Tag Archives: Ikea

NextWave Plastics expands consortium.

Global brands consortium NextWave Plastics has announced consumer technology company Logitech and ocean-bound plastic suppliers Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material have joined the network.

NextWave Plastics expands consortium on reducing plastic waste

NextWave Plastics is a consortium of multinational technology and consumer brands to collaborate and promote transparency to help decrease the volume of plastic litter by developing a global network of ocean-bound plastic supply chains.

A growing number of its member companies across a range of industries are collaborating to reach their shared goal of diverting a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of plastic, equivalent to 2.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles, from entering the ocean by the end of 2025.

Adrian Grenier, the co-founder of Lonely Whale, said: “The addition of Logitech and ocean-bound plastic suppliers Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material adds to the strength, diversity of knowledge, experience, and potential of the NextWave consortium to create even greater impact and transformational change within and across industries.”

Logitech joins the ranks of NextWave member companies like HP and IKEA; in addition to its pledge to avoid single-use plastic packaging whenever possible, Logitech was the first consumer electronics company to make the commitment to provide detailed carbon impact labeling on product packaging across its portfolio, with its first carbon labeled products hitting shelves back in April 2021.

Prakash Arunkundrum, global head of operations and sustainability, Logitech, said: “At Logitech, we are committed to continuing to expand our efforts to eliminate single-use plastic and we are increasingly using post-consumer recycled plastic as our preferred material at scale as we design for sustainability across our portfolio.”

Ikea considers mushroom-based packaging

Ikea is considering packaging some of its products with biodegradable fungus-based packaging to replace polystyrene.

Ikea
Ikea, the new biodegradable fungus-based packaging will be more easy to recycle and help reduce wastage.

Joanna Yarrow, head of sustainability for Ikea in the UK, said polystyrene is very difficult to recycle.

“We are looking for innovative alternatives to materials, such as replacing our polystyrene packaging with mycelium – fungi packaging.”

Mycelium is the part of a fungus that grows in a mass of branched fibres, and US firm Ecovative developed the mushroom packaging product, by letting the mycelium grow around clean agricultural waste, such as corn stalks or husks.

Mycelium packaging can be disposed of by throwing it in the garden where it will biodegrade naturally within a few weeks.

Speaking at an event this week, Yarrow added: “The great thing about mycelium is you can grow it into a mould that then fits exactly. You can create bespoke packaging.”

Ikea reelased a statement saying: “IKEA wants to have a positive impact on people and planet, which includes taking a lead in turning waste into resources, developing reverse material flows for waste materials and ensuring key parts of our range are easily recycled. IKEA has committed to take a lead in reducing its use of fossil –based materials while increasing its use of renewable and recycled materials.

“Mycelium is one of the materials IKEA is looking into, but it is currently not used in production.”

Ecovative supplies packaging to computer giant Dell, and there are s a few companies that use the product in the UK.