Environment and sustainability are the two words that are appearing a lot more often in the our vocabulary when discussing fashion and beauty, and now there is a new initiative to tackle the global plastic crisis.
Stella McCartney.
There’s no denying that our use of plastic is having a severe effect on the planet with experts estimating that by 2050 there will be more plastic waste in our oceans than fish. A sense of urgency to make a change has encourage global brands to sign up to a newly launched programme called New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
Launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Environment, it aims to decrease plastic pollution through various strategies with Burberry, L’Oreal and Stella McCartney already on board. Executive Director Erik Solheim said in a release:
“Ocean plastic is one of the most visible and disturbing examples of a plastic pollution crisis. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment is the most ambitious set of targets we have seen yet in the fight to beat plastics pollution. It sets out the steps businesses and governments must take if we are to find a solution to the root causes of plastic pollution and we urge all those working towards dealing with this global issue to sign it.”
Burberry.
Overall, the response has been a success with organisations which represent 20 per cent of the world’s plastic packaging production signing up with an understanding that they will publicly disclose their progress which can include eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging, strive to make packaging easily recyclable by 2025 and to circulate the plastic produced.
