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Materials & Packaging

The latest developments in materials, feedstocks and processes that are transforming the way many conventional products are made and packaged — and eliminating their negative impacts

Stella McCartney to Pilot Mixed-Textile Recycling Venture

Protein Evolution’s technology can turn unused polyester and nylon fabrics from Stella McCartney’s previous collections into good-as-new, infinitely recyclable fibers — and could present a new circular solution for the fashion industry. Read More...

Meet 2 Biomaterial Startups Cultivating a Circular, Climate-Friendlier Fashion Industry

Orange Fiber and Keel Labs are platforms for exploration and innovation that can reverberate across the fashion industry and prove that sustainable feedstocks and production processes can create both financial and planetary prosperity. Read More...

6 Principles for Building a Pathway to Circularity for Plastics

Developing and optimizing a fully circular plastics value chain is a complex challenge that can’t be achieved with any single solution. We challenge our peers and other key stakeholders to be courageous and take risks, to explore new possibilities and partnerships, and persist until we have solutions. Read More...

Q&A: Why Partnerships Are Essential for Delivering Circular Packaging for the Food Industry

While flexible packaging plays an important role in keeping food fresher longer, it has long been difficult to recycle. Designing more recyclable flexible packaging from the start and determining a better end-of-life process for current materials is a vital step in reducing food waste. Read More...

Brand Blind Spots, Empty Promises Hindering Effective Action Against Plastic Pollution

As seen in ongoing incidents of greenwashing and a new Greenpeace report, the onus is on consumer product manufacturers to take more comprehensive approaches to stemming their flow of plastic into the world — and turning the tide of public opinion. Read More...

Bridgestone Wins $35M USDA Climate-Smart Grant to Further Advance Guayule Natural Rubber Production

The USDA has awarded Bridgestone $35M to grow its investment in desert shrub guayule to advance a climate-smart domestic rubber industry and offer a water-smart solution amid the ongoing drought in the Southwestern US. Read More...

Tramontina Courts Circularity, First by Addressing Packaging Pain Points

The Brazilian cookware giant released its first comprehensive sustainability and environmental impact review, detailing its progress toward and ongoing pursuit of sustainability. Read More...

Corporate-University Partnerships Support the Next Generation in Creating a Circular Future

Recognizing the value of education both as a strategic initiative for preparing future brand employees and as an opportunity to help shape a more sustainable value chain. Read More...

New Menswear Brand Out to Remind Industry That Nature Is the Ultimate Luxury

Men’s apparel startup HyperNatural is aiming to subvert the industry’s reliance on synthetic materials with its unique fabric made from a blend of recycled and organic waste streams. While it’s still ironing out circularity kinks, the brand is determined to not make perfection the enemy of progress. Read More...

Stora Enso Says Circular Building Solution Could Eliminate 70% of Construction’s Climate Impacts

The Finnish biomaterials giant says shifting to wood as a building material can cut up to 70% of emissions per project and ensure that the construction industry is part of the solution to end global warming. Read More...

Mycelium Materials Poised to Leave Conventional Leather Industry Hanging by a Thread

Biotech startups Bolt Threads, Ecovative and Zvnder have discovered how to make the most of mycelium — creating high-quality, sustainable versions of ubiquitous materials such as leather. Read More...

Trending: Industry Continues to Arm Itself in War on Plastic Waste

A new accelerator from the US Plastics Pact aims to catalyze broader adoption of reusable and refillable packaging options, while an upskilling program from rePurpose Global aims to help sustainability leaders more effectively tackle plastic pollution. Read More...

On Advances Circular Ambitions with Industry-First Shoe Made from Carbon Emissions

The Swiss sports brand has created a supply chain coalition with LanzaTech, Borealis and Technip Energies to transform captured carbon into running shoes. Read More...

Enhanced Biodegradation Technology Could Significantly Reduce Clothing Impact at the Landfill

37.5 Technology is offering brand partners a new additive that greatly improves and expedites the biodegradability of textiles, for free — to encourage broader industry adoption and help eliminate one of our biggest polluters. Read More...

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. Read More...

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. Read More...

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

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. Read More...

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. Read More...

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? Read More...

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. Read More...

Upcoming Events

December 11-12, 2024
SB Member Network: Shifting Customer Behavior and Demand December Member Meeting
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March 18-19, 2025
SB'25 Tokyo Marunouchi
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