New York, Sept. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New York, Sep 13, 2023 - Today, 14 household brands from across the globe are coming together to tackle the pressing issue of plastic pollution. Through their partnership with rePurpose Global, the leading plastic action platform, these companies from the household products industry have committed to measuring, reducing, and taking action on their plastic footprints. Biom, Cleancult, Myni, Bamboo and Lily, R5 Living, Wild Clean, Defunkify, HINOK, Grove Collaborative, Dr Octo, Bearaby, Summerdown, Murphy’s Naturals, and Ekam Eco Solutions, have committed to both reducing their plastic intensity and supporting the recovery and removal of their sales equivalent of plastic waste otherwise bound for the environment, while supporting frontline waste workers.
In 2023, over 68.6 million tons of plastic will end up in nature due to the imbalance between the plastics we produce and our capacity to manage waste at the end of its life. Our current waste management capacity is so poor that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled and 22% of plastic waste is mismanaged worldwide. Furthermore, many household products utilize short-life plastics which encompasses plastic packaging and single-use plastics. These plastics account for 37% of the total plastic sold annually in the world.
As such, the companies partnered with rePurpose Global are actively working to reduce their plastic intensity. Cleancult uses 90% less plastic compared to alternatives. By using recyclable paper cartons and adopting its cleaner refill ritual, an average customer with Cleancult can avoid the use of 55.8 pounds of plastic per year. Similarly, Grove Collaborative is committed to plastic-free revenue growth, which separates plastic from profit. Grove Collaborative’s industry-first Plastic Scorecard which publicly reports its total plastic footprint highlights that the company is making strides in reducing the pound of plastic per $100 revenue for Grove-owned brands, brands on its e-commerce website, and any other third-party brands it sells.
In addition, these companies have collectively enabled rePurpose Global to recover over 7.6 million pounds of plastic waste from entering natural environments in India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Colombia to date. In doing so, they've not only helped protect fragile ecosystems but are also making a positive impact on the lives of more than 900 waste workers, who now enjoy increased incomes and enhanced social security. Furthermore, the household brands’ ongoing support of rePurpose Impact Projects are on track to prevent an additional 3 million pounds of plastic from escaping into the environment each year, while enabling the provision of critical waste collection services for underserved communities worldwide.
Speaking about its partnership with rePurpose Global, Richard Geiger, CEO of Defunkify shared that, “Defunkify is cleaning up the laundry business to bring more effective, and safer cleaning products to market. We also recognize that packaging presents a key opportunity to amplify the positive impacts of our formulas. That's why we were so eager to measure and act against our plastic footprint with rePurpose, and help accelerate our world’s transition to a circular economy.”
“Our partnership with rePurpose Global builds on our mission to clean up the household industry and box out single-use plastic from cleaning rituals for good. We are always excited to hear about the progress at rePurpose’s Project Sueño Azul in Bogotá, Colombia, and the innovative ways they are turning flexible plastic waste into useful products such as plastic wood used in construction for public works like park benches, and even housing for frontline waste workers.” shared Ryan Lupberger, Co-Founder & CEO at Cleancult.
“We hope that other brands in the household sector are inspired to innovate solutions to the plastic packaging problem. Building a future free from waste is a collective effort, and we are excited to be working with forward-thinking companies to accelerate systems change against plastic pollution across the globe,” emphasized Svanika Balasubramanian, rePurpose Global CEO & Co-Founder.
To date, rePurpose Global has recovered 38,244,358 pounds of nature-bound plastic while empowering businesses to measure and reduce their plastic use, but there is much still to be done. The plastic pollution problem requires a collective effort across all industries to cap and reduce global plastic production and develop alternatives that are not only more sustainable but eventually free of plastic.
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ABOUT REPURPOSE GLOBAL
rePurpose Global is the world’s leading Plastic Action Platform, bringing together brands, consumers, innovators, and policymakers to collectively combat the plastic waste crisis. Through its pioneering solutions across the circular economy value chain, rePurpose has helped more than 300 companies measure and reduce their plastic footprints, while driving systems change on a global scale.
rePurpose Impact Projects have recovered over 38 million pounds of plastic waste from the environment to date, protecting vulnerable coastal regions across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In doing so, the organization is delivering critically lacking waste management services to millions of people, while positively impacting the lives of thousands of marginalized waste workers worldwide.
Founded in 2016, rePurpose Global now employs over 70 full-time team members across offices in the US, London, Bangalore, and Mumbai. For more information, please visit https://repurpose.global/.
