Ecostore has announced its signing of A Line in the Sand – a Global Commitment. This initiative will be unveiled today in Bali, at the Our Ocean Conference. A Line in the Sand is a plan to eliminate plastic waste and pollution from its source, and is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the UN Environment.
250 organisations have signed the 2018 Global Commitment, including international packaging producers alongside governments and NGOs. These groups will all work together to forge a “new normal” when it comes to plastic – to ensure transparency, they will all publish annual data on progress toward targets.
The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment vision consists of six main points:
- Elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation, and new delivery models is a priority
- Reuse models are applied where relevant, reducing the need for single-use packaging
- All plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable
- All plastic packaging is reused, recycled, or composted in practice
- The use of plastic is fully decoupled from the consumption of finite resources
- All plastic packaging is free of hazardous chemicals, and the health, safety, and rights of all people involved are respected
“We know that cleaning up plastics from our beaches and oceans is vital, but this does not stop the tide of plastic,” said Dame Ellen MacArthur, founder of her eponymous foundation. “We need to move upstream to the source of the flow. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment draws a line in the sand, with businesses, governments, and others around the world uniting behind a clear vision for what we need to create a circular economy for plastic.”
MacArthur acknowledges the Commitment is just one step in a challenging journey. Ecostore managing director Pablo Kraus said the company stood firmly behind the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “Sustainability has been at the very core of our business since our beginnings and we therefore take our responsibility regarding packaging very seriously,” said Kraus. “We see it as critical that ecostore is part of the concerted response to address today's plastics challenge. We agree, it is essential that businesses step up as leaders in this space and drive change.”
In one year, Kiwis have refilled bottles with more than 30,000 litres of ecostore’s cleaning and personal care products. The brand is also dedicated to collecting and recycling its own products, reusing the plastic to create new tools and thereby eliminating virgin plastics.
