Success stories from innovators forging a plastic-free future
Solutions to plastic pollution are heavily dependent on business outcomes: making accessible the materials, technologies, and systems necessary for broad access to alternatives to plastic. Each quarter, Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) is reporting exciting news from companies that are leading the way for a transition away from fossil fuels and synthetic materials to a healthier plastic-free future. As PPC members, these businesses are working to bring alternative packaging and products to the mainstream.
In this edition, we’re highlighting reuse expansion into senior living communities, a breakthrough in access to plastic-free cleaning products, seaweed packaging in a top accelerator program, and a PPC-led conversation with two plastic-free packaging innovators on how we scale regenerative materials.
⭑ Blueland is now available in Target stores nationwide
Blueland announced a major retail expansion into more than 1,800 Target stores nationwide in the U.S., significantly increasing consumer access to plastic-free cleaning products. The launch brings nine of Blueland’s bestselling products—including dishwasher, laundry, and toilet cleaning tablets, as well as refillable soap systems—into Target stores across the country and available on Target.com. The milestone reflects growing demand for clean, reusable, and refillable household products free of plastic packaging and significantly increases access for healthier cleaning products for millions of Americans through mainstream retail channels. The company has now sold more than 10 million products, reached over 1 million consumers, and continues to scale its impact by helping households reduce reliance on toxic cleaning products and single-use plastic packaging.
On June 17, Plastic Pollution Coalition hosted a conversation with two PPC Business Members and leaders in biomaterial packaging innovation as a follow up to our MATERIAL SHIFT primer on regenerative alternatives to plastic, published in April. The Solutions Series: Scaling Regenerative Materials to Help Replace Plastics webinar focused on two exciting categories of regenerative feedstocks—hemp and agricultural byproducts—and looked at how they are being produced into viable plastic-free materials for packaging and scaled to replace plastic while providing economic and environmental benefits across their life cycle. Watch the recording to hear a robust discussion from Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla, producer of Morro™ materials from pea proteins, and Kimberly Kovacs, Founder & CEO of RENW, a hemp packaging company, co-moderated by Erica Cirino, Communications Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and Aidan Maguire, Business Partnerships Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition.
⭑ Sway turns 5 and is accepted into the 100+ Accelerator cohort
Sway celebrated its fifth anniversary while reaching a significant new milestone in its growth journey: selection into Cohort 7 of the 100+ Accelerator, a highly competitive global program that helps scale sustainability solutions through partnerships with major multinational companies. Chosen from a pool of applicants spanning more than 40 countries, Sway will have the opportunity to further develop and pilot its seaweed-based packaging innovations with leading corporate partners. The accelerator recognition, coupled with the company’s five-year anniversary celebration, underscores Sway’s progress in advancing regenerative, plastic-free packaging solutions and reflects growing industry interest in seaweed-based materials as a scalable alternative to conventional fossil fuel based plastic packaging.
⭑ USEFULL launches at senior living homes
USEFULL launched its first senior living deployment at The Glen at Scripps Ranch, expanding its plastic-free reuse platform beyond higher education and into residential communities. The program replaces single-use plastic takeout packaging with durable and reusable stainless steel containers that residents can check out and return through a closed-loop system, helping reduce waste while preventing residents from being exposed to toxic chemicals from single-use plastic food packaging. The launch demonstrates how reuse systems can scale in “campus-style” environments beyond colleges and universities, and offers senior living communities a practical solution for reducing packaging costs, improving operational efficiency, and advancing sustainability goals.
