Need Less, Have More
Litter is a big problem worldwide in our society. Take a look around you on the street. I bet the rubbish isn’t to be missed. In the Netherlands, about 50 million kilos rubbish ends up on the street. Litter is in the top 3 of the annoyances around the neighbourhood (MilieuCentraal, sd).
Debris has both negative effects on nature, animals and people. A special form of litter is the floating plastic in oceans, plastic soup. Marine animals see the rubbish like food, their stomach congested with stodgy stuff whereby the animals eventual will starve. The animals would mesh in plastic pieces or other trash, they can get serious injuries or even die (Rijksoverheid, sd). This can’t be done anymore, can it? Fortunately, there are more initiatives that recycle waste in a sustainable way. All these new, innovative initiatives come to the trend ‘Need Less, Have More’. Below I will explain three of these initiatives.
From Waste to Wasted
The first one is from Navy Rum brand Fitzroy. Fitzroy has devised a solution to change trash in a durable packaging. "From Waste to Wasted" uses rubbish to create an environmentally friendly bottle. The bottle of Fitzroy has a marble top made of plastic waste (see pictures below), which gives the bottle an extra layer of aesthetic value. This in the hope that customers will reuse the bottle instead of throwing it away. Rum drinkers can now enjoy their favourite drink while also supporting the cleaning of the ocean (Roncero-Menendez, 2017).
The dearth of natural resources increases and recycling of rubbish becomes a necessity. Rubbish that ends up in the street rarely gets a second life (Bruls, 2013). Thanks to initiatives like the Fitzroy Bottle, the trash that ends up in the street gets rather a second life. But there’s more. Natural resources are running low, but demand for resources increases. Therefore, the government sees a lot of benefits in a reusable economy or circular economy (Rijksoverheid, sd).
Eco-friendly Blankets from Emirates
My second signal is from Emirates. Middle Eastern airline company Emirates unveiled new eco-friendly blankets. The blanket is made up of 28 recycled bottles, these bottles are first made into chips and then transformed into a fine thread. A soft blanket is woven from this thread. By 2019, the project of Emirates will have used about 88 million plastic bottles (Pena, 2017).
The project of Emirates is an example of circular economy. The recycled bottles are used to make a whole new product, namely the blankets. These blankets will be used by new consumers. Besides, the blankets are made using ecoTHREAD ™ patented technology. And ecoTHREAD ™ products minimise litter and reduces energy during production by 70 percent.
Adidas shoes made of Ocean Trash
The third and also the last signal is from Adidas. Adidas is unveiling a new coaction, with Parley. Parley is an organisation focusing on the protection of the ocean from pollution. Together, they designed three new models for running shoes (see pictures below). The Ultra Boost, the Ultra Boost Encaged and the Ultra Boost X, both of them has a primeknit top and is made from 95 percent marine plastic debris. Eleven plastic bottles are processed in each pair shoes (Alvarez, 2017). Also, these shoes from Adidas are an example of the circular economy.
Future Proof
The initiatives above, let us see environmental attention is becoming increasingly important. People becomes aware of the environmental problems, like litter and plastic soup. The trend and the signals, which I have mentioned above, show us people want to change these environmental problems. The first signal, the bottle of Fitzroy, use waste in the process of making their bottle. This in the hope people will reuse these bottles instead of throwing them away. This is one great initiative to use waste in a durable way. The blankets of Emirates are made of plastic bottles; every blanket needs 28 plastic bottles. And my last signal, the Adidas’ shoes, are made from 95 percent marine plastic debris. Projects like these create the trend ‘Need Less, Have More’ and I think this trend has future potential because natural resources will only be running low. So it’s important to create new techniques or ways to reuse the resources.
There is no Planet B
Sources:
Alvarez, E. (2017, April 21). Adidas will sell more shoes partially made with ocean trash. Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van EnGadget: https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/21/adidas-parley-ultraboost-mls/#/
Bruls, E. (2013, April). Zwerfafval = grondstof. Gemeente Schoon.
MilieuCentraal. (sd). Zwerfafval. Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van Milieu Centraal - Alles over energie en milieu in het dagelijks leven: https://www.milieucentraal.nl/minder-afval/afval-scheiden-en-recyclen/afval-verminderen/zwerfafval/
Pena, A. (2017, Februari 1). Emirates Is Making Blankets Manufactured From Recycled Plastic Bottles. Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van PSFK: https://www.psfk.com/2017/02/emirates-eco-friendly-blankets.html
Rijksoverheid. (sd). Alle grondstoffen hergebruiken in 2050. Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van De Rijksoverheid. Voor Nederland: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/circulaire-economie/inhoud/alle-grondstoffen-hergebruiken
Rijksoverheid. (sd). Kunststofafval in zee (plastic soep). Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van Rijksoverheid: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/afval/inhoud/kunststofafval-in-zee-plastic-soep
Roncero-Menendez, S. (2017, April 25). Discarded Coca-Cola Labels Used As Sustainable Packaging. Opgeroepen op Mei 3, 2017, van PSFK: https://www.psfk.com/2017/04/sustainable-packaging.html