Inspiring Change
Everything we do at A Plastic Planet supports our single goal;
to ignite and inspire the world to turn off the plastic tap.
15 May 2023
MEPS DEMAND BAN ON THE UNINTENTIONAL RELEASE OF MICROPLASTICS
25 MEPs have signed an open letter to Frans Timmermans demanding measures to prohibit and reduce the release of unintentional micro- and nanoplastics during production processes.
Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet & PlasticFree, also called for systemic change: “We must rethink how we take, make and waste, and reimagine new systems and material uses in a very different way from today. It is this coupled with comprehensive global legislation that has the protection of human health at its core that will provide lasting protections and change.”
22 April 2023
Earth Day is a corporate excuse to talk about “green” credentials, says Sian Sutherland on Times Radio
With our toxic culture of hyperconsumerism, corporates tend to use days of environmental awareness to shield their inaction.
Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, spoke on Times Radio, discussing why Earth Day may be well-intentioned for many, but is in reality, simply another exercise of greenwashing.
Sian Says, “These tokenistic single days really do become a corporate excuse to talk about “green” credentials…and what it does is trivialise the gravitas of the situation that we find ourselves in right now.”
“It’s definitely been a fulcrum of activism when you see what’s happening around the Houses of Parliament… I applaud the people that are doing something about it, even risking being arrested… These people are the Suffragettes of the future.”
21 April 2023
Scotland delays Deposit Return Scheme until March 2024
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced that the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks packaging will no longer launch this August, with a seven-month delay confirmed.
A Plastic Planet’s co-founder Sian Sutherland called the delay “disappointing to say the least”. She said: By the time we actually introduce DRS in UK at large, brands and retailers will have leapfrogged to even simpler systems of pre-filled reusable standardised packaging. Has DRS missed its original boat?”
12 April 2023
Anti-plastic group has beef with Sainsbury’s vac pack mince over recycling
An anti-plastic group has criticised Sainsbury’s for swapping its mince out of hard plastic trays into vac packs.
The supermarket said the change will see 55% less plastic used, after some customers said it turned the mince to mush and was hard to cook with.
Campaign group A Plastic Planet said the vacuum packs will not go in most household recycling collections.
5 April 2023
Plastic wet wipes to be banned in England next year
Environment minister Thérèse Coffey has told BBC News that almost all wet wipes will be banned in England as part of plans to reduce water pollution.
According to the BBC report, the ban is part of a wider plan to reduce water pollution and improve water quality in England; however, the proposed ban has been called “weak” by opposition parties and environmental groups.
A Plastic Planet said that “of course” plastic wet wipes should be banned but the announcement feels like an attempt to “spin a news story” rather than a serious strategy.
5 April 2023
UK plastic packaging tax comes into force: Here’s everything you need to know
The Plastic Packaging Tax came into force on 1 April 2022 and affects an estimated 20,000 businesses across a broad range of sectors.
A recent Freedom of Information request from packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo showed the tax was on course to beat its first-year target, generating over £200m in revenue and exceeding the HMRC first-year target by more than £30 million.
But A Plastic Planet says “far from being a sign of success, this shows that the tax has failed to deter the use of virgin plastics. You only pay the tax if you don’t meet the recycled content percentage so there‘s nothing to celebrate when thousands of businesses clearly prefer to continue using virgin plastic and just pay the tax.”
4 April 2023
Why we’re all being taken in by eco-fraud, and how to avoid being fooled
As consumers become more interested in eco-credentials, brands are cottoning on to our environmental anxiety as a way to make money. But the products aren’t always as virtuous as the packaging suggests.
“Nature-friendly”, “biodegradable”, “kinder to the earth” read the shiny packages. Contented cows and little bunny rabbits with fluffy ears gambol across green fields. Supermarket shelves are flush with such products.
4 April 2023
How to go plastic free: igniting and inspiring the world to turn off the plastic tap – Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet
Sian Sutherland is the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, the campaign group supporting one single goal: to ignite and inspire the world to turn off the plastic tap. It’s a straight talking message that looks to reject the information and greenwashing around plastic, increasing the use of materials that nature can handle, and eliminating those it cant.
4 April 2023
From Skin Care to Planet Care with Sian Sutherland
Sian Sutherland shares her one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial journey, from running restaurants in London to creating a pregnancy skin care brand that was acquired by a billion dollar ecommerce retailer. How did she attract this huge buyer, and why did her team leave within 3 months of the acquisition? Listen to find out.
4 April 2023
DESIGNING PLASTIC FREE: WHY AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
Have you ever wondered what the world could look like by turning off the plastic tap?
No, it is not about demonizing plastic, it is about finding what can make his work without undesirable impacts!
And, believe me, Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, has more than one trick up her sleeve to turn that into a very practical and appealing reality.
4 April 2023
Climate Crisis – Climate Solutions
In a special live event held in partnership with The Conduit, we welcomed Sir David King, the former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government and the Chairman of the Centre for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge; Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a global campaign aimed at reducing plastic pollution; and Ari Helgason, a climate technology investor who is passionate about finding and funding innovative solutions to the climate crisis.
