News

A plastic shipping bag, but different...

10 januari 2024

The challenge

Pollution and poverty go hand in hand. The world's poorest regions often have little or no waste management infrastructure, this leads to plastic entering the environment. Today, there are already over eight billion tonnes of plastic in the world. Of this, at least eight million tonnes end up in the oceans every year. 70 to 80% of this plastic pollution that ends up in the oceans comes from the rivers and coastlines, which usually contain the poorest areas of the world. The problem of plastic is not only pollution, but it also exacerbates climate change. If the demand for plastic continues to increase, "virgin plastic" must continue to be produced to meet this demand. The World Economic Forum expects that if we continue to produce plastic at this rate, the amount of plastic will have doubled by 2040.

The solution

The solution to this plastic pollution? Collect the neglected plastic and turn it into shipping bags. By working with local communities in a careful and ethically responsible way, a positive social impact is realised and helps to clean up the natural environment. The plastic collected by these communities is bought from them, providing a stable source of income.

The production of these shipping bags is in line with more than 10 "Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs) set by the United Nations. Examples of these goals include SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 8 (Fair work and economic growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 13 (Climate action). By contributing to these goals, we not only aim to reduce plastic pollution, but also support broader social and environmental goals.

What is Pollast!c?

Pollast!c's mission is to develop packaging that combats pollution, poverty and climate change. They do this by using Ocean Bound Plastic. Ocean Bound Plastic is neglected plastic that has entered the environment due to the lack of waste management infrastructure. This plastic can be found from the coastline 50 kilometres inland

Argos' vision is "a future where we develop and produce innovative and sustainable packaging and protective materials together with our partners". Just talking about sustainable packaging and protective materials is not enough, which is why we partnered with Pollast!c. Together with Pollast!c, we have developed a wide range of sustainable shipping bags that allow us to offer a sustainable shipping bag for every product. This way, Argos is leading the way by reusing raw materials. Reusing raw materials contributes to the circularity of the chain.

Figures

According to "Independent Life Cycle Analysis", the production of these shipping bags represents the lowest carbon footprint. Compared to traditional shipping bags, the production of these shipping bags generates 75% less CO2, and even 30% less than the production of shipping bags made of recycled paper. These findings highlight the environmental friendliness of this approach and the importance of taking concrete measures to reduce the impact of plastic pollution.

More information?

Curious about the possibilities with these sustainable shipping bags? Then contact us at industrie@argos.nu or +31 (0)174 - 638 420. Together we will look for the most sustainable solution.