Despite four INC sessions between 2022 and 2024, plastic pollution has continued to rise. INC‑5 in Busan closed without agreement on the final text. Now, delegates meet again from August 5–14, 2025 in Geneva, following regional consultations on August 4.
It’s easy to talk about sustainability in terms of goals and metrics and numbers. But what really moves the needle is when people decide to act with intention — when a brand decides that their legacy won’t just be measured by the number of stores they open, but by the lives they touch along the way. These 19 electric tricycles are now out there on the streets, helping 19 families build more secure futures, helping 19 individuals take a little pride in their work, and showing their communities that dignity doesn’t have to be earned in silence. It can be celebrated.
Replacing virgin plastic with recycled plastic sounds simple on paper. But for procurement teams and packaging managers, it's anything but plug-and-play. The shift touches everything from supply chains and sourcing protocols to compliance, certifications, and consumer-facing narratives.
This World Environment Day, Garnier decided to go beyond token sustainability posts and do something real. We organised a massive beach cleanup drive across coastal India. This one brought together students, volunteers, influencers, everyday folks, and even celebrities.
As the climate emergency becomes more urgent, there is a growing expectation for capital to do more than generate profit. Investors are being called to direct their influence where it counts toward enterprises that repair, restore, and regenerate.
This is not a passing trend. It's a strategic shift. The investors of the future will be those who act today: intentionally, responsibly, and with a clear understanding of the world we need to build.
India’s plastic credit market is poised for significant growth, projected to expand by 70% to reach $1.7 billion by 2030. This surge is primarily driven by the implementation of stricter rules under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which mandates plastic producers, importers, and brand owners to incorporate recycled content in their packaging materials.
Through sustainable innovations like E-Tricycles for waste collectors in Chennai, this initiative empowers the informal recycling sector with tools that improve livelihoods, health, and dignity of labor. As part of a growing movement towards ethical recycling systems, the project addresses core challenges in plastic waste management, while promoting fair trade plastic, ocean-bound plastic solutions, and eco-friendly innovations in India.
Crispian understood what few did, that the real transformation comes from aligning policy, industry, and informal ecosystems. That we can’t build a future of responsible consumption unless we recognize every player who makes recycling possible, especially the ones at the margins.
A new OECD report confirms what many in the industry already suspected: less than 10% of plastic is recycled globally. The number has barely moved in decades. That’s despite billions spent on recycling programs, public awareness campaigns, and corporate sustainability commitments.
Over the last decade, we’ve worked to connect those waste collectors who are often unrecognized, underpaid, and excluded from the formal economy to some of the biggest brands in the world. We built this through a fully traceable, Fair Trade-verified supply chain that offers dignity, income stability, and transparency.
In India, an estimated 1.5 to 4 million people work in the informal waste sector; over 70% of them are women. These women are the backbone of urban waste management, often starting their day before sunrise, walking miles to segregate and collect plastic, glass, and other recyclables without recognition, dignity, or safety.
Plastic waste is a big part of the household trash problem, making up about 11% of everything we throw away. That’s a whopping 250 million tons of plastic waste from homes each year, with another 110 million tons coming from factories. We clearly need to find better ways to manage this waste. Plastic has been amazing for consumer goods and packaging, but it takes forever to break down and those tiny microplastics are showing up everywhere – not good news for the environment.
Plastic pollution is often seen as a global issue—and it is. But according to the “A local-to-global emissions inventory of macroplastic pollution” article, the study shows us something even more critical: it’s also a very local issue. The new inventory doesn’t just highlight the global scope of plastic emissions; it zooms in on specific hotspots where plastic waste is being mismanaged. From crowded urban centres to remote rural areas, the data reveals where waste is leaking out of the system and ending up in our environment.
The Plastic Waste Management Framework underscores the need for a multifaceted approach to combat plastic waste. Countries must adopt contextually tailored strategies that consider their specific national circumstances, infrastructure capacities, and resources. The framework’s emphasis on integrating waste pickers, enforcing EPR, and utilising tools like DRS provides a roadmap for improving plastic waste management systems globally.
A recent report, “Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap,” lays it all out: governments in the top 15 polymer-producing countries are spending over USD 30 billion each year to subsidise plastic production. That’s right—while we’re scrambling to fix the mess plastic is causing, some of the world’s biggest economies are still propping up its production.
Plastic is one of the most versatile and cost-effective packaging materials ever developed. It’s lightweight, durable, and scalable. But we’re managing it like a single-use liability rather than a long-term asset.
Currently, less than 20% of global plastic waste is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, incinerators, or worse leaking into the environment. That’s more than a sustainability issue; it’s a glaring failure in resource utilization and material recovery.
The last session in Busan revealed a deep divide among nations. On one side, over 100 countries including EU members and small island states advocated for bold, binding measures like plastic production caps and chemical bans. On the other, oil-producing nations and industry-heavy economies resisted, citing economic dependencies and feasibility concerns.
The path to a circular economy can be challenging. Though things are changing, companies can still face some big hurdles, but the payoff is enormous. Switching to circular models is costly, and companies often balk at the price tag of overhauling their production lines and supply chain. Plus, there's the headache of tracking materials from start to finish.
Sustainability commitments are driving a surge in rPET usage across industries. The European Union now requires all PET beverage bottles to contain at least 25% recycled plastic by 2025. Meanwhile, major brands have set ambitious targets of incorporating up to 50% recycled plastic into their packaging.
In our desperate search for solutions to the global plastic waste crisis, a dangerous idea has gained traction: burning plastic as a disposal method. This seemingly simple solution masks a multitude of severe consequences that threaten not only our immediate health but the very future of our planet. As we stand at the crossroads of environmental charge and convenience, it's crucial to understand why incinerating plastic is not just ill-advised—it's a potential catastrophe waiting to unfold.