21 March 2023
PLASTICFREE GLOBAL LAUNCH IN NEW YORK
A series of fast-paced talks were delivered from creatives across multiple disciplines who all seek to move from words, pledges and pacts to actual change, kicked off by Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet and Founder of PlasticFree.
Talks were also delivered by co-founder and CEO of plant-based clothing company UNLESS Collective, Eric Liedtke, founding partner and creative director of creative studio Made Thought Ben Parker, co-founder of creative agency PENGARNA Tom Arden.
The event brought together leading creative professionals to interrogate the question: “Why are we still talking about the problem when we have so many answers?”
21 March 2023
Designers, scientists and business leaders champion plastic free solutions platform
Over 40 of the world’s leading designers, scientists, and business leaders have united in their support of the world’s first materials and systems solutions platform, PlasticFree.
The new platform aims to combat the scourge of plastic and single-use systems and is powered by global solutions group A Plastic Planet. The goal is to help designers and business leaders eradicate one trillion pieces of plastic waste from the global economy by 2025.
18 January 2023
England to ban some single-use plastic items from October
England will ban a range of single-use plastic items such as cutlery, plates and bowls from October in an effort to limit soaring plastic pollution, Britain’s environment department said on Saturday.
The decision follows a public consultation by the government in which 95% of respondents were in favour of the bans, the department said in a statement.
“We all know the absolutely devastating impacts that plastic can have on our environment and wildlife,” Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said. “These new single-use plastics bans will continue our vital work to protect the environment.”
18 January 2023
England bans single-use plastic plates and cutlery to limit “devastating” pollution
“The plastic sachet, the ultimate symbol of our grab-and-go, convenience-addicted lifestyle, should be the next target in DEFRA’s sights,” Sian Sutherland of environmental organisation A Plastic Planet told Dezeen.
“Twelve months ago, our government committed to such a ban. Let’s make this a true world-first for the UK instead of just following Europe’s faster footsteps.”
18 January 2023
PlasticFree launches materials solution platform for designers
The platform has been designed by Made Thought, which has worked with A Plastic Planet since 2017. Sutherland says it was important to have “a creative agency of such calibre” working on the UX design because designers, being the primary audience, would have high expectations of it. Webfire is the technology partner responsible for the build of the platform.
The platform underwent two years of user testing via research groups, including CPGs such as Unilever, Pepsico, as well as design agencies. Following this, there was beta testing by PlasticFree’s audience. Sutherland explains that the platform “will never be “finished’” as such, because new content will upload daily, the My Workspace collaborative areas, will “evolve” and other platforms such as Miro (an online whiteboard tool) and computer aided design software, will be “integrated”.
18 January 2023
PlasticFree is a database of over 100 plastic alternatives for designers and architects
“No designer on the planet wants to make branded trash,” the organisation’s co-founder Sian Sutherland told Dezeen. “They did not go to design school and care about everything that they produce every single day for it to end up in a bin.”
“But I don’t think designers have been trained for what is expected of them today,” she added. “So we wanted to create an absolutely authoritative, unbiased, material-agnostic platform that designers can use to learn about materials and their systems.”
PlasticFree is the result of more than two years of research and development in collaboration with a 40-strong council of scientists, business leaders and industry figureheads including Stirling Prize-winner David Chipperfield, designer Tom Dixon and curator Aric Chen.
12 January 2023
New online tool aims to help designers ‘rethink’ packaging
OVER 40 designers, scientists, and business leaders are championing PlasticFree – a new online tool for materials and systems solutions.
Powered by A Plastic Planet, it aims to help designers and business leaders eradicate one trillion pieces of plastic waste from the global economy by 2025. The hope is that users will be empowered to ‘rethink’ packaging, textiles and products.
12 January 2023
Design icons champion new plastic free solutions platform
Hosted on PlasticFree.com, the platform’s Advisory Council includes design icons such as: Thomas Heatherwick; Sir David Chipperfield; Tom Dixon; Shaway Yeh and Skylar Tibbits of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Launching today, the platform is set to combat the scourge of plastic and single-use systems.
Powered by global solutions group A Plastic Planet, it aims to help designers and business leaders eradicate one trillion pieces of plastic waste from the global economy by 2025.
12 January 2023
Designers champion new plastic free solutions platform
Hosted on PlasticFree.com, the platform’s Advisory Council includes designers including Thomas Heatherwick, Sir David Chipperfield, Tom Dixon, Shaway Yeh and Skylar Tibbits of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Launching today (11 January), A Plastic Planet says the platform is set to combat the scourge of plastic and single-use systems.
12 January 2023
Want To Go PlasticFree?
When it comes to packaging, it looks like going plastic-free just got a little bit easier.
Launching today, PlasticFree is a materials and systems solution platform that seeks to make the world a little less reliant on environmentally destructive and harmful plastics. Spearheaded by global solutions group A Plastic Planet (APP) and developed by over 40 designers, materials experts, scientists, and business leaders, PlasticFree is a much-needed design tool that aims to empower 160 million global creators and designers to utilize plastic-free alternatives.
