SB Brand-Led Culture Change 2024 - Last chance to save, final discount ends April 29th!

Chemistry, Materials & Packaging

The latest developments in safe and sustainable chemicals, new materials, fuels, and more.

Advertisement
Finnish Bio-Based Innovations Could Be a Game-Changer for Plastic Packaging

Once ranked the ‘greenest’ country in the world, Finland’s strong R&D programs have kept the country at the forefront of innovation in bio-based and circular solutions for materials and packaging.

Northwestern Researchers Uncover Simple Method for Destroying ‘Forever Chemicals’

New study pinpoints Achilles’ heel for major PFAS classes — persistent chemicals linked to a host of adverse health effects — which causes the compounds to fall apart into benign products.

This Startup Is Enhancing the Ocean’s Ability to Store Carbon, Reversing Acidification

Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. Ebb Carbon’s pioneering carbon-removal technology combines with electrochemistry to accelerate the ocean's natural process of carbon removal, safely storing it for 10,000+ years, whilst simultaneously reducing ocean acidity — helping heal one of our strongest assets in the climate change fight.

Perfect Day Is Helping Brands Give Cows, and the Planet, a Rest with Animal-Free Dairy

The biotech startup uses microflora to produce whey protein that’s genetically identical to the milk-derived version, without a cow in sight. And it’s poised for massive impacts, thanks to a growing number of brand partnerships.

Opportunity Renewed: Solving Circular Challenges with the Right Partnership

A key component of Procter & Gamble’s Climate Transition Action Plan is reducing the amount of virgin fossil-based plastic in packaging by 50% by 2030. How can P&G brands do their part, without compromising on the unique beauty, branding and functionality of their packaging?

Advertisement
Trending: Pangaia, Primark Expand Efforts to Turn Waste Textiles Into New Colors

The latest in a growing wave of circular textile innovations, the materials-science company and the global retailer have both launched collections that turn waste materials into new, colored textiles that require no dyeing.

Unilever, Geno Launch $120M Venture to Scale Alternative to Palm Oil-, Fossil Fuel-Based Cleansers

The partnership aims to commercialize and scale more sustainable alternatives to palm oil and fossil-fuel-derived cleansing ingredients — the current industry standard in everyday cleaning and personal care products.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Brands Launch Reuse-and-Refill Packaging

Cross-Posted from Our Healthy Lives Mission. Reuse-and-refill is one of a suite of solutions that consumer goods companies are introducing to facilitate more responsible use of packaging. Consumers expect companies to help make more sustainable consumption easier, while companies rely on consumers to embrace improvements to their products.

Finding New Within the Old: Innovating to Advance the Circularity of Plastic

Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. Rather than focus solely on plastic alternatives, we must consider the full lifecycle of materials to see the benefits of circularity. Three technologies are surfacing as viable solutions to increase plastic’s circularity with low-carbon performance at the core.

LanzaTech, with Support of Danone, Discovers Breakthrough Method to Produce PET from Captured Carbon

Proof of concept for direct production of monoethylene glycol (MEG), a key building block in sustainable PET manufacturing, has been completed at lab scale.

Advertisement
The Humble Crab Shell Could Upend a Variety of Polluting Industries — Starting with Wastewater

Washington-based startup Tidal Vision upcycles discarded crab shells to produce chitosan — a positively charged biopolymer with myriad applications in sustainable water treatment, textile production, agriculture and more.

Bridgestone, LanzaTech Partner to Explore Opportunities for Tire Circularity

The exclusive partnership will leverage LanzaTech’s technology to create a pathway toward tire material circularity and the decarbonization of new tire production.

Keeping Up with Regulatory Trends, Business Opportunities in Sustainable Packaging

As we see more and more legislation aimed at improving both recyclability and safety of packaging, it is best to first understand your company’s baseline in sustainable packaging. Then, there are a growing number of tools designed to help companies keep track of and meet these evolving requirements.

Embracing Digital Tools, EPR to Achieve Sustainable Design

The future of sustainable packaging and design lies in our ability to do most of the important work in a digital space. Manufacturers will be left behind if they fail to embrace tools such as digital twins, 3D product and packaging visualization, and consumer packaging buyback.

From Seed to Recycling Center: How Companies Can Enable a Circular Economy at Every Step

While not every company is equipped or positioned to follow its products through their entire lifecycle, there are a few ways companies can think about participating at individual or multiple points in the circular cycle.

Advertisement
Bumble Bee Slips Off Plastic Film, Takes One Step Closer to Circularity

Cross-Posted from Redefining Sustainable Seafood for the Future. Since January, Bumble Bee has switched to using cardboard, instead of plastic film, to wrap all of its products. It’s just one machine, and one company; but the impact is significant — the elimination of an estimated 23M pieces of plastic waste per year.

Green Science Policy Institute: Engaging Across Sectors to Drive Meaningful Change

The Institute’s work includes education and cross-sector partnerships to reduce harmful chemicals in products. We spoke with Senior Scientist Tom Bruton, PhD to learn more about the organization’s history, cross-sector collaborative efforts and focus in the midst of a global pandemic.

From Shores to Shelves: Codifying Ocean Plastic Supply Chains

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Brands committed to increasing sustainability by putting ocean plastic to good use deserve the infrastructure and data they need to verify their products and meet the standards that consumers demand.

After Going Public, On Rightly Has Its Head in the Cloud

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. The Swiss company now has the funds to take its sustainability ethos to the next level — with the launch of a potentially game-changing, truly circular shoe and long-awaited subscription service.

Making a Hot Cup Recyclable: The Innovation Behind the Scenes at WestRock

In 2019, WestRock’s answer to a recyclable hot cup was named a winner of the NextGen Cup challenge. Here, we go behind the scenes of developing this innovative barrier technology and hear what’s next for the holy grail of the easily recycled hot cup.

Advertisement