Plastic is a man-made miracle turned disaster but its human-scale visibility gives us a powerful gateway to re- imagining a different future. The material and systems changes needed will have a disproportionate impact on not just our addiction to this toxic, virtually indestructible material, but to our entire relationship with consumption, the quest for never-ending growth, our connection with Nature and ultimately with our selves. We can not only solve the plastic crisis, but also reform the broken systems that created it: especially our throw-away, single-use culture.

If the plastics industry were a country, it would be the 5th largest greenhouse-gas emitter on Earth. Plastic production is forecast to treble by 2050, taking from 19-25% of our entire carbon budget. From fossil-fuel extraction to manufacturing to waste - especially when plastic is burned - the lifecycle of plastic is deeply embedded in the climate crisis, impacting every living creature on our planet and disrupting the carbon cycle.

Before plastic, materials were finite and valued — things were made to last, be repaired, shared, or reused. Plastic disrupted that system: it introduced a culture of “make, use once or twice, then discard.” This shift unlocked the massive surge of hyper-consumption we see today, fuelled by social media, selling us more and more plastic ‘stuff’ to fill our wardrobes and cupboards but never making us happier.

Plastic recycling is a chimera, a myth created to take the responsibility from the manufacturers and place it on the shoulders of the public. Plastic is only downcycled, unlike steel, glass and card. And the chemicals we use to make it do not disappear, they compound up. In 2025, only 9% of plastic in the UK was recycled — in the USA it was less than 6%. In the UK we still export 60% of our plastic waste, often to developing countries without adequate infrastructure to handle it. This is not recycling — it’s waste dumping, or “waste imperialism.” Every country should deal with its own dirt, its own plastic.

Plastic isn’t just a singular material — it’s a complex mix of fossil fuel polymers and over 16000 chemicals. Only 4,000of those chemicals have been tested for human health safety and most of those are considered toxic for humans. Plastic is not inert. These endocrine disrupting chemicals and micro/nano-plastics leach into our food and drink, shed into our air, flood into our waterways and soil. There is plastic found in our brains, our blood and every organ. Our babies are born pre-polluted with plastic. The economic and healthcare cost of this impact is $1.5 trillion.

“Waste” is not a natural phenomenon — we are the only species that create waste. There is no waste in Nature; everything becomes the nutrient for the next stage of growth. The only ‘circular economy’ model we must adopt is that or working with the circle of Nature... We envision a future where brands use materials that can safely return to Nature as nutrients and new systems of standardised returnable packaging, washed and reused — eliminating the need for recycling bins altogether.

Soil — the top layer of Earth’s crust teeming with life — is endangered. Micro-plastics and toxic chemicals infiltrate soil through water and rain. In many places, soil now holds 23 times more plastic than our ocean. Predictions suggest that by 2050, soil will be so depleted that it can no longer support crops in large areas worldwide. We must invest urgently in regenerative, toxin-free nutrients and sustainable practices to protect our soil and secure food systems.

Every year we exceed our planet’s capacity to regenerate the resources we take. On June 5 2026, we will reach Earth Overshoot Day, after which we are taking the resources from our children’s future, making stuff with them, selling it and calling it GDP. We cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. The plastic crisis gives us that gateway to a post-growth economy, valuing a thriving planet and thriving humans as much as a thriving economy.

Real change needs to happen at industrial scale. While small, niche brands often lead change, the world’s biggest companies hold the power to make real impact — but they are slow and we exist to catalyse this change. As entrepreneurs we believe in the power of business for good. That’s why we collaborate with large global players, working from within to accelerate transition to sustainable materials and systems.

It is impossible for industry to shift from their plastic-dependent systems without policy and legislation creating a stronger imperative. We need our governments to stand strong against the petro-lobbyist and give industry clarity with a roadmap of future legislation. When we create this vacuum, industry will rapidly innovate. Only clear regulation, legislation, and economic incentives can give companies the imperative they need to drive dramatic systemic change. The future belongs to petrochemical-free, toxin-free materials that Nature knows how to handle. And safe for Nature = safe for humans too.