17 October 2022
KING CHARLES III IS RIGHT – IT’S TIME TO TURN OFF THE PLASTIC TAP AT HOME
23 May 2022
A PLASTIC PLANET FEATURE IN THE TELEGRAPH
“World leaders can effect change – but they need to be brave and back ways to create a non-toxic future” – Sian Sutherland, Co founder of A plastic Planet
30 April 2022
Plastic-free Pint
“Plastic cups are the 6th most commonly found item in Britain’s rivers, and 8th on Britain’s beaches” – Sian Sutherland
5 April 2022
CHEMICAL RECYCLING IS NOT THE ANSWER TO OUR PLASTIC CRISIS
A Plastic Planet point out the reasons why in our letter in The Times, signed and supported by cross party UK MPs and scientist.
2 April 2022
Co Founder of Plastic Planet speaks on the Plastic Packaging Tax
“Sobering data shows that, if we continue with our business as usual approach, we can expect to mismanage 7.7 billion tonnes of plastic over the next two decades – the equivalent to 16 times the weight of the entire human population on Earth today” – Sian Sutherland
4 March 2022
A Plastic Planet partner, SailGP Team Japan prepare for San Fran sustainability race!
4 March 2022
Global Plastics Treaty: WE HAVE A MANDATE – OPLN Special Report
“World leaders must now show even more resolve in developing and implementing a treaty which addresses our current plastic pollution crisis and enables an effective transition to a circular economy for plastic.” – Andersen
2 March 2022
A Plastic Planet feature in Edie on UNEA 5.2
Last year A Plastic Planet called for a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, and the world’s leaders have listened – Sian Sutherland
24 February 2022
A Plastic Planet feature in Resource
“Responding to the report, Sian Sutherland, A Plastic Planet co-founder, commented: ‘Finally some sanity in the crazy nanny-state world of food retailing. Six years ago, we launched the Plastic Free Aisle in Amsterdam. That’s 6 years of feet-dragging from UK supermarkets, continuing to default to plastic to wrap fruit and vegetables that Nature already gave a protective layer.'”- Resource
23 February 2022
A Plastic Planet feature in The Times
“We are lagging drastically behind other countries in this regard. In France, legislation will see at least 20 per cent of supermarkets’ floorspace dedicated to refillable options. In Spain, the sale of all fruit and vegetables in plastic will be prohibited by 2023” – Sian Sutherland, Co founder of A plastic Planet
21 February 2022
A Plastic Planet feature on NBC News Live
“Coming out the pandemic we will see we need to nurture nature now. We need to live in harmony. Plastic cannot do that. How many times do we need that to be proven to us?” – Sian Sutherland, Co Founder of A Plastic Planet
17 February 2022
Co-founder of A Plastic Planet interviews Unilever’s Head of Packaging, Pablo Costa
Don’t miss the interview titled ‘The future of plastic – how to fix the broken system’
12 January 2022
Sack the Sachet campaign backed by UK MPs
“Single-use sachets for ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar and other condiments are expected to be banned from restaurants and takeaways to reduce plastic waste.” – The Times
1 November 2021
Shock as plastic rubbish patch washes up outside of COP26
“Plastic is our environmental crisis in plain sight. It is the canary in the climate crisis coal mine, so it is somehow fitting that our guilty habits have washed up on the shores of the Clyde and The Extreme Hangout.” – Sian Sutherland
26 October 2021
Boris Johnson and A Plastic Planet say recycling plastic doesn’t work
“You can rely on Boris to stir up a controversy, and he certainly has by telling the truth and popping the myth bubble that recycling is the solution to our plastic crisis,” – Sian Sutherland
21 October 2021
When you should (and shouldn’t) use compostable packaging
“If you want to move business to adopt more mainstream composting materials for the right uses, then we have to point out that there is an economic opportunity” – Sian Sutherland
20 October 2021
PLASTICS REPORT GUIDES DESIGN INDUSTRY ON APPROPRIATE COMPOSTABLES USAGE
“A like-for-like switch from plastic to compostable packaging across all packaging segments will not work, but understandably there is currently great confusion for packaging designers and brand managers. We wanted to clarify exactly why and when compostable packaging is a good solution.” – Sian Sutherland
9 October 2021
Japan SailGP Team urges Cádiz residents to take the ‘plastic promise’ for race weekend
“A Plastic Planet’s “Working Towards Plastic Free” Commitment Mark will appear on the team’s 24 metre wingsail during the race”
29 September 2021
A Plastic Planet and Made Thought talk creativity at the Dieline conference
20 September 2021
A Plastic Planet supports the World To Do List
“Tackling the world’s plastic crisis directly impacts the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals because plastic pollutes our entire biosphere and comes from the unsustainable, non renewable source – fossil fuels” – Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet
13 September 2021
Japanese boat comes sailing with a message to the people of Aarhus: Drop plastic
“the Japanese sailing team has entered into a collaboration with the organization A Plastic Planet, and the Aarhus co-founder Frederikke Magnussen is pleased” – Jyllands Posten
10 September 2021
Take the Saint-Tropez Plastic Promise
Join A Plastic Planet and Sail GP’s latest plastic promise in Saint-Tropez
16 July 2021
Join the Japan SailGP team in their Plymouth Plastic Promise
“The SailGP team from Japan have launched an environmental campaign, backed by PlymouthLive, for themselves and others to cut down on their plastic waste and work towards a “plastic free world” – Plymouth Herald
15 July 2021
Japan Sail GP Team work towards plastic free
Watch our video on our partnership with Japan Sail GP Team and how they are Working Towards Plastic Free!
