On Friday, November 7, business leaders and other changemakers gathered for Plastic Pollution Coalition’s first-ever Plastic Pollution Solutions Expo, held in Santa Monica, California. The open-format, walk-through event brought together a diverse audience to stimulate knowledge sharing and provided exposure for upstream solutions running the gamut from regenerative materials for textiles and packaging to stainless steel reuse systems for schools and much more.
Inspiring Action and Momentum for Solutions
The Expo was designed to generate curiosity around and help inspire familiarity with upstream solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. This first-ever event did not disappoint: Students from local high schools and universities held bits of chitin, the structural material found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, which is now used to make biodegradable packaging with food waste. Activists and local nonprofit leaders rolled mycelium earplugs in their palms while asking why they weren’t invented sooner. Business owners, podcasters, and architects oohed and aahed over reusable stainless steel foodware, edible seaweed pods, and sustainable and plastic-free building materials. Attendees’ conversations were passionate and wide-ranging, leading to new ideas, connections, and partnerships to scale and spread these solutions far and wide.
Public tradeshows and events about plastic pollution are often influenced by the industries that help create the problem, with false solutions like recycled plastics and recycling technologies that give a green light to keep producing plastics. The Plastic Pollution Solutions Expo was unique in that it only featured biobased and reuse solutions that are eliminating plastics in their business practices, improving material standards, and building a regenerative future through systems change.
— Aidan Maguire, Business Partnerships Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition
Regenerative Materials of Today and Tomorrow
Regenerative materials were the stars of the show at the 2025 Plastic Pollution Solutions Expo. These are substances that come from nature and can beneficially return to nature at the end of their usefulness. Biobased alternatives to plastic materials, in a whole host of industries and applications, are helping to bridge the gap between our current plastic “throwaway” society and a healthier and less wasteful future. Instead of being trashed like most plastics ultimately are, “regenerative” material solutions are nontoxic, home compostable, and ultimately better for people and the planet.
At the Solutions Expo, many Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) Business Members displayed their regenerative plastic-free solutions and engaged with the general public to answer questions and explain how their innovations are changing the world.
Leaders in the regenerative packaging space who were present at the Solutions Expo included:
- Arms of Andes: The world’s only 100% alpaca outdoor apparel
- Cruz Foam: A compostable foam packaging solution made from upcycled food waste, designed to replace synthetic foam and harmful packaging materials
- Deer Isle Oyster Co: Plastic-free oyster and seaweed aquaculture gear made from bio-coated mycelium, marine-grade metal, and natural fibers
- Ettitude: Regenerative, plastic-free bedding and fabrics made from CleanBamboo®—a plant-based next-gen material redefining luxury comfort
- GOB: The world’s first plastic-free hearing protection crafted from 100% aerial mycelium
- Habitable: Informed™, an intuitive ranking system making it easy to avoid plastic building materials and identify healthier alternatives
- LOLIWARE: An AI-driven Seaweed Materials Platform transforming seaweed into regenerative materials—engineered to replace plastic and restore planetary health
- Notpla: Plastic-free packaging made from seaweed, driving innovation to eliminate plastic waste for good
- Ocean Farm Supply: Home compostable and biodegradable circular packaging from a 100% cellulose mesh
- RENW: Industrial HEMP packaging for the regenerative era: built for stakeholders who see beyond sustainability
- Shellworks: Vivomer – the performance and scalability of plastic without the negatives: natural, microplastic-free, non-toxic and zero waste
- Viable Gear: SeaTwine™ – a seaweed-based fiber twine used for agriculture and aquaculture
Reuse and Refill Systems Stop Wastefulness
Plastics are not designed to be recycled, and they shed dangerous plastic particles and chemicals with each use. Reusing nontoxic and plastic-free materials helps diminish waste and pollution and must be a part of our culture’s transition away from single use. When these materials are worn to the point they can no longer be reused, they can be fully recycled.
Reusable, refillable, and recyclable material solutions and systems made a big splash at the Solutions Expo, showing attendees how truly circular packaging and reuse systems are not just novel ideas, but scalable solutions being implemented today.
Leaders present in the reuse, refill, and non-plastic recyclable space included:
- Ahimsa: Reusable, non-toxic stainless steel foodware designed by a pediatrician to replace plastic in schools and in homes
- Chico Bag/To-Go Ware: Reusable bags, utensil sets, and other daily living products from sustainable materials such as bamboo
- Dubara: Durable stainless steel tableware for rent or purchase with dishwashing and impact tracking services for businesses, events, and schools
- MADEWORKS: Setting the standards for healthier living
- Nappily Naturals & Apothecary: Black-owned holistic health hub rooted in ancestral wisdom, offering wellness remedies, community healing, and zero-waste practices
- Open Water: Recyclable aluminum bottled water on a mission to eliminate plastic pollution and advance ocean conservation
- Plaine Products: Vegan hair and skin care in aluminum bottles and glass jars that can be returned for free to be washed and reused
- Steelys: Designer, manufacturer and bulk supplier of stainless steel food and beverage ware and other reusable alternatives to single-use plastic
- Utu: Pioneers of Outdoor Skincare®, Utu creates reef-friendly SPF skincare in premium, 100% recyclable aluminum
When it comes to ending plastic pollution, we need to build plastic-free, nontoxic reuse and refill items and systems that eliminate wastefulness from the start. Half of all plastic produced today is designed for just one use, and nearly 40% of all plastic made today is single-use plastic packaging. Yet most plastic items that are sold or distributed as “single-use”—like bags and bottles— actually have plastic-free reusable or refillable alternatives.
For those items less easily swapped for reusable and refillable alternatives, biobased and home compostable alternatives should be used to prevent single-use plastic packaging from becoming pollution. These solutions are “regenerative” when they can be easily converted back to soil without causing microplastics or regrettable social or environmental harm, from harvest to compost. Scalable regenerative solutions exist today and have enormous potential to decrease plastic pollution as a drop in solution across industries.
Help Advance Real Solutions to Plastic Pollution
The Plastic Pollution Solutions Expo was held the day before a groundbreaking TEDx conference, TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch, which featured sessions with global thought leaders addressing the question: “How do we solve plastic pollution by 2040?” With the health harming effects of plastic pollution becoming more clear—and worrisome—the time to act is now. Fortunately, PPC and its Business Members and allies show us that the solutions we need exist today.
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