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Kathleen O'Connor

The Ploy and Myth of Plastic Recycling

September 7, 2022 By Kathleen O'Connor

plastic-packaging-in-our-ocean

Is that plastic cup really getting recycled?

“The perception that plastic is easily recyclable — and that the burden of recycling lies solely with the consumer — has been shaped by decades of carefully constructed campaigns paid for by many of the most prevalent producers of plastic.” –Christopher Marquis for Forbes Magazine.

It was Earth Day 1971 when a compelling public service announcement calling for environmental stewardship and featuring a grim Native American gentleman decked out in full buck-skinned splendor took to the airwaves. 

The minute-long advertisement, produced by a group calling themselves Keep America Beautiful (KAB), depicted an indigenous man slowly paddling down a pristine river at sunrise in his canoe while thunderous drumming sounded in the background. Suddenly, pieces of litter debris float by the canoe. Next, the camera pans out to what looks like an industrial shipping area, with smokestack plumes billowing in the distance. The man then brings his canoe to the shore, where even more trash resides on the ground, and begins walking. Finally, he makes his way to the side of a highway where a car zooms by him, but not before carelessly tossing a small bag of to-go food trash that explodes right at our protagonist’s feet. The camera then zooms in for a close-up as a single teardrop runs down his deeply disappointed, not Native American face (the actor was actually Italian). Finally, as the metaphorically ironic fake tear falls, a narrator dramatically states:

“People start pollution. People can stop it. “

As a child growing up in the ’70s, this iconic PSA (public service announcement) hit me hard. Between “The Crying Indian” (as the ad became known by) and Woodsy Owl reminding me to “give a hoot, don’t pollute,” I was well schooled on the many evils of littering and never wasted an opportunity to call out the litterbugs around me, adults and children alike. 

But there was more behind the crying Indian than met the eye. 

With aid from The Ad Council, Keep America Beautiful, comprised of the American Can Company and the Owens-Illinois Glass Company (eventual parent company of the Dixie Cup Company), devised a profoundly emotive and highly successful public relations campaign.

Their objective? To shift the focus of litter and its disposal away from the manufacturers and onto the consumers and municipalities. Already there were whispers of the passage of new laws to address the voluminous waste created by throwaway containers and the recent proliferation of single-use plastics. However, the bottle (and packaging) companies were adamantly against any laws requiring them to sell their drinks in reusable bottles, as it would cost them more than throwaways. 

Though the PSA did focus on the detriments of litter and pollution and helped establish a much-needed shift in attitudes of the time around littering, it also subtly imprinted the idea in the minds of Americans that litter was a human behavior problem, and that it was solely the responsibility of the consumers to handle the disposal of these throwaway bottles and containers; not the responsibility of the companies producing them. Additionally, the companies behind the KAB veneer argued that consumers preferred the easy convenience of throwaways over the hassle of reusables. 

Today, that shift of burden over to consumers is alive and well. Recycling has become just one more tool for plastic packaging producers to put the onus of disposal on us. And while recycling works adequately for some materials, such as aluminum, glass, and paper, the landscape changes drastically when it comes to recycling plastics. 

The Sad State of Plastics Recycling 

” Plastics recycling is like placing a band-aid on gangrene.” 

          -Dr. Max Liboiron

To be honest, before 2018, I did not think much about what happened to my plastics after pick-up from my blue recycling bin. I had no idea our plastic waste got shipped to China for “recycling.” My thoughts around it were akin to the stories some of us were told as children about what happened to our family pet that was suddenly no longer around. “Baxter has gone to live at a farm out in the country, where he’s free to roam and live a happy, fulfilling doggy life.” Similarly, I assumed my plastic was living its best, most sustainable life by going straight to a recycling plant where it would magically continue living out its reuse and recycle circular journey indefinitely.

Unfortunately, reality paints a different picture. 

Before “National Sword”- the name given to China’s 2018 policy restricting the import of foreign recyclables, around 70 percent of America’s plastics were sold and shipped to Chinese processors, where the high-grade plastics could then be broken down and repurposed by plastic manufacturers. But because of excessive contamination issues and immense amounts of low-quality plastics that are not really recyclable, China put its far-reaching ban on the plastics it would accept. As a result, after the 2018 ban, the U.S. began shipping nearly half its plastic waste to other countries in the Global South, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. In 2019, Africa saw a fourfold increase in plastic waste imports after China’s ban went into effect. Without the proper infrastructure to handle the immense volume of imported plastic waste, many of these countries have become quickly overwhelmed.

Ultimately, the destiny of these plastics shipped overseas was (and still is) virtually unknown: which plastics are recycled and which are landfilled, incinerated, or littered are not part of the equation when determining America’s recycling rates. Instead, if it’s shipped overseas, it is counted as “recycled,” regardless of its ultimate fate. 

Additionally, as we assess the reality of plastics recycling, we must recognize the fact that not all plastics are created equal. 

Graph depicting the seven various plastic resin codes.

Figure 1: Plastic Resin Codes. Image from Brown County Resource Recovery

The numbers on plastics represent their resin identification code which identifies the type of plastic the product is made from. But this can be misleading, as many plastic chemicals and resins are combined to make proprietary blends of plastic that have different chemical and temperature properties which makes it almost impossible to separate for recycling purposes.  

Of all our numbered plastics, numbers 1 and 2, PET and HDPE are considered the easiest plastics to recycle. But even recycling these two kinds of plastics can be misleading. 

Each time, for example, a plastic water or soda bottle is recycled (a #1 PET), the heating process necessary for recycling the plastic decreases the structural quality of these bottles until it can no longer be recycled. This equates to just two or three recycling cycles. When these plastics can no longer be recycled, some may be “downcycled” into products such as patio furniture,carpeting, fleece jackets and other clothing items that eventually end up in our landfills as well. 

I used to think clothes made out of plastics was a great solution until we discovered that when washed these clothing fabrics, such as nylon, polyester and rayon, release microplastics. (Plus, plastics are made from fossil fuels, which contribute greatly to climate change-more on that later).