15 July 2021
Japan SailGP team up with A Plastic Planet to unwrap their plastic free purpose ahead of Plymouth race weekend
“It’s important that as a nation we start working towards being plastic free, and we’re proud to be displaying this message and purpose on our boat to a global audience.” – Kazuhiko “Fuku” Soufuku, COO of the Japan SailGP Team
6 July 2021
#PlasticFreeFashion
Watch our video on the Plastic Free Fashion movement to learn more about our collaboration with Ubuntoo
5 July 2021
The British Beauty Council has formed the Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC) with A Plastic Planet as a founding member
“We believe the UK beauty and wellness industry must play its part in bringing about bold, urgent change. We have a strong voice, reputation and reach, and we need to use it” – Sian Sutherland
1 July 2021
80% of Shoppers Want Plastic Waste Warning Labels On Clothes, Survey Finds
“This is about transparency and choice. Shoppers deserve to know the impact their clothes are having on the planet.” – A Plastic Planet
1 July 2021
A Plastic Planet has launched the Plastic Free Fashion GreenHouse on Ubuntoo’s solution platform
The campaign focuses on the plastic crisis within the fashion industry and the GreenHouse will facilitate in finding viable, sustainable solutions to plastic fashion
30 June 2021
A new poll shows 8 in 10 want plastic warning label for clothes
“For years the fashion industry’s impact on plastic pollution has gone under the radar. But now the truth is known on the huge volumes of fossil fuels being used to make our clothing and the plastic microfibres that are being shed into our air as we wear them, and flushed down our drains with every wash.” – Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet
30 June 2021
UK GOVERNMENT URGED TO LABEL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES WITH PLASTIC CONTENT
Thank you to our signatories Sian Sutherland – Co-founder, A Plastic Planet; Mary Portas – Retail expert and broadcaster; Orsola de Castro & Carry Somers – Founders, Fashion Revolution; Dr Shanna Swan – Author & Professor of Environmental Health & Medicine …
28 May 2021
The Plastic Free Innovation of the Year Award goes to The Prescription Paper Pill Bottle
26 May 2021
UK Government to put a global plastics treaty on the G7 Summit agenda
A Plastic Planet, experts, politicians and environmental campaigners have signed a letter to the Government to put a plastics treaty on the G7 Summit agenda
12 April 2021
Poll Shows UK support for A Plastic Planet’s sachet ban
“There is clear public consensus that pumping out billions of single-use sachets, useful for moments, polluting for centuries is now unacceptable. Somehow this pernicious use of plastic, the sachet, has slipped under all radars and it has to be stopped” – Sian Sutherland
3 February 2021
A Plastic Planet features in Sky Ocean Ventures event
“There will not be a business out there that does not have some kind of initiative about plastic right now. Nearly every one of those voluntary commitments is set to fail” – Sian Sutherland
1 February 2021
See A Plastic Planet and Dove’s Vice President discussing the revolutionary refillable deodorant
“Durable was the key word that everybody was trying to achieve. Beautiful. Useful. Durable. Because this is something that you are going to keep forever.” – Sian Sutherland
22 January 2021
A Plastic Planet feature in the guardian following our campaign to the government
“If the government continues to backtrack on key environmental pledges we are never going to see the ‘Green Brexit’ we were all promised. With Cop26 right around the corner, now is the time for Britain to show the world it means business when it comes to tackling the pressing issues of plastic pollution and climate change, but we will never truly combat the plastic crisis if we continue to hide our guilt in other people’s backyards” – A Plastic Planet in The Guardian
22 January 2021
A Plastic Planet feature in EDIE, following our letter to the Government
‘The UK has exported around two-thirds of its plastic waste over the past ten years, according to campaign group A Plastic Planet. Much of this material will have been sent to non-OECD countries which often do not have the infrastructure to process it. As a result, plastic is regularly dumped or buried’ – EDIE
22 January 2021
GOVERNMENT MUST STOP POST-BREXIT BACKTRACKING ON ENVIRONMENT
A Plastic Planet, experts, politicians and environmental campaigners have signed a letter to the Government to stop backtracking on key environmental pledges and close a loophole allowing plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries
6 January 2021
Unilever innovates durable, reusable and refillable packaging to help eliminate waste
“Our first deodorant to be circular by design, made from stainless steel and developed to last forever” – Unilever
9 December 2020
A Plastic Planet calls for ban on valueless single-use beauty sachets
“This is a time for radical reinvention, to ensure that your business is built for a new, greener future” – Sian Sutherland
26 November 2020
A Plastic Planet’s Sack the Sample Sachet campaign featured on Sky News
26 November 2020
A Plastic Planet’s urge to ‘Sack the Sample Sachet’ features in the BBC
“The plastic sachet, the ultimate symbol of our grab and go, convenience-addicted lifestyle, has been virtually invisible to all” – Sian Sutherland
26 November 2020
A Plastic Planet’s call for the ban on sample sachets features in the Telegraph
“The hundreds of billions of sample sachets pumped out by the personal and home care industries each year are used to drive instant sales but will pollute the planet for centuries.” – Sian Sutherland
26 November 2020
A Plastic Planet’s ‘Sack the Sample Sachet’ campaign features in The Guardian
