The fashion industry’s embrace of recycled polyester is a shift in how industries think about materials, people and responsibility. Plastic-recovery, textile production and social inclusion are now a part of the same story of circularity and purpose.
For supply-chains, this means recognising plastic waste as a valuable resource. For brands, it means aligning material-choices with genuine impact, not just marketing. For communities, it means opportunity, dignity and participation in a global movement for change.
As regulators ease pressure or shift priorities, many businesses quietly reduce their ESG oversight. But the risks don’t fade just because the rules do. When scrutiny drops, blind spots widen. And those blind spots whether in labour practices, environmental safety, or supplier integrity can cost companies far more than compliance ever did.
From January 2026, PET beverage bottles sold in Japan will be required to contain at least 15% recycled plastic by weight to receive official certification. Along with this, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has mandated a new set of design criteria: bottles must be colourless, labels must be easily separable, and caps must exclude PVC.
Many corporate compliance frameworks are optional, but they push competitors to set goals and refine operations. Many guidelines from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) bridge quality in sustainability, demonstrating how environmental awareness yields profitable and streamlined results. How do the rules relate to greener ventures and produce higher-quality products?
According to the World Bank, the global financing gap to achieve a circular plastics economy ranges from USD 426 billion to USD 1.2 trillion by 2040. Plastic credits offer a scalable pathway to channel corporate and institutional capital directly into verified waste recovery and recycling projects.
Recent projections from Precedence Research show that the rPET market is on track to grow from USD 12.76 billion in 2025 to USD 26.78 billion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.53%. This isn’t incremental growth, it’s a doubling of market value within a single decade.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
