We could not wait for 2021 to come and finally it is there. A new year means new hopes, new projects, new resolutions on the list. With this article we want to share inspirations for setting sustainable and mindful New Year’s goals. We created a short list with 5 recommendations, which are simple to integrate into your daily lives and still make a big positive environmental impact.
You probably already heard about the unprecedented decline in CO2 emissions on our planet. As the climate researchers from Global Carbon Project (GCP) announced, CO2 emissions fell by around 2.4 billion tons or 7 percent to 34 billion tons in 2020. The Corona wildcard helped us to disrupt the CO2 emissions trend and declining numbers give us hope for the future. However, there is still loads of work to do to switch this short-run change into a permanent trend.
Another reason we were looking forward to 2021 is the single-use plastic ban coming into force in 2021. The European Parliament approved a new law banning single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws and cotton buds sticks. 300 million tons of plastic is produced each year globally, half of which is for single-use items. The new EU regulations will have a big impact on reducing the amount of plastic. And at traceless we are happy to contribute to this positive change. traceless materials are ready to replace plastics in a wide range of single-use applications. Products made of traceless material leave no trace, as they compost under environmental conditions. And they are free of hazardous additives or solvents.
Besides the macroscale impacts, the pandemic helped us as individuals to acknowledge and appreciate littlest things that we have been taking for granted. We started to reflect and learn more about ourselves. It pushed us to break our daily routines and habits. And as we all well know, breaking a habit is not easy, it is like muscle work: It requires practice, consistency, and perseverance. For 2021 we want to support you in replacing your old habits and building sustainable ones.
The global plastic pollution is a huge issue and there is no single solution to solve it. While some companies take care of the part with collecting plastic from the environment, some others use these plastics to recycle into new products. By producing meaningful products with long lifespan, they avoid further plastic production, which consequently become plastic waste. There are also companies, who focus on reducing plastic in their production. To put in a nutshell: We all need to join forces and bring our strengths together!
As we frequently state: plastic is not the problem, it is how we use it. Single-use plastic is causing a huge environmental issue. Nevertheless, there are legitimate advantages that the single-use can offer. An urgent and intelligent solution is needed to cover this area to avoid further plastic production. Here traceless comes into play. traceless develops products, which possess similar qualities and usage advantages of plastic products without being plastic at all. We produce 100% biobased materials and stay within the biological cycle throughout the entire product lifecycle.
We are happy to support and collaborate with other initiatives and projects in the fight against plastic pollution. In this article we share some of these exciting projects which help you switch to sustainable lifestyle.
Are you ready? Let’s kick-off the list!
1. Toothpaste tabs
Foto (c) Hydrophil
During your next visit in your favourite drug store or supermarket, please take a second and look at the shelves. You will immediately notice the extensive usage of plastic packaging and as it often happens for example with toothpaste. traceless offers sustainable and innovative packaging solutions for many products. However, besides packaging, changing the physical form of a product itself can be the solution, too. Hydrophil, a young and sustainable brand from Hamburg has done it! The company solves the packaging problem for toothpaste by transforming the product into tablets. These tiny and robust tabs are handy and can even be stored in the toothbrush case. The tabs are a plastic-free alternative to conventional toothpaste and we highly recommend them. Before switching to a new product, do not forget to ask your dentist first for advice.
2. Cleaning Products
Foto (c) everdrop
Similar to toothpaste tabs, a company named Everdrop focused on the product and developed alternative product forms to avoid plastic packaging. Everdrop started the project with cleaning products and extended the category by offering laundry detergents and dishwasher tabs. If you enjoy challenging yourself with New Year’s resolutions, you can go for fully organic cleaning and laundry solutions, such as Indian soap nuts, chestnuts, or ivy leaves. You can even find ideal do-it-yourself formulas on the internet for a zero-waste start in 2021.
3. Reusable Cups
Foto (c) RECUP
In Germany, 320,000 disposable cups are used every hour for hot drinks. That is around 2.8 billion disposable cups per year. 1.66 billion of these are paper cups with a plastic coating. Using reusable cups, such as thermo cups is the best solution to avoid waste, however we are not always well-armed when we leave the house. In such cases we need an alternative solution. This time a start-up from Munich makes a great deal: RECUP developed a best-in-class case showing how to use plastic in a meaningful way to fight against plastic pollution. The RECUPs are made of polypropylene (PP). The material is 100% recyclable, BPA and pollutant free. The company has established a nationwide deposit system. The founders of the company started a new project called REBOWL, which offers reusable plastic bowls to replace disposable plastic packaging for food consumption. But if you want to enjoy one last cup of coffee at the airport before your plane takes off, we will be there for you with our compostable single-use coffee cup made of traceless materials.
4. Sustainable Clothing
Foto (c) Patagonia
There are numerous things you can do for a sustainable wardrobe. Washing your clothes less frequently helps to prolong their lifespan. Buying second-hand pieces or doing a wardrobe-swap with your close friends creates a capsule wardrobe. If you indeed need a new item, then consider buying products, which are made of recycled materials. The American Outdoor Brand Patagonia is a good address. Patagonia is moving toward 100% renewable and recycled raw materials. By using both synthetic and natural fibers made from pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, the company limits their dependence on raw materials and reducing carbon emissions.68% of the fabrics Patagonia used for this season are made with recycled materials.traceless does not produce any clothes but we would love to find out if traceless materials can help make fashion even greener.
5. Beeswax Cloths
Foto (c) Gaia Store
Some plastic products are very comfortable to use and make our lives much easier. Stretch films belong in that category. It is a universally applicable product but unfortunately not an environmentally friendly one. But there are good replacement alternatives! One of them is the beeswax cloth. Since we love to support our locals, we’d like to introduce you to another start-up from Hamburg: Gaia Store. Gaia makes efforts to offer sustainable products for plastic-free households. The company was founded in 2017 and already helped to replace over 15.000 m² plastic film. We see traceless as a strong ally to Gaia in replacing plastic films. Our traceless film offers a wide range of use cases, for instance where transparent packaging and storage solutions are needed – for households as well as industrial purposes.
One important note before we close:
As consumers you have power. Your choices and feedback matter. Push companies to create sustainable solutions and let them make it easier for you to break the habits.
We wish you a joyful, healthy and sustainable year!
You can find more inspiration for sustainable ideas on traceless Instagram channel.