be the biggest brand in the world that has moved to 100% recycled packaging," says Richard Slater, Unilever chief research and development officer, in a statement. “This should send a clear signal to the global recycling industry that there is a huge consumer demand for recycled packaging. We will continue to innovate across our brands to change the way we use plastic for good.” Earlier this month, Unilever committed itself to cutting its use of virgin plastic by half -- that's more than 100,000 tons -- by 2025, and to helping to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells. It claims those goals make it the “first major global consumer goods company to commit to an absolute plastics reduction across its portfolio.” For the recyclable deodorant sticks, Unilever is working with a Trenton, New Jersey company named Terra Cycle whose Loop system is not only being tested on several Unilever products worldwide but also by products from Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Nestle and other major brands. Under the arrangement that Unilever announced earlier, consumers would order goods from the Loop website and have them delivered conventionally. But customers will pay a deposit. When they are done, they can bring it to a retailer for a refill, or return it for a refund. The containers are cleaned and reused. ' Loop is also testing a delivery plan for a wide variety of consumer goods. Unilever has said it wants all of its plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. It believes it is making good progress, and says the company’’s packaging volume is now at the same level it was in 2010, despite “the business growing significantly.”

It’s no secret….my toddler is the pickiest eater. Like, legit – she hardly eats anything. She’s not quite 2 yet (she’ll be 2 in December) but baby girl is so set in her ways already and definitely hitting those terrible twos ahead of time #sendhelp.   Because she’s so picky, on a daily basis I try to find a healthy balance between giving her foods that she actually enjoys while still making sure that they’re nutritious and as organic as possible.   When it comes to snacks, it’s no different. As a stay at home mom, I feel like my little one is asking for snacks ALL DAY LONG (anyone else in the same boat?), so I love having healthy toddler snacks available for her at all times.   That’s why I’m loving these NEW Nature’s Heart products we recently tried from our local Publix!   PSA!!! —-> Publix is offering a deal! SAVE $.75 off ANY TWO (2) Nature’s Heart® Organic Baby Food Items! For this offer you will need to download the coupon from 10/7-12/31! This coupon expires 1/30/20. Download that coupon and get to saving, yay!!       Not only are they super convenient, but Nature’s Heart is made with organic ingredients, and while they’re packed with nutrition, they’re still really tasty. How do I know? Because my picky toddler begs me for them lol.   Mom hack- keep these Nature’s Heart pouches in your diaper bag at all times. They’re perfect for on the go snack time.       Anyway, I love being able to give Riley food that she enjoys while still knowing that it’s good for her. All ingredients in these Nature’s Heart products are USDA Organic certified and there are no added sugars or artificial flavors.   Now don’t get me wrong, Riley still eats her fair share of processed foods (girl loves herself some cheese doodles), but when I can find healthy foods and snacks that she actually likes, I try to make sure they’re as clean as possible.       Something else that’s great about these pouches? Riley can sip on them WHILE she plays! Ain’t nobody got time for a sit down kind of snack time lol. I’ll usually give her the jars during breakfast, but for snack time, it’s usually the pouches.   She’s always on the go, always playing with her toys, so I love that I can open up one of these pouches and she can keep doing her thing while getting the nutrition that she needs.   Oh and fun fact – beginning November, these pouches will be 100% recyclable through TerraCycle. Love that!   As far as easy toddler snacks go, here are a few other things Riley enjoys when I have a little more time to prepare them for her:   TODDLER SNACK IDEAS  

• Bananas
• Berries (all kinds)
• Watermelon
• Raisins
• Crackers and almond butter
• Crackers and peanut butter
• Honey oat cereal
• Apple slices
• Veggie sticks
• Apple sauce
• Snap pea crisps
• Sweet peas (depending on her mood)
• Smoothies (she likes them nice and tangy)

  So whether your little one is a calm unicorn of a toddler or a crazy little human like mine who won’t stop and sit down for snack time, I highly highly recommend these Nature’s Heart products.           What do you think? Think your little ones will like these? I’m pretty sure if Riley eats them, yours will too! Any other easy toddler snack ideas you wanna share? Let me know down below because this mama can use all the help she can get!