“We’ve seen governments across the world crow about bans on single-use plastics, but the sample sachet is a huge piece of the pollution puzzle.” – Sian Sutherland
26 November 2020
Sky News reports A Plastic Planet’s call to sack the sample sachet
“It’s now time for both industries to not only look to end their addiction to sample sachets, but also look to tackle plastic across all areas” – Sian Sutherland
26 November 2020
Read our letter to the UK Government and European Union on banning plastic sample sachets
20 November 2020
A Plastic Planet have won Green Pioneer 2020 at the P.E.A awards
16 November 2020
Sian Sutherland, Co Founder of A Plastic Planet, listed in Forbes top 100 leading environmentalists
“Each one of these women has faced challenges, overcome discrimination (or worse), felt imposter syndrome and yet, somehow, managed to make a real and lasting difference in the world. I recommend each one to you as highly as I can and with my heart full to bursting with wonder and awe at what they are all achieving” – Solitaire Townsend
28 October 2020
A Plastic Planet featured in EMG GOLD: The Plastic Pandemic Emergency
“We were proud this year to work with packaging designers, Reelbrands and Tams Packaging, to develop plastic-free visors to protect frontline workers without adding to plastic pollution” – Sian Sutherland
20 October 2020
A Plastic Planet featured on Speciality Food Talks: A Sustainable Future
“I believe that we can change… We’re working with Kraft Heinz on a fast-track project where we are absolutely determined to crack the Tomato Ketchup sachet for them, because that’s 90% of their volume in sachets” – Sian Sutherland
10 October 2020
A Plastic Planet featured in Fast Company’s Innovation Awards for the invention of our Plastic Free PPE
6 October 2020
Comic Relief reveals world’s first 100% plastic-free red nose
“It’s great that the iconic Comic Relief Red Nose is no longer made from indestructible plastic that will exist for centuries after this fundraising day is over. This is a big step forward and we hope it doesn’t end here.” – Sian Sutherland
1 October 2020
Ban on plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds begins
“Of course any ban on pointless plastic is a good thing. But let’s not congratulate ourselves in the UK that we are making any real dent in the plastic waste mountain. Shame on us for delaying this ban six months when the rest of Europe stuck to the April deadline.” – Sian Sutherland
29 September 2020
A Plastic Planet’s ongoing project with Thornton Budgens wins the Excellence in Sustainability award 2020
24 September 2020
Labour MP Geraint Davis supports A Plastic Planet’s Early Day Motion
“That this House believes that transparent reporting on plastic use is critical to reducing plastic waste; notes that existing pacts and pledges have failed to have a significant impact on the amount of plastic polluting the environment..and backs campaign group A Plastic Planet’s calls for UK supermarkets to transparently report their plastic use; and calls on the Government to introduce mandatory annual reporting on plastic packaging use by UK supermarkets alongside targets to reduce it” – Labour MP
21 September 2020
The International Food and Drink Event interview A Plastic Planet’s Co-Founde
18 September 2020
The real stats don’t lie; big plastic is on the run
Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet, publishes piece on plastic in the Guardian
“The world’s biggest polluters are on borrowed time”
16 September 2020
Iceland joins the Uk’s leading campaigners to call for transparency on plastic pollution reporting: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”
“For years UK supermarkets have been hiding behind half truths and incomplete data, never fully disclosing the enormous scale of the plastic within their own businesses. This bold move by Iceland must quickly be adopted by all UK retailers. If the retailers use their collective might, the brands will soon have to follow and we will finally see some real plastic reduction rather than yet more pacts and pledges” – Sian Sutherland
16 September 2020
Iceland publishes its own plastic footprint as part of the #oneplasticfootprint campaign
“This bold move by Iceland must quickly be adopted by all UK retailers. If the retailers use their collective might, the brands will soon have to follow and we will finally see some real plastic reduction rather than yet more pacts and pledges” – Sian Sutherland
2 September 2020
A Plastic Planet feature on Radio 4’s Today Programme to discuss plastic bags
“Far from being a ‘world leader’, the UK lag behind in most plastic reduction initatives, We delayed the single use plastic ban 6 months, whereas Europe stuck to the agreed timetable. We still export over 60% of our plastic waste. Turkey alone receives up to 200 huge shipping containers every day, packed with our UK plastic waste. We need less deflection, less consultations, less pacts and pledges and more action” – Sian Sutherland
11 August 2020
Plastic Free July with Client Earth
“Corporate risk is the lever of change. The public are completely disempowered. We buy what we are sold – stop making it our problem, it isn’t our problem, we just need be sold different things. This is not the public’s fault. Industry – that’s where change can happen.” – Sian Sutherland
1 August 2020
A Plastic Planet feature on Sky News to discuss the toxic time bomb of plastic pollution
“Yet again, here we are reverting back to this dinosaur material that we all now know, we’ve seen it proven time and time again, is highly destructive to the environment” – Sian Sutherland
28 July 2020
Worlds First: Couple say ‘I do’ to plastic free PPE
A loving couple tied the knot whilst protecting the planet as they put aside their Cover-19 fears using our Plastic Free PPE during a wedding ceremony in Devon.
