2030 is a terrifying year. 12 years from now we will finally reach the point of no return. As experts have put it, by the year 2050, there will be more plastics than fish in our oceans. This harrowing news has hit the globe not too long ago and change just has to begin now. On the bright side, we’re looking at brands that are doing their parts in making a change now, buying us more time.
We have seen brands ultimately ban fur from their products. While this is a different advocacy, it helps preserve the wildlife and promote a more balanced ecology. This isn’t the only step brands have taken to help the environment. Recently, brands have also signed a pledge to help eliminate plastic waste.
Retail giant H&M and luxe brands Burberry and Stella McCartney have all signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Aiming to “eradicate plastic waste and pollution at the source”, the pledge created by UN Environment and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is only the beginning. Other brands such as L’Oréal, Mars, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Unilever are also one with this global commitment. Seeing the brands we patronize follow the path to more sustainable industries give us more hope that 2030 might not be the end of it.
The commitment includes the following targets: eliminate, innovate, and circulate. Every brand must eliminate unnecessary plastic packagings and products to reusable models. They must also innovate to ensure products can be easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025. Not but not least, circulate every plastic produced with the increase of reused and recycled products. Renewed every 18 months, the pledge requires a published annual report from each brand.
“This is just one step on what will be a challenging journey, but one which can lead to huge benefits for society, the economy and the environment,” Dame Ellen MacArthur said in a statement. As brands begin to carry the weight of the industry’s consequences, we’re only looking at a brighter future ahead of us. Though with targets locked at the source, we too must do our parts in helping. A simple “reduce, reuse, recycle” may be overused for many but these very words are only the beginning. A lot can happen in 12 years. Following the footsteps of these brands can do a lot more than we think.