An excellent petition sponsored by storyofstuff.org to get Coca-Cola and McDonald’s to stop using single-use plastic in their products. Please check it out….
McDonald’s and Coca-Cola: Stop Attacking Europe’s Plastics Law
Take Action NowTell McDonald’s and Coca-Cola leadership to stop hindering implementation of the EU’s plastics law.Sign the Petition
Last month, we released the latest video in our Exposed series featuring Saabira Chaudhuri, a former WSJ reporter, lifting a lid on McDonald’s extensive lobbying campaign to extricate itself from the PPWR and weaken the law as a whole before it was passed. Now that it has passed and the regulations are about to kick in, they’re back at it.It’s critical that these companies are not successful. Please send a letter to McDonald’s and Coca-Cola executives right now to help defend one of the strongest plastics reduction laws in the world and show US corporations they can’t quietly rewrite global public health and environmental protections behind closed doors.Europe’s landmark plastics law is supposed to take effect this August. McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are hoping the public won’t notice what they’re doing before then – let’s prove them wrong!For healthy people and a healthy planet, Sam, Alex, and all of us at The Story of Stuff Project
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This comes to us from PLUM HOLLOW in substack: https://substack.com/@plumhollow/note/c-244925080?r=1mij3p&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action . This man is harvesting the plant “Water Hyacinth”, which is the world’s most invasive aquatic weed, and producing a product that looks and acts just like plastic but is biodegradable!!! As PLUM HOLLOW says in her post, “PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS”! WOW!!!!
*PUBLISHED by Greenpeace U.S. DECEMBER 2025 GREENPEACE INC. 1300 Eye Street, NW Suite 1100 East Washington, D.C. 20005 – http://www.GREENPEACE.ORG
This is an incredible article. It is illuminating and packed with charts, summaries, and tables. Here’s the table of contents:
Executive Summary Circular Claims Proven False (2025 Update) Introduction: Unmasking the Merchants of Myth 1 Timeline of Deceit 2 Circles of influence 5 1. Mapping the Merchants of Myth: Members, Messages, Tactics 7 1.1.2 Petrochemical Industry 7 Propaganda techniques used by Petrochemical Industry trade associations 9 1.1.3 Consumer Products Industry 11 1.1.4 Organizations funded by the Plastics and Products Industries 12 1.2 Merchants of Myth: Main Deceptive Messages 14 1.3 Merchants of Myth: Primary Propaganda Tactics 16 1.4 Merchants of Myth: Circular Blame Game for Causes of Plastic Recycling Failure 21 2. U.S. and California Legal Requirements for Claiming Plastics Are Recyclable 23 2.1 U.S. FTC Green Guides Requirements 24 2.2 California Legal Requirements 25 how2recycle labels prohibited under the Truth in labeling Law 26 3. U.S. National Post-Consumer Rigid Plastic Waste and Recycling Assessment 29 3.1 Summary of Results 31 3.2 2025 U.S. Plastic Waste Generation by Type 32 3.3 U.S. Population Access to Curbside Recycling (Factor 1) 33 3.4 