22 July 2020
Our Plastic Free PPE features as solution to Surge in ‘toxic’ pandemic waste crisis
“A Plastic Planet has been producing 1m plastic free protective mask made of recyclable and biodegradable parts per week and has distributed them around the world, including in hair salons and restaurants” – Financial Times
20 July 2020
A Plastic Planet co-create the first Plastic Free PPE Visors. Click link to purchase now!
100% sustainable, 100% FSC wood pulp, 100% effective
“No-one wants to compromise the safety of employees
and the public; but the plastic PPE visors are used once and then exist for centuries, polluting our planet.” – Sian Sutherland
15 July 2020
Plastic-free Visors Among Sustainable COVID-19 Solutions
“Single-use, ripped off, put in the bin, exists forever unless they’re burnt – we need to replace those (plastic PPE) with something that is nature friendly” – Sian Sutherland
10 July 2020
Our Plastic Free PPE featured in China Global Television Network
“It is a new form of pollution: discarded personal protective equipment (PPE) flooding our oceans” – CGTN
30 June 2020
PLASTIC FREE JULY: 5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE YOUR USE OF PLASTIC
“If you lose one thing in your kitchen, make it cling film or Seran wrap. This is the devil – unrecyclable, uncollectible, valueless” – Sian Sutherland
26 June 2020
A Plastic Planet feature in Sky News with the Plastic Health Coalition
“…a five-a-day diet of toxic microplastics and chemicals is not what the doctor ordered” – Sian Sutherland
5 June 2020
A Plastic planet features on Sky News to reveal our plastic free PPE
“Where is all of this new, single-use plastic going to go? How can we come up with a solution? That’s why we’re really proud that within the six week period we can now bring to market a plastic-free PPE visor” – Sian Sutherland
2 June 2020
World’s first plastic-free PPE equipment launched to combat coronavirus pandemic
“PPE is vital for the protection of health care workers and to reduce the transmission of the virus. But it doesn’t have to be made from fossil fuels” – Liz Bonnin
2 June 2020
First compostable PPE to tackle plastic waste
Plastics campaigners have raised concerns that disposable PPE is finding its way into the environment or landfill. In the UK, 761 million pieces of PPE have been distributed since February – The Telegraph
23 April 2020
Sian Sutherland, Co Founder of A Plastic Planet, is listed in Resource’s Hot 100 influencers for 2020
“A mighty warrior for a plastic free planet” – Resource
21 April 2020
20 Scientific Experts and Politicians Unite with A Plastic Planet and the Plastic Soup Foundation
16 April 2020
A Plastic Planet responds to the delay on UK plastic straw ban
“I can see no real need for us to continue to pollute our planet any longer than necessary.” – Sian Sutherland
4 March 2020
A Plastic Planet Launches Latest Campaign, ‘Sack The Sachet’
‘Their latest campaign, “Sack the Sachet,” lays out some knowledge, saying that if you put a year’s worth of single-use sachets end-to-end, they would reach the moon 189 times’ – Dieline
26 February 2020
UK Must Act to Stamp Out Curse of Plastic Sachets
‘The plastic sachet, the ultimate symbol of our grab and go, convenience-addicted lifestyle, has been virtually invisible to all. The result? Our Earth is saturated with these uncollectible, unrecyclable, contaminated, valueless little packets’ – Sian Sutherland
20 February 2020
Sian Sutherland features in a episode of The Upside podcast
‘Frontiers’ is a podcast about cultural pioneers and business innovators who have done just that. Each episode gets intimate with a different guest to hear their inspiring stories, learn from their journey to date and glimpse at what the future has in store.’
11 February 2020
Creative Conscience Conference 2020
‘Bad design got us into this mess. Good design will get us out of it (but designers need to show leadership and guts)’ – Sian Sutherland
30 January 2020
Powers to prevent the export of plastic waste to developing countries will be under the environment bill on Thursday
“Powers to prevent the export of plastic waste to developing countries, binding targets on air and water quality and the protection of wildlife will be enshrined in law under the environment bill due to be introduced in parliament on Thursday” – The Guardian
25 January 2020
A Plastic Planet featured in Springs Plastic Campaign
‘After speaking to Sian I gained such an insight on the effect that plastic has on our planet, that it got me thinking about how we could try and do something as a restaurant to reduce this footprint for future generations‘ – Skye, Spring
24 January 2020
Sian Sutherland, Co Founder of A Plastic Planet, features on Sky News
Sky Ocean Rescue’s 3rd Anniversary supported by A Plastic Planet
23 January 2020
Tesco takes shrink-wrap off multipack tins to cut plastic
‘Removing multipack wrapping is a no brainer’ – Sian Sutherland
22 January 2020
A Plastic Planet features in VICE news
‘Coca-Cola should not rely on customer feedback and lead the way for sustainable packaging’ – Sian Sutherland
21 January 2020
MALAYSIA RETURNS 150 CONTAINERS OF ILLEGAL PLASTIC WASTE TO DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
‘Last year we called for an outright ban on the UK’s selfish practice of plastic waste exports to developing countries, and the government listened’ – Sian Sutherland
16 January 2020
Asda launches sustainability trial store with refill points
‘Shoppers can see the bigger picture of reducing packaging where it is really not needed, it’s high time all supermarkets saw it as well’ – Sian Sutherland
14 January 2020
A Plastic Planet: It’s time for activism on climate change and plastics to collide
‘I think 2020 will be the year when the connection between plastics and the climate crisis will become widely evident… Plastic is an enabler of hyper-consumption, and hyper-consumption has led to the climate crisis’ – Sian Sutherland
17 December 2019
A Plastic Planet features in the London Design Festival 2019: Sustainable Stories
3 December 2019
Register now: Dieline Awards 2020, Presented by Adobe
Plastic Free Innovation of the Year Award
3 December 2019
SAVE THE DATE: THE PLASTIC HEALTH SUMMIT GETS A SEQUEL!
