"Sustainable" Packaging

From major corporations to local business, recycled and compostable packaging are storming the market. SC Johnson is set to produce cleaning products from bottles made entirely from recycled plastics taken from our world's oceans. It will contain the Windex Vinegar home cleaning product with nearly 8 million units launching last Spring. Prior bottles were 100% post-consumer plastic and are part of the company's initiative to triple post-consumer recycled plastic.

While this is a major move on SC Johnson's part, for a long time there has been an emphasis on recycling and not on reducing waste and consumption. In the article, "Solving the plastic pollution crisis requires focus on another ‘R’ — responsibility" they discuss how recycling continues to be a priority while evidence shows that recycling isn't the solution. I am glad SC Johnson is taking this step to clean our oceans but lets think about where the life cycle of the Windex bottle ends. The article goes over 4 ways companies can take action beyond recycling. 

• Radical Transparency Reduce single-use plastics 

• Redesign business models to promote reuse responsible policy support.

• Companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola don't even release the number of plastic bottles they sell each year. Transparency with all companies must increase.

• The reduction of waste is next on the list along with increasing the scale and speed of existing solutions. Businesses need to change dramatically from traditional models to make significant changes.

Trends in Latin America may be shifting as seen in an article, " Plastic Progress? LATAM brands could become "influential players" in sustainability" discusses the progress made in countries towards sustainability.

• Majority of consumers still lack the knowledge or are unaware of environmental impacts and are looking at certain brands to take the lead. 

• With very biodiverse countries, there are opportunities to innovate with natural materials.

• Costa Rica has vowed to be single-use plastic free by 2021, Chile banned plastic bags, others have banned plastic straws.

• A Mexican based water company, AvoWater 100% biodegradable water bottles made from avocado seed resin. Sustainability is not the main driver when consumers are shopping and bringing awareness to the benefits is a goal.

I have visited my parents home country, El Salvador, 3 times in my life.

Sustainability is trending upwards in the United States and folks in Latin America are on the same wave.. For decades, Latin America has been exploited by the US in order to get coffee, fruit, nuts, and vegetables. The largest producers of waste are not the ones being most affected by its impacts. Thousands of communities have been affected and as companies begin to act more ethically and sustainably, I would like to see these communities being the ones to start fresh and build new systems. I have attached a link to a video of a Mayan community in Guatemala that has banned plastics from their town. They use banana leaves, hand-woven baskets, and cloth at the market. Indigenous communities have been some of the most marginalized folks in Latin America yet have been practicing sustainability in their own traditional methods that are not often recognized. There are vast opportunities for innovation that I would like to see the residents of these countries get ahead on.