To better target young consumers, the consumer-products conglomerate Unilever has committed to massive cuts in its plastic use over the next six years.
Popular brands owned by Unilever include Dove soap, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Unilever intends to reduce its plastic use to 386,000 tons of new — or “virgin” — plastic starting in 2025, about half of its 2018 peak of 772,000 tons.
The mega-investment firm BlackRock Global is also getting on the bandwagon, with a new fund to seed companies and ventures that use alternatives to new plastic.
This includes sportswear giant Adidas, which made 11 million pairs of shoes from “upcycled” ocean-borne plastic waste.
Yet in Europe, ironically, the booming demand for recycled plastic may drive up costs, which could add an additional $250 million in expenses per year for sustainability-minded companies.
Big corporations such as Unilever will also require monitoring to ensure they’re living up to their promises.
Sources: The Christian Science Monitor, CNN, Ethical Corporation, Marketwatch