A Plastic Planet will be speaking at the event on the 29th October 2020
1 December 2019
Plastic woke-washing: Is this fake leadership fooling anyone?
‘Good business doing the right thing in the right way makes the world go around at a time when Nature needs all the help it can get.’ – Sian Sutherland
29 November 2019
Supermarkets have had their chance to cut down on plastic bags. It’s time for a full ban
More than 60 countries around the world have outlawed carrier bags. Britain should join them
18 November 2019
Conduit Conversations with Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet
11 November 2019
A Plastic Planet featured in The World News
“With plastic production forecast to quadruple in the next decade, we strongly urge Morrisons not to fall into the trap that we can recycle our way out of this problem. We can’t.” – Sian Sutherland
4 November 2019
The First Plastic Free Paper Cup
Just Peel have worked with Wrexham based manufacturer Cup Folk, waste recyclers as well as A Plastic Planet to bring a cup which, for the first time, is accredited as plastic free and is 100% recyclable in mainstream channels.
3 November 2019
TESCO WILL REMOVE ONE BILLION PIECES OF PLASTIC FROM PRODUCTS BY THE END OF 2020
‘Shoppers buy what they are sold. It really is that simple. Grocery shopping has now become a total guilt-trip. Finally Tesco will ease this guilt by selling their customers plastic free choices.’ – Sian Sutherland
31 October 2019
Can we break our addiction to plastic? The future of packaging
“It behoves the plastic industry to confuse people. Recycling is bullshit. It is a fig leaf of consumerism — a way to appease our guilt. We just need to find a way to use less plastic packaging” – Sian Sutherland
24 October 2019
A Plastic Planet featured on ITV’s Tonight show ‘Plastic: The Unseen Truth’
Environmental journalist Lucy Siegle investigates if plastics and the additives used to make them have an impact on our health.
23 October 2019
Thornton’s Budgens in Belsize Park unveiled its landmark plastic free range of 200 products
“This all comes on the heels of Thornton’s Budgens working with A Plastic Planet this past year, where they helped introduce the world’s first Plastic Free Zones in their North London location” – Bill McCool, Dieline editor
16 October 2019
PLASTICFREELAND™
Watch our development of PlasticFreeLand™ at Packaging Innovations 2019, London Olympia
16 October 2019
Co-Founders of A Plastic Planet present at the first Plastic Health Summit
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else is going to save it”
“Redesign is the central, crucial, R for solving this problem”
15 October 2019
Liz Bonnin: It’s time we sit up and take note of the toxic impact plastic is having on our bodies
Liz Bonnin joined A Plastic Planet at the Plastic Health Summit
“Liz was brave enough to say yes when we asked her to take a plastic toxicity test and receive her results in front of the Summit audience.” – Sian Sutherland
15 October 2019
How London’s hotels and members’ clubs are taking a stand on single-use plastics
“Our next challenge is working with suppliers. We’re looking to create a reusable crate made out of hemp to bring produce into the restaurants” – Joel Williams, CEO of The Conduit. The membership club adopted our ‘Working Towards Plastic Free’ commitment mark in 2019.
14 October 2019
Government sets out major plastic crackdown in Queen’s speech
“The government should be commended for putting tackling the plastic crisis at the centre of the Queen’s speech” – Sian Sutherland
7 October 2019
Unilever vows to reduce use of plastic
“Plastic pollution is increasing daily and we need absolute urgency in turning off the plastic tap. Recycled plastic is still only one step away from the bin, incinerator, landfill or ocean” – Sian Sutherland
7 October 2019
Unilever promises to halve its use of new plastic in six years
“Unilever are one of the few who are showing real intent to turn off the plastic tap and we praise them for it.” – Sian Sutherland
3 October 2019
The Progress 1000: London’s most influential people 2019 – Activists: Environmental
Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet, Sian Sutherland, was listed as one of London’s most influential people.
2 October 2019
Microplastics may harm human health, new research suggests
“Anyone who cares about their health or the health of their children will be profoundly worried about today’s findings” – Sian Sutherland
16 September 2019
The UK Must Deal with Plastic Waste on its own Soil: Our EDM is supported by MPs
“MPs said they were backing a campaign by A Plastic Planet for a complete ban on plastic waste exports to the developing world” – The Guardian
3 September 2019
PlasticFreeLand™ Debuts at Packaging Innovations London
The packaging industry’s most contentious topic – sustainability – is set to be the focus of the new PlasticFreeLand™ at Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2019
9 August 2019
Sian Sutherland features on Sky News discussing Plastic Innovation
“Any thing that is using material that nature can easily handle – that has to be the absolute winner. For decades now we have been using plastic as the default for everything.”