Getting back to plastic’s complicated numbering system, the fact remains that some plastics may have the same resin code number but the products themselves are created differently, thus making it impossible to recycle them together despite having the same number. Take for example, the ubiquitous clamshell packaging container-those transparent, plastic containers with tops used in the produce section for holding an array of various fruits and vegetables. 

FIgure 2: Common clamshell containers. Are these containers actually getting recycled? Acceptance at your local recycling center is no guarantee.

The resin code emblazoned on the bottom side of these clamshell produce containers are also PET #1; the same number you find on the “easier-to-recycle” water and soda bottles. The process for making these two plastics, however, is very different despite both being PET, making it difficult to recycle them together. In fact, many material recovery facilities (MRFs) will not even accept clamshell packaging.  

So which plastics do MRFs accept?

In 2020, the non-profit organization, Greenpeace, conducted a comprehensive audit and report of findings on all 367 MRF’s in the United States in order to quantify which of these plastics are accepted (those MRFs that do accept certain plastics are not necessarily an assurance of recycling, as many plastic bales are sent overseas where recycling cannot be guaranteed).

Some of the key findings of this report include:

  • “Only some PET #1 and HDPE #2 plastic bottles and jugs can be legitimately labeled as recyclable in the U.S. today.”
  • “Plastics #3-7 have negligible-to-negative value and are effectively a category of products that municipal recycling programs may collect, but do not actually recycle. Plastic #3-7 waste collected in municipal systems across the country is being sent to landfills or incinerated.”  
  • “Common plastic pollution items, including single use plastic food service and convenience products, cannot be legitimately claimed as recyclable in the U.S.”

Figure 3: Greenpeace 2020

What must also be considered is that the market for low-quality plastic scraps, which comprises a majority of global consumer plastic, is currently bleak and must compete with cheaper virgin plastic. Acceptance by some MRFs does not guarantee that the plastic, particularly numbers 3-7, will even get recycled. Without a viable, competitive market, these plastics are sent overseas where their fate is questionable, though we do have a generally good idea of what happens next. 

According to Our World in Data, of the 5.8 billion metric tons of plastic produced between 1950 to 2015, less than ten percent has been recycled.  And the latest numbers for recycling rates in the United States from 2021 are not much better.  A study conducted by the nonprofit, The Last Beach Cleanup, and the advocacy group Beyond Plastics found that in 2021, only five to six percent of the U.S.’s plastic waste was recycled.  The rest was landfilled, littered or incinerated. 

So, despite what we’ve been told for decades about recycling by the industries (largely fossil fuel companies) that profit both directly and indirectly from producing more plastic, we now know that most plastics are NOT being  recycled. 

Figure 4: Plastic waste. Photo from Greenpeace website

It’s not a stretch to say that “plastic is the new coal.”

Plastic creates greenhouse gases in practically every step of its life cycle. The production of cheap new virgin petroleum-based plastic is continuously pumped out annually. From 2000 to 2019, global plastics production doubled reaching 460 million metric tons and accounted for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

According to one report, “plastic production releases about 1.89 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of virgin plastic produced.” 

Additionally, another report stated that as of 2020, ” the U.S. plastics industry is responsible for at least 232 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year; this amount is equivalent to the average emissions from 116 average-sized (500-megawatt) coal-fired power plants.” As the production of new plastic increases, the already miniscule impact of plastics recycling will be diminished even further. 

So, what can we do about it?

First and foremost, we must reduce our dependence on the use of throwaway, single-use plastics while concurrently holding companies accountable for the plastic pollution they generate. Just as industries are responsible for air and water pollution through regulatory laws, so must the plastic industry be held responsible. 

It must be noted that although recycling is not currently a viable solution to our plastics waste crisis, innovations will continue to expand and improve upon the process. Many companies, such as TerraCycle, are researching and implementing solid solutions for hard-to-recycle plastic and other waste products, though the massive amounts of new plastic created each year and lack of recycling infrastructure makes this endeavor challenging.

Here are some additional ways to help combat the serious problem of plastic pollution:

  • Support statewide and federal efforts to pass Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation that addresses recycling and plastic pollution. Write your representatives, and keep a watch on relevant policies in the works.
  •  Refuse all single-use plastics, disposable plastics. Make the switch from plastic containers to glass jars when buying groceries. 
  • Encourage coffee shops and restaurants  you love to make the switch from disposable cutlery, cups and packaging to in-house washable and reusable options and to design Bring Your Own (BYO) messaging to encourage their customers wanting take it to-go. 
  • Join the reusables revolution and BringIt! In collaboration with local Durango businesses, Cream Bean Berry, Sew Alpine and WeFill, Live Creative Studio is proud to lead the charge for a more sustainable, conscious community by encouraging visitors and locals alike to bring their own reusable cups and cutlery sets to restaurants and cafes around town. Buy your own reusables at WeFill and the Durango Visitors Center or purchase at Cream Bean Berry for a discount!
  • When available, buy products made with recycled plastics rather than from virgin plastic. This helps recyclers compete with virgin plastic producers by increasing demand for recyclables.
  • Support your local refill station by refilling your old plastic bottles and other containers rather than buying new ones. Many household products may be purchased via refilling, such as dishwashing liquid, shampoos and conditioners, laundry detergent, glass cleaner, facial products and so much more. Here in Durango, we go to WeFill!
  • Support your local sustainable businesses and purchase sustainable goods. There is a next generation material revolution going on. You can now find most of what you want/need for your home and lifestyle made out of organic, recycled, upcycled, and even food waste materials (i.e mushrooms, pineapple, apples, cactus and more). 
  • Learn more about the plastic crisis we are facing and share the plastic-free movement with others. Together we can change the mindsets around plastic, and help spread the word! Share what you learn with others through conversations and social media platforms. Transformation takes time.

And for those of you who are curious, here is the original Keep America Beautiful PSA featuring the “Crying Indian”.

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Blog about reusables and sustainable packaging.

Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our Creative Studio offers authentic marketing, branding, and sustainable business expertise to ethical, sustainable, and purpose brands. And our Lifestyle Team brings the curious and the conscious inspiring sustainable lifestyle, zero waste tips, and examples of innovation changing business for good.

