Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Plastic is Not Fantastic
A growing movement against plastic will define a large segment of values-based consumers. Visceral reactions to images of the “great garbage patch” and BPA effects will drive adeep and long-standing backlash against plastics and plastic–makers.
Strike 1:
<o:p>When I lived in Hawaii, on a regular basis I'd see the beaches covered in rows of little plastic bits (not larger than a dime) in blue, green, and white—marring the most pristine beaches in the world. Only later did I discover the cause of these plastic tides, a large convergence of floating plastic in the Northern Pacific Gyre, now known as "The Great Garbage Patch." All the floating plastic in the world finds its way, by ocean currents, into several swirling zones, or gyres. The Northern Pacific Gyre is now a continent of plastic, larger than the size of Texas.
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It is shocking to me is that there is more plastic in the Northern Pacific than Plankton. Because of its relative remoteness, images from the Garbage Patch are few. Yet the ones we have are powerful, and rarely fail to elicit a strong response.
Scientific researchers and film crews are making their way back to the Garbage Patch, to capture more images, study the impact of plastic on the oceans, and raise awareness of this issue.
Get ready for a wave of increased attention around the issue. A colleague just returned from Los Angeles with this report:
I just came back from LA, where [name omitted] and her friends have basically enlisted all of Hollywood for the anti-plastic cause!
There are a bunch of celebrities literally chomping at the bit to record PSA's, throw rock concerts, you name it...
Right now, the strategic positioning of the organizations is starting to look really good, and I'm working on what would basically amount to a national, online movement against plastics.
Strike 2:
Last October, I welcomed my first child into the world. I quickly become aware of the controversies surrounding Bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, and the endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic bottles. Since then, I've taken great care to limit my son's exposure to plastic products, but as any parent knows,seemingly EVERYTHING in a child's world is plastic—not only bottles, but toys, utensils, diapers, food containers, bathing accessories, etc.
Recent studies have confirmed that BPA does indeed leech into our bodies and systems, and is associated with many health problems:
The chemical is commonly found in drinking bottles, baby bottles and sipper cups as well as dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans.
Drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased the level of urinary BPA, and thus suggests that drinking containers made with BPA release the chemical into the liquid that people drink in sufficient amounts to increase the level of BPA excreted in human urine.
BPA, used in the manufacture of polycarbonate and other plastics, has been linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans and disrupted reproductive development in animals.
Strike 3:
Plastic grocery bags are being banned around the world. The environmental and aesthetic costs of plastic grocery bags have spurred local and national governments around the world to take action to ban plastic bags. Starting in San Francisco, CA, the number of municipalities banning plastic bags is large, and rising by the day.
One of the most profound signals of this shift, and one that should make plastic manufacturers and distibutors take notice, is the decision by the Chinese government to ban plastic bags in China, essentially shutting down a $300 million dollar plastic-bag manufacturer overnight.
China's largest plastic bag maker SuipingHuaqiang Plastic Co, owned by Guangzhou-based Nanqiang Plastic Industrial Ltd,has closed following the country's environmental campaign discouraging plasticsuse nationwide, China's Xinhua news reported.
The plastics giant, whose annual plastic bag production was 250,000 tons and valued at RMB 2.2 billion (US$305million), stopped production in mid-January under the pressure from the green campaign.
"Over 90% of our products areon the limit list, so the only way ahead for the factory is to close,"said a management official.
China launched a crackdown campaign on plastic bags in January, banning production of ultra-thin bags and forbidding domestic supermarkets and shops from providing free plastic bags to consumers from June 1.
Overall Implication/Strategy:
Plastic manufacturers and consumers must prepare themselves for this popular and political backlash against our current forms and ses of plastic, and begin to develop more environmentally friendly and healthier alternatives.
We will be watching this trend closely, and looking for signals driving us toward a Post-Plastic Society.
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