What Does it Mean to be Plastic Neutral?

‍Thrive Market offers shoppers a convenient and environmentally friendly way to purchase groceries and essential household items at affordable prices. While they are trying to reduce their plastic consumption, they have to use some plastic when shipping or packaging products to make sure things don’t spill, break, or go bad.

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Rather than relying on recycling as the solution, companies like Thrive partner with rePurpose Global to become a Plastic Neutral Certified retailer.

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What is Plastic Neutral?

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If a company is Plastic Neutral Certified with rePurpose Global, it means that for every pound of plastic they use, rePurpose Global removes an equivalent amount of additional, verified plastic waste from the environment through its partners.

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rePurpose Global was founded by three former Wharton students who witnessed the impact of plastic waste at the end of the supply chain. They recognized that there were solutions to address plastic waste in countries like India beyond just recycling, but these solutions lacked sufficient funding.

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To support these solutions, they decided to secure funding from businesses that aimed to reduce their environmental impact.

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Criteria for becoming Plastic Neutral Certified

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Here's how a brand gets the Plastic Neutral Certificate:

1. Brands gather and measure the data related to their plastic use, including packaging and shipping materials.
2. Then, brands share those numbers with rePurpose Global.
3. For every pound of plastic that Thrive uses, rePurpose Global suggests projects for Thrive to invest in that remove the same amount of ocean-bound or nature-bound plastic. These projects include:

1. Project Hara Kal: A team of 361 workers is dedicated to cleaning plastic off beaches in the mountainous region of Malappuram, India. This helps protect the area's tea, coffee, and spice plantations, as well as its abundant wildlife.
2. Project Ekonomia ya Bluu: Plastic recovery credits are used to fund a team of 98 workers and establish recycling facilities in Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya. This helps restore the ecosystem by recovering plastic that is polluting the formerly pristine beaches.
3. Project Sueño Azul: Plastic recovery offset funds are used in Bogota, Colombia, to co-process and upcycle low-value flexible plastics. This prevents burning or adding them to landfills.

1. After selecting the projects, rePurpose Global measures the number of verified plastic removal credits that Thrive has financed and compares them to the amount of plastic Thrive is using. They award the Plastic Neutral certificate when the numbers match.
2. rePurpose Global regularly shares updates and verified data on the impact they are creating.

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By supporting these certified brands, we can play our part in mitigating the climate crisis.

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At Commons, you can browse 300+ sustainable brands that are measurably reducing global emissions and responsibly stewarding our shared resources. Download the Commons app to earn rewards for sustainable purchases from these brands.