Filed Under: Blog, Innovation, Lifestyle

Back to the Future Packaging—The Reusable

May 24, 2022 By Kathleen O'Connor

tree-reusable-packaging

     Photo by Jeremy Bishop

“There is no such thing as ‘away.’ When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.”    

–Annie Leonard, co-executive director of Greenpeace-USA

Cream Bean Berry founder and owner Katie Burford had a dilemma regarding how best to serve up her crazy delicious, homemade artisanal ice cream to customers in Durango, Colorado, in the most environmentally friendly and minimal-waste possible way.

Of course, those who ordered edible containers, such as the cake, sugar, and waffle cones, eliminated the issue. But those customers who wanted disposable cups and spoons for their scoops of ice cream and milkshakes challenged the sustainably-minded business owner. Ultimately, this set her on a path to explore ways of minimizing the waste and climate impacts associated with single-use, throwaway containers and cutlery.

“When I began, I was using wooden spoons because those were the most biodegradable-friendly option,” Burford said. “But pretty quickly, I started getting feedback that some people have an aversion to the sensation of wood in their mouth. Too much like a tongue depressor”, she said.

Burford was already using home-compostable cups (and corresponding composting receptacles in her shop) for her scoops. However, she was still mulling over possible solutions for her to-go spoons, straws, and milkshake/drink containers. Reluctant to contribute to more disposable plastic waste going to the landfill, Burford tried the go-to alternative commonly used in many food and beverage businesses around town: BPI-certified compostable, cornstarch-based PLA bioplastics for her larger cups, spoons, and straws. With the assistance of Durango-based Table to Farm Compost to assess the local composability of these products, Burford soon realized these products were not going to break down easily and certainly not at the local level.

Like most PLA-based bioplastic products, there are specific temperature and pressure parameters required for these products to break down; these parameters are found only in specific industrial compost facilities absent in most backyard and commercial composting facilities.

Furthermore, even if these products were locally compostable, how would the spoon or straw even make it to the compost facility if people don’t have a compost bin handy to throw them into, whether at their own home, hotel or strolling downtown? Once in the landfill, these bioplastic products contribute to methane and other greenhouse gas emissions as any other organic product would, thus eliminating the perceived “less waste” benefit from purchasing the “compostable” alternatives.

Burford wondered, what ARE the best options for packaging if you want to benefit the planet? 

For sustainable business owners like Burford, packaging and takeaway service-ware containers that reduce the amount of end-of-life waste thrown away (I’m looking at you, plastic) pose a real challenge.

Sustainable, eco-friendly packaging is a complicated subject and there is not one magic bullet solution. While all materials- plastic, compostable, paper, aluminum, glass, etc.- have varying limitations and impacts across different environmental metrics, fossil fuel-based plastic is by far the most damaging to sea life and a major contributor to climate change as more and more fossil fuel companies grow their plastic production. For the rest-people and planet- impact trade-offs are inevitable when considering overall energy use, water use, production pollution, land requirements, waste generation, and ecosystem integrity.

Although the most appropriate sustainable packaging solution will look different for each unique business, one unifying principle remains: 

We must wean ourselves from disposable plastics, and other single-use materials while embracing a new approach that minimizes environmental impacts and focuses on climate-smart strategies.

Here are some of the reasons why:

Source: Reuse Wins Report Prepared by Upstream

Shifting the Packaging Paradigm to a Circular Economy Model

“In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste – the process is linear. In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place.” -Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The traditional linear economic model of materials production is rife with inefficiencies built into the system. Under this model, raw materials are extracted from the earth and transformed into products, used, and then thrown away as waste. In the case of packaging, the actual use-time of these products is relatively short.

 Photo by The Blowup

As the Ellen MacArthur Foundation aptly describes, the circular economy model is based on three underlying principles:

  • The elimination of waste and pollution.
  • The circulation of products and materials.
  • The regeneration of natural systems.

This model moves the focus from extraction and end-of-life waste to reuse and regeneration, thereby transitioning away from finite resources that ultimately result in landfill trash and a substantial carbon footprint after a limited-time usage. Given the amount of waste and greenhouse gas emissions produced in the packaging industry, it seems advantageous to minimize as best we can the environmental impacts associated with each step in a packaging materials’ life cycle and participate in more innovative, circular approaches that many companies are now embracing.

Customers seem to agree. Around 60% of all packaging material results from goods purchased by consumers. According to a 2020 study conducted by Forbes, 65% of consumers seek out products that they perceive as helping them live a more sustainable and socially responsible life; 60% buy products from companies that are socially and/or environmentally responsible. And just recently, Yelp added a “eco-friendly businesses” search filter to their app, where users may now find EV charging stations, businesses with plastic-free packaging, which businesses support “bring your own container” initiatives and if reusable tableware is offered.

As the public becomes more aware of the sustainability implications of their purchases and EPR legislation (extended producer responsibility) gains traction, the demand for greater sustainable options in packaging will rise. Consequently, the packaging industry may be forced to follow suit and continue transitioning to a more circular economic model, which seeks to design out waste and pollution on the front end while also acknowledging the role of recycling and recirculating materials and products on the back end, as progress is made on the path to greater sustainability.

bringit-hu-nu-ocean-cup
Hunu Reusable Silicon Cup

“Packaging communicates more than just a product’s contents; it’s an opportunity to share your company’s values and impact on people and the planet.” –The Climate Collaborative

Here are just a few examples of the many businesses worldwide that are already shifting the sustainable packaging concept in innovative ways:

  • EcoEnclose– offers custom, eco-friendly shipping solutions including 100% recycled mailers, recycled and post-consumer waste cardboard shipping and retail boxes, and protective packaging, including recycled tissue paper and upcycled corrugated bubble wrap.
  • Genecis– a “cleantech” startup that is turning food waste into biodegradable and compostable PHA bioplastics for a variety of industries, including packaging. Unlike the PLA bioplastic more commonly found in today’s “compostable” cups and other servicewares, PHA materials do not require an industrial composting facility to break down. One pilot study conducted by the company in Toronto, resulted in the diversion of 1,430 kilograms of food waste and 1,210 kilograms of CO2 gas emissions in six months. Wow!
  • Notpla– offers 100% natural, biodegradable and home-compostable to-go ketchup condiments and to-go boxes without the inner plastic coating found in most takeaway boxes that make them unrecyclable. These products are made from seaweed and plants, and also include Oohos- their edible hydration packages that serve as an alternative to plastic cups and bottles at sporting events.
  • Ecovative– uses mushroom roots (mycelium) and low-value agricultural feedstock to make fully compostable packaging products that can be easily composted at home. It breaks down after use just as it would in the natural world.
human-Kind-products
Product Packaging Designed for Reuse by Humankind

The food and beverage industry contributes substantially to packaging waste, most of which is single-use plastic. Though recycled materials do make a better environmental choice for packaging compared to the use of virgin materials, recycling has challenges as well. In the case of food and beverage serviceware, much of what is thrown in the recycle bin is often too dirty to be recycled and ultimately ends up in a landfill, an incinerator, or the environment. Also, as some materials are recycled for re-use, their quality decreases, as is the case with both paper and plastic recycling.  Plastic may be recycled two to three times, while paper is recycled five to seven times. Both glass and aluminum, scrap metals may be recycled an unlimited number of times.

Packaging, Circularity and the Reusables Revolution

Source: Reuse Wins Report Prepared by Upstream

“For the planet, re-use beats single-use every time.” -Miriam Gordon, “Reuse Wins”

What is now emerging as a climate-smart solution to these challenges around packaging materials, particularly in the food and beverage industry, is the comeback of reusables. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation conducted an assessment on more than 100 reuse models and found that “reuse” results in significant benefits to not only the planet but to consumers and businesses as well. The number of innovative companies jumping into the reuse model are growing fast!

For example, RePack offers reusable mailing packaging for e-commerce businesses and more. The mailing packages are made from post-waste recycled polypropylene plastic BUT are upcycled at the end-of-life into purses and bags.

Loop offers a global platform for reusable packaging. They work with a variety of brands and manufacturers to bring refillable versions of single-use products, such as condiments, shampoo bottles, coffee and cleaning products. Once emptied, containers are returned for reuse using reusable shipping material and return delivery service provided by UPS.

In the food and beverage service sectors, reusables are generating significant benefits to the battle against single-use disposables such as cups, cutlery, straws, boxes and other takeaway containers through the use of reusable containers that may be returned, cleaned and sanitized and then used again. Comparing the overall environmental impact, including waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions, of reusables versus disposables of varying materials shows reusables as the smarter option moving forward.

Some shining examples (among many others) in this sector include Durham Green-To-Go, Dispatch Goods, Deliver Zero and Go Box.

Graphic provided by www.upstream.com

BringIt!
Introducing the Circular Model to Our Durango Community

Cream Bean Berry’s Katie Burford contacted Live Creative Studio’s Claire Attkisson with the previously mentioned dilemma and an idea. Seeking an answer to the disposable, single-use waste her business generated annually, Burford began contemplating solutions utilizing the reusable model. Burford soon hired Live Creative Studio, to develop a “bring your own” branding and marketing campaign.

Joining forces with Live Creative Studio, and in partnership with local sustainable businesses Sew Alpine and WeFill, an initiative to bring the circular model to Cream Bean Berry and Durango was hatched.  Having already created Carbon Crunch, a sustainable food business incubator with a focus on food packaging waste and climate change, Live Creative Studio was excited to assist in this endeavor.

What began as a sustainable marketing campaign for Cream Bean Berry, BringIt! has turned into a community-wide campaign to encourage locals and visitors alike to bring their own cups, bags, and utensils when they order to-go from local restaurants. 

Through the BringIt! project and other Carbon Crunch projects, such as the one currently exploring locally compostable options available for takeaway food and beverage packaging, Live Creative Studio aims to provide leadership and guidance for sustainable businesses looking to transition to a more circular packaging model.

For more information on BringIt! and Carbon Crunch or on how to better incorporate the circular model into your business’s packaging needs, feel free to contact us at claire@livecreativestudios.com.

We’re happy to help you reach your goals around sustainable packaging!

cream-bean-berry-bring-it-campaign

__________________________________________________________________________

Blog about reusables and sustainable packaging.

Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our Creative Studio offers authentic marketing, branding, and sustainable business expertise to ethical, sustainable, and purpose brands. And our Lifestyle Team brings the curious and the conscious inspiring sustainable lifestyle, zero waste tips, and examples of innovation changing business for good.

Filed Under: Blog, Innovation, Marketing Biz Tips Tagged With: bring your own, reusables, sustainable packaging

24 Durango Sustainable Gifts that Inspire

December 6, 2021 By Kathleen O'Connor

betty-blue-bird-homemade-candles/durango-sustainable-business-guide/

What better time than during the holiday season to inspire friends and family with new sustainability habits through gift-giving. In our humble opinion the best gifts truly are experiences. First consider purchasing a (or making your own!) gift certificate to your favorite local spa for an organic facial or a massage, a special weekend getaway, a picnic and a day hike soaking up nature, an evening out at your favorite local restaurant, or homemade holiday cards, crafts, or baked goods made by the kids. Let’s keep the holidays connected to our family and friends, joy and love, and avoid the earth and heart-damaging OVER consumption associated with this time of the year. 

When an experience-based gift just isn’t quite right, our curated Durango Businesses 2021 Sustainable Gift Guide is sure to make your holiday a unique time to pass along our local, eco-friendly businesses to the ones you love while also supporting our amazing community of  artists, makers, bakers, and entrepreneurs. 

-Give the gift of an experience with these ideas from Durango’s sustainably-minded, local businesses.

1. WILD BLUME SKIN SPA | BEAUTY-AESTHETICIAN

Wild Blume Skin Spa offers luxurious natural and organic skin care and exfoliation treatments, including facials, waxing, and more. Give the gift of a  skin replenishing session for a loved one’s mind and body. Wild Blume Skin Spa believes in providing affordable and sustainable treatments that bring happiness and health to people and the planet.