“When did periods become so plastic?”
1 August 2019
Waitrose rolls out trial scheme to remove packaging from products after success at first store
“We are so encouraged to hear that Waitrose have had such a positive reaction from their customers on the ‘Unpacked’ trial.”
“It is no longer acceptable to blame the public for plastic pollution. Brands and retailers simply need to offer their customers a better choice, a new way of shopping that is guilt-free”
25 July 2019
Iceland becomes first major supermarket to ban plastic bags in store pilot
“One man’s bag is another man’s problem as we are connected by one ocean.”
“Plastic bags should not exist. We can survive without them and Iceland shoppers will be the first to prove this.”
12 July 2019
A PLASTIC PLANET TELLING IT STRAIGHT IN THE TELEGRAPH
“Woke-washing and fake leadership won’t fix this, yet global business can still be the catalyst for change.”
“Maybe we need a new 3Rs – how about Responsibility, Reimagination and Reinvention?”
Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet gives a powerful article in the Telegraph covering what happens to our waste, the pressures on waste management sites and the flaws in recycling.
13 June 2019
Game-Changing Compostable Water Bottle Scoops International Plastic-Free Award
“Plastic takes thousands of years to break up, and becomes billions of micro-plastics causing havoc within our eco-system. Cove’s packaging is from a material that nature can handle; more like a flower or an orange peel than plastic.”
“A Plastic Planet are global pro-social change-makers. The campaign has a single goal – to ignite and inspire the world to turn off the plastic tap.”
5 June 2019
One Plastic Free Day
“We will move into an era of durability, of permanent packaging”
“Right now, if you are a big business you are in the business of branded pollution. Your bottles, your rubbish, your brand is visible world wide as pollution that is damaging our planet, our entire ecosystem. What big business really wants that?”
4 June 2019
London is ready to change we just need the choices
A Plastic Planet take the Evening Standard centrefold on the eve of One Plastic Free Day. The Evening Standard also announce their adoption of the Industry Commitment Mark as they work towards plastic free.
4 June 2019
Plastic-free businesses: Sian Sutherland on why it makes commercial sense to ditch plastic in the workplace
Sian Sutherland looks at why it’s good for business to look at sustainable alternatives to plastic
4 June 2019
Reduce plastic in the workplace: The Evening Standard did an audit of our office’s plastic use, here’s what we found
The Evening Standard undertook a plastic audit with the help of A Plastic Planet
1 May 2019
Soho House: London member’s club to reduce plastic pollution with the aim of going plastic free
It will be one of the world’s first adopters of A Plastic Planet’s Commitment Mark ‘Working Towards Plastic Free’
7 February 2019
Plastic waste: UK should not pass buck to world’s poorest, say MPs
UK must deal with plastic waste on its own soil, says group calling for export ban
5 December 2018
Plastic recycling: Business leaders demand UK stops sending waste to developing world
In an open letter published in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Darroch, along with TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle, Iceland Foods Group MD, Richard Walker and others, urges ministers to end the UK’s “plastic shame” by “taking responsibility for our waste on British soil”.
9 November 2018
Budgens becomes first British supermarket to introduce plastic-free zones
“All the other supermarkets can look and learn from what we’re doing. We have converted 1,700 product lines in just ten weeks, but that’s just the beginning,” he added.
“The issue of plastic is one that can no longer be ignored.”
8 November 2018
WE HAVE JUST WON 2018 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR IN THE PRCA AWARDS FOR THE PLASTIC FREE AISLE CAMPAIGN.
Special thanks to our extraordinary comms team at Higginson Strategy
7 October 2018
Britain’s Green Budget: Treasury will splash out £60million on planting 10million new trees across the country
“Millions of pounds will be spent planting trees in residential streets and towns”
“Under Teresa May the tories have tried to recast themselves as an eco party”
12 September 2018
Plastic Free Aisle Arrives at Packaging Innovations
A Plastic Free Aisle is being recreated at a global packaging conference in London
5 June 2018
Tuesday 5 June: World Environment Day, Minister Eustice at Cranfield University and Ivory Bill
“Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time – and action is needed now. This World Environment Day I encourage everyone to think about how they can reduce the plastic they use.” – Michael Gove
28 February 2018
Dutch Supermarket Introduces Plastic-Free Aisle
Shoppers found groceries, snacks and other sundries – but not an ounce of plastic. The items are packaged in compostable materials or in glass, metal or cardboard.
5 December 2017
A Plastic Planet’s Plastic Free Ambassador Ben Fogle on ITV’s Good Morning Britain
“Act now to rid our oceans of harmful plastic” – Ben Fogle
14 April 2017
Are you a plastic addict? Viral video campaign calls for plastic free aisles in supermarkets
“With concern growing over pollution and health, people are demanding a reduction the amount of single-use plastic – and the choice to buy food not wrapped in plastic.” – John Higginson