Our Pick: The Express Facial

Why We Love It: From the moment you walk in, Carly’s focus is on your complete relaxation. This is the perfect 30-minute break for a loved one from the hustle and bustle of daily life. 

OUR PICK: THE EXPRESS FACIAL

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2. YOGA DURANGO | YOGA + ECO-CONSCIOUS BOUTIQUE

Yogadurango is Durango’s community yoga center that believes in connecting people in healthy ways. In successful operation since 2006, YogaDurango strives to create a warm and inviting space for people to explore, grow and transform. They support all levels of practitioner, providing high-quality experiences with exceptional instructors. 

Our Pick: The 5-Class Package

Why We Love It: The 5-Class package is ideal for introducing yoga to those family and friends who’ve always been curious about the practice but have never tried it for themselves. The Instructors have cultivated a beautiful community for all to enjoy, and all levels are welcome!

OUR PICK: THE 5-CLASS PACKAGE

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3. ROLL E-BIKE + SUP| BIKE ELECTRIC

Roll is a solar powered electric bike and stand up paddle board rental and delivery company. Roll delivers ebikes to your home, VRBO, Airbnb, hotel, or friend’s home within 10 miles of Durango.  Roll’s purpose is to put a smile on your face, deepen human connection through experience-based travel, and be a company that benefits the planet. Give a loved one an experience they won’t forget.

Our Pick: The Combo Package: eBike + Lunch + SUP

Why We Love It: The Combo Package offers the best of both worlds. Gift a day on the river and a cruise around town by ebike; enjoy a gourmet picnic lunch on the beach, and then paddle down river!

OUR PICK: THE COMBO PACKAGE: EBIKE + LUNCH + SUP

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4. NӦMAD | UPCYCLED FURNITURE-CLOTHING AND MORE

Nömad offers a truly “unique destination for wanderers, gypsies and restless souls.” Here you will find an eclectic and fun collection of hand-selected, second-hand clothing for  both men and women. You’ll also find upcycled furniture and unique home decor, as well as quirky workshops on everything from watercolor painting to perfumery.

Our Pick: Workshop: Intro to Junk Journaling 

Why We Love It: This workshop beautifully embodies the spirit of the circular economy.“ Introduce your loved one to Junk Journaling,”a great way to upcycle old, unused books into beautiful, usable works of art.” And have a great time while you’re at it! Workshop happening on January 9th, 2022. 

OUR PICK: INTRO TO JUNK JOURNALING WORKSHOP

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Sustainable gifting this holiday season is an effortless way to shop your values while also considering the planet.

5. PASSION FLOWER BEAUTY | BEAUTY + BATH 

Passion Flower Beauty offers natural and organic bath balms and soaps, hair elixirs, shaving bars and more. Their focus is on all natural and organic ingredients without the harsh chemicals. Their packaging and shipping bags are backyard compostable, too. Order by December 15th!

Our Pick:  The Mermaid Bubble Bath

Why We Love It:  Who doesn’t love mermaids?  Fellow fans of mermaids: look no further! This bubble bath is made with tropical fruit essential oil blend, water, xanthan gum, mica powders, and biodegradable glitter. Available in blue or pink. Make sure to order by December 15th.

OUR PICK: MERMAID BUBBLE BATH

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6. OH SO SOFT LOTION BARS | BEAUTY + LOTION 

Oh So Soft Lotion Bars are hand-crafted with only four ingredients: raw unrefined shea butter, beeswax, coconut oil and essential/fragrance oils. In addition to their lotion bars, other replenishing items are available, such as lip balms, salt scrub cubes and more.

Our Pick:  The Valhalla-Teakwood All-Natural Beard Oil

Why We Love It:  This beard oil, made with argan, jojoba and avocado oils and a subtle teakwood, earthy scent is the perfect daily maintenance routine the bearded man in your life may not know he needed. “Keeping a beard soft and sexy can be accomplished easily with this daily oil treatment.”

OUR PICK: THE VALHALL-TEAKWOOD ALL-NATURAL BEARD OIL

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7. BETTY BLUEBIRD | CRAFTS + HANDMADE GIFTS

 Betty Bluebird Homemade creates a wide assortment of seasonal organic    beeswax candles,   

Our Pick:  The Peppermint and Apple Cider Candles

Why We Love It: These beeswax candles embody the holidays with the wonderful scents of the season. We also love that customers are rewarded for returning their candle jars and packaging for recycling. 

OUR PICK:  THE PEPPERMINT AND APPLE CIDER CANDLES

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8. CURA.TE | BEAUTY + CLEANING

Cura.Te offers a variety of home, bath, body, pets, and oral care; “all made with love.” Additionally,  they offer medicinal tea blends from wild harvested and organic herbs.  Cura.Te uses ingredients that are safe for everyone (including your furry friends) and the environment. 

Our Pick:  The Cura.Te- Studio 451 Gift Package

Why We Love It: This gift bundle includes these delicate, brass fringe earrings along with Cura.Te’s all natural and organic bath bombs. In-town delivery makes it that much better! 

OUR PICK: CURA.TE-STUDIO 451 GIFT PACKAGE

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9. MAKA EARTH | CBD-ORGANIC

MAKA Earth offers a wide range of full spectrum CBD products for wellness, recovery and peak performance.  Their mission: to “envision a natural and effective way to provide a happy, healthy, and balanced lifestyle for you and your loved ones, while honoring the wisdom and beauty of Mother Earth.”

Our Pick:  The Organic Full Spectrum CBD Healing Salve

Why We Love It: This smooth green salve absorbs nicely on the skin without leaving an oily residue. It’s composed of traditional herbal ingredients, cold-pressed olive oil and premium, organic CBD hemp oil, all of which leave sore joints and  muscles feeling relieved; a perfect gift for those with an active lifestyle.

OUR PICK: FULL SPECTRUM CBD HEALING SALVE

          Shop  

10. THE FLYING HATTER | APPAREL-HATS

The Flying Hatter team creates upcycled, custom-made hats with your taste and unique style in mind. From “traditional, clean, classic, lines to over-the-top artistic designs, The Flying Hatter fits you in the custom hat of your dreams.”

Our Pick:  One-on-One Consultation

Why We Love It: The Flying Hatter recycles materials thrifted from local second hand and vintage stores as well as flea markets and estate sales.  Their custom styled western, fedora, and open crown hats are hand-shaped and adorned with locally sourced and recycled high quality rooster feathers, bones, yucca points, and more. Appointments are set up in the Durango studio, and the consultation fee is used towards the final price of the hat. 

OUR PICK: ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTATION

          Shop  

11. TABLE TO FARM COMPOST | COMPOST + SOIL

In addition to offering affordable curbside food scrap and glass collection, Table to Farm also offers nutrient-rich, artisan soil and high-quality compost that can be used as a top dressing for established plants or mixed in with topsoil for a highly productive garden. 

Our Pick:  The Artisan Soil Seed Starter Kit

Why We Love It: The perfect gift for a beginning gardener who is looking to discover their green thumb. This kit includes “1 jar of the Artisan Soil Blend, 1 organic seed packet, and 1 month of free curbside compost service.  Use your own pot or start growing your seeds in this jar. A great gift for the kiddos!

OUR PICK: THE ARTISAN SOIL SEED STARTER KIT

          Shop  

12. BOTANICAL CONCEPTS | GARDEN CENTER + NURSERY

Botanical Concepts is a full service nursery, with everything you need for your garden and landscaping projects, including seeds, soil, houseplants, perennials, shrubs and trees. With the holiday season upon us, stop by for their full stock of Christmas trees, live conifers, poinsettias and solstice wreaths. 

Our Pick:  An Echeveria ‘Red Sky”  Succulent

Why We Love It: An ever-popular choice that is easy to care for, prefers bright, indirect light and is fairly drought-tolerant. Its beautiful pink coloration makes this succulent an ideal holiday gift for creating an indoor terrarium or simply planting in an upcycled container for interior decorum.

OUR PICK: ECHEVERIA ‘RED SKY’ SUCCULENT

          Shop  

13. SARVAA ORGANICS| FOOD- SUPER FOODS

Sarvaa Organics formulates small batch, always organic artisan superfood blends, Spagyric CBD, and probiotic powders designed to support your health and the planet. Choose from a variety of options, including meal replacement protein powders, herbal tinctures and teas, and cacao and chocolate elixirs

Our Pick:  The Alive Elixir

Why We Love It: This elixir blends a raw, organic cacao-based superfood with 13 superfruits (packed with Vitamin C) from around the world to deliver immune-boosting qualities for overall body and heart health. Plus, for every $12 dollars you spend on Sarvaa products, one tree is planted through their collaboration with Eden Restoration Projects to help plant more trees around the planet!

OUR PICK: THE ALIVE ELIXIR

          Shop  

14. WEFILL | REFILL STORE

WeFill offers a large selection of organic, palm oil-free castile soaps, organic hair and body products and hand sanitizers, bath salts and plant-based cleaning supplies. They also offer plastic-free alternatives to produce bags, dental floss, to-go utensils, cotton ear swabs and much more. 

Our Pick:  The Reusable To Go Bamboo Utensils

Why We Love It: This is a great, eco-friendly gift to share with friends and family while also encouraging the reduction of single-use plastic. These are light-weight, strong and great for avid travelers.

OUR PICK: REUSABLE TO GO BAMBOO UTENSILS

          Shop  

Gift cards and healthy energy bars from sustainable-minded businesses are a perfect choice for your children’s teachers’ holiday cards and also stocking stuffers. 

15. BASECAMP | PLANT-BASED KITCHEN, BAR AND MARKET

“Healthy. Compassionate. Eco-friendly.” Basecamp is a plant-based restaurant with a farm fresh inspired menu featuring tasty dishes, such as the buffalo cauliflower bites, spaghetti squash casserole and crab cake sandwiches. They also offer an herbal happy hour featuring anti-inflammatory, immune boosting and detoxifying herbal tonics, elixirs, shrubs and spritzers. 

Gift Card

16. INNER JOY ENERGY BARS | FOOD + ENERGY BARS

Inner Joy Energy Bars is a fruit-based energy bar brand. Pairing locally sourced organic fresh fruit with organic energy stimulants like spirulina, cacao, and other superfoods, the Inner Joy Energy Bar is both tasty and packs a smooth punch. Nothing like it. We recommend the Chia Chocolate Spirulina bar!

OUR PICK: CHIA CHOCOLATE SPIRULINA

Shop

17. GRASSBURGER | GRASS-FED BEEF

Grassburger’s mission is to not only make an amazing burger, but to support regenerative agriculture and 100% grass-fed farmers. They “believe in ranchers who raise their animals responsibly, freely and happily grazing in clean pastures.” Treat yourself and the special ones in your life to USA grass-fed beef raised sustainably and humanely. Or try a vegan burger made from quinoa and black beans; simple clean food that works for everyone, tastes incredible and makes an impact. And the sweet potato fries are yummy, too!

Gift Card

18. DURANGO OUTDOOR EXCHANGE | GEAR + OUTDOOR CONSIGNMENT

Durango Outdoor Exchange is a locally owned consignment shop that provides quality, new and used outdoor gear and apparel. Here, even the most finicky outdoor enthusiast can find great gear and get out there and enjoy it. From camping tents to carabiners, Durango Outdoor Exchange is the one-stop shop for your next outdoor adventure. And come check out their stocking stuffers! 

Gift cards can be purchased in person or over the phone.

19. Botanical Companions | Microgreen Delivery + Starter Kits + Super Salt

Botanical Companions provides premium sun-grown microgreens for Durango, Mancos, Cortez, & Telluride all year-round, including specialty microgreen products. 

Sustainability: Investing in a four-season insulated passive solar greenhouse, Botanical Companions relies on pure sunshine for creating and maintaining energy efficiency while also benefiting the quality of the crop! When needed, LED grow lights were chosen to extend the darkest of days in winter. Currently, ~90% of their microgreens come with zero waste through their exchange of food-grade reusable packaging direct to restaurants, through their home subscription, and at farmers markets. The other 10% is supplied in compostable containers. Their newest offering, the favored Microgreen Super Salt, just became “reusable” and is now available in home compostable kraft refill pouches to refill your glass shaker!

OUR PICK: MICROGREEN SUPER SALT

Botanical Companions

SHOP

20. Pathways Physical Therapy

Pathways Physical Therapy is for ultra Athletes, weekend warriors, and women and men with musculoskeletal dysfunction. They offer traditional therapy techniques such as manual therapy, Dry Needling, and postural and body mechanics instruction.  What makes them unique is their commitment to sustainable business practices from the products they use and sell to the care they take in recycling and being energy conscientious. Further, they focus on one-on-one sessions with specialized attention as well as a holistic approach incorporating mindfulness and meditation, yoga and other holistic practices for optimal healing of the body, mind and soul.

OUR PICK: 1 hr Introductory Session

SHOP

21. Wild New Way | Jungian Life Coach

Cindy Schmidt, Certified Master Jungian Life Coach, Certified Mindfulness Teacher is the Founder of Wild New Way. Do you know someone in your life that is ready for change? Possibly a new career? A fresh start? Has a desire to live his/her passion? Wild New Way brings sustainability into the personal space, helping individuals and couples align their values with their lives and livelihood. With the professional guidance of Cindy Schmidt, you can give the gift of helping a special friend have the opportunity to “explore his/her edges and loves and create their own new wild path.”

OUR PICK: 3 Session Consultation

Cindy Schmidt, Certified Master Jungian Life Coach, Certified Mindfulness Teacher

SHOP

22. NOMAD | Vintage Clothing

NOMAD is a resale shop with a funky collection of hand selected, second hand clothing for men and women. You’ll also find upcycled furniture and unique home decor. Follow NOMAD on Instagram or Facebook for dates for in-store events and scrap booking workshops sales or ask about custom painting your furniture!  

OUR PICK: $100 Gift Certificate

SHOP

23. DOROTHY PARKER DESIGN | Sustainable Interior Design

Dorothy Parker Design is a sustainable interior design firm with roots in Durango and the San Francisco Bay Area. They are passionate about sustainable and approachable design with an artful juxtaposition. Dorothy Parker’s years of experience with acclaimed interior designers has given her diverse residential projects that span different budgets and styles. For home projects big or small, they tackle each design project by bridging the design world with your true sense of home.

This is THE gift for that special someone on your list who has everything.

OUR PICK: 2 Hr. Consultation or Home Styling

SHOP

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23. DOROTHY PARKER DESIGN | Sustainable Interior Design

Handcrafted House is here to bring beauty to the everyday. The space in which you dwell, should speak to you and give you a relaxing feeling of being “home”.  They have a showroom of samples for you to find the unique non-toxic paints, finishes, and decor you are looking for. Handcrafted house also specializes in sustainable interior design.

Sustainability: Handcrafted House carries top of the line non-toxic and low or no VOC paints and seals by American Clay plaster, Colorhouse Non-Toxic paint, Ecoprocote products, and AFM Safecoat sealers, and more.

OUR PICK: Hand Towel

SHOP

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Happy holidays form all of us at Live Creative Studio! Remember, you can always shop local and sustainable on the Durango Sustainable Business Guide or the global Sustainable Marketplace 24/7, year-round.

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Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our Creative Studio offers authentic marketing, branding, and sustainable business expertise to ethical, sustainable, and purpose brands. And our Lifestyle Team brings the curious and the conscious inspiring sustainable lifestyle, zero waste tips, and examples of innovation changing business for good.

Filed Under: Blog, Lifestyle Tagged With: durangocolorado, eco-friendly gifts, shopdurango, sustainable gifts

More Plastics Than Fish? Getting Real On How to Stop Drowning in Plastic Waste

November 11, 2021 By Kathleen O'Connor

non-plastic-packaging

By Kathleen O’Connor with sustainable innovation additions by Claire Attkisson

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

Let’s talk about plastic. As I glance around my home office, I notice it all around me: the various pens on my desk, the lens caps on my binoculars, my sparkly phone case, the leftover Lego bricks on the floor from my son’s impromptu building project, and in my laptop as I type. But, of course, a stroll down any aisle in your local grocery store will aptly show just how prolific plastic is. 

A Wave of Plastic

Rising to popularity in the 1950s as “throw away” culture was beginning to take root with the creation of plastic plates, glasses, cutlery, and other products deemed disposable, global production today accounts for approximately 407 million tons of plastic annually. Plastics became the perfect tool to convince women from the “Rosie the Riveter” WWII era to come home, give men “their” jobs back, and fall in love with cleaning, cooking, and raising the kids. The plastic revolution made convenience synonymous with progress and the future. Remember, in the famous movie “The Graduate” the line: “I’ll give you one word, son, that will define your future: plastics.”  What a cultural marketing campaign!

Plastic is everywhere.

Fast forward to today, and almost everything, it seems, is at least partially made of plastic. More than one million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide, with an average use time of around 15 minutes and a landfill decomposition rate ranging from 500 to 1,000 years. Americans alone throw away about 35 billion plastic water bottles annually. And as we’ve learned in the last decade, recycling is not the silver bullet solution to the plastic predicament we hoped it would be. Not all of our plastic is recyclable, and those plastics that are recycled eventually end up in the landfill or are incinerated anyway due to quality degradation during the recycling process. Most of these plastics can only be recycled once or twice, and recycling is often cost-prohibitive compared to producing new plastic.

In addition, The World Economic Forum estimates that 4-8% of annual global oil consumption is associated with plastics. Big oil is now scrambling to move its operations to even more plastic production as fossil fuel companies struggle to stay in business in the midst of the climate crisis. As if we could be duped again into thinking plastics aren’t made from fossil fuels. Or can we be?

Packaging is a considerable part of the plastics predicament. Though serving an essential purpose for the transport and quality of perishable food products, this benefit comes at a cost. In 2015, 42% of all plastic production was attributed to the packaging industry. Packaging contributes to more than half of all plastic waste globally.

No Plastic Here

Wait, let’s turn the story around

Convenience is pretty cool, right? What if instead of using chemicals and fossil fuels to create the Dixie Cup revolution, we had used natural, compostable materials that really could be “thrown away” or even eaten by the very fish and turtles that today are being suffocated by plastic? What if we designed our convenience packaging to actually be recycled and upcycled again and again? You see, the problem is not so much the idea of convenience, as it was how the Dixie Cup and so much more were designed that is the heart of the problem today.

According to architect and sustainability/circularity thought leader, William McDonough, “design is a signal of intention.” He further argues that “waste” and “pollution” are a consequence of bad design. Nearly 30% of all carbon released into the air come from our “stuff”; our clothing, chairs, bags, products and goods.

Important choices are made in the design stage.

Circular design is about changing the choices we make at the beginning of the design process. Designs also includes how people interact with goods and services and systems along their journey, such as with logistics, collection, and infrastructure systems. In the case of physical products, how different materials are combined and how easily they can be reused, repaired, refurbished, or disassembled is also decided at the design stage.

These crucial choices radiate across the entire design system, affecting sourcing, production, and how we use things. Importantly, they also determine ‘what happens next’ and what is possible after something has been used. Does it become waste? Or can it be part of a circular economy, where waste is designed out and materials are destined for one valuable application after another?

It’s hard to reverse the impacts of design decisions once they are implemented. Design decisions often lead to long-term investments that lock us into a certain model for years to come. As Radjou and Prabhu in their book Frugal Innovation argue, “over 70% of a product’s life-cycle costs and environmental footprint is determined during its design phase.”

Fast Growing Bamboo is One Plastic Alternative

Today, most of the materials we lose, and often after just one short use. 

In industries such as fashion and plastic packaging more than 80% of all materials in our products and services are destined for landfill or incinerators, with a significant amount also leaking out of the system and into natural environments. They are part of a “take-make-waste model”. We take finite resources, use them only for a short period of time, after which they are lost from the economy. This is an enormous loss. We miss out on the opportunity to keep products and materials in circulation, and with it all the creativity, labor, and energy that went into them.

That’s why we need to adopt a fundamentally different approach in the way we create the products, services, and systems around us. We need to look ‘upstream’ to tackle the challenges we are facing — tackling them at the design stage rather than treating the symptoms of problems. We need to look at systems as a whole to understand how our creations fit into the bigger picture. And we need to have an inspiring vision and framework that can work in the long run to protect instead of harm, nature and ourselves.

Circular Design and the circular economy offer such a framework, built on the principles of eliminating waste and pollution from the outset, keeping products and materials in use at their highest value, and regenerating natural systems. Just like in nature, by design everything as food for something else — materials flow from one (life) form into the next. It is a model that can work for eons. Just like it has in nature for 3.8 billion years.

By decoupling economic activity from linear material flows, it is a model that goes beyond “doing less bad” (McDonough) to being one of regeneration. 

Therefore, the more we create within the circular economy model, the better the results — for customers, businesses, society and all living things. It’s about designing better solutions for people and meeting needs within a regenerative system.

It’s easy to feel both inspired by circular design thinking and overwhelmed at the same time by the sea of plastic (pun intended), as it accumulates in our oceans and our landfills. But the good news is that how this story ends is yet to be determined. Our collective actions- what we buy (and don’t), how designers design and embrace circular principles, and businesses adopting zero tolerance for plastics in their supply chains, products, and – will have a significant and scalable impact on solving the problem.

Live Creative Studio launched the Durango Sustainable Business Guide featuring local, solution-based businesses that are address the many challenges our planet faces, including solving for plastic waste by redesigning their business models, products, and building in re-use systems. 

 

Cristin Salaz, Owner of WeFill | Durango, Colorado

WeFill Durango is one such business. Since its inception in 2018, WeFill has prevented approximately 31,935 plastic containers from landfills through its refilling station for household cleaning products, as well as for bath and beauty supplies. WeFill also provides alternative options to single-use plastic products, such as the bamboo travel cutlery set. One of these sets can eliminate the use of 1,625 plastic forks, knives, and spoons one uses throughout a lifetime. 

betty-blue-bird-homemade-candles/durango-sustainable-business-guide/
Betty Bluebird Homemade

Betty Bluebird Homemade is another Durango local business doing its part to promote sustainable practices by reducing plastic packaging in favor of reusable, recyclable, and compostable options. Betty Bluebird’s soy and beeswax candle products are all wrapped in reusable cloth napkins that can also serve as reusable wrapping paper. In addition, customers are given the option of receiving a discount on candle products when they return used candle jars, paper gift bags, packaging, and even old t-shirts and fabrics for reuse, thus providing a circular model for reducing waste.

Cura.te is also joining in to reduce plastic packaging by offering eco-friendly, plant-based alternatives to traditionally plastic-packaged products such as shampoo bars, toothpaste powders, dishwashing, and laundry soap.

These are just some of the 32 (and growing) local companies (with more highlights to come!) that are a part of the Durango Sustainable Business Guide, a one-stop shopping source for the conscientious consumer looking for more sustainable, earth-friendly options. Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our purpose is to empower shoppers and inform their spending choices through this guide and also through our global Sustainable Marketplace. 

Sustainable innovations that eliminate the concept of waste, use non-toxic chemicals, and reuse existing materials to generate new ones are rapidly redesigning our world of every day things, even here in our hometown of Durango. And you can make a difference just by supporting these new innovations and businesses every time you shop.

Never doubt that your daily choices can make a difference. 

  • Stats taken from OurWorldinData.org

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Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub.

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Filed Under: Blog, Innovation Tagged With: Biomimicry, circular design, durangosustainablebiz, non-plastic packaging, plastic waste, plastic waste solutions, sustainable innovation, sustainable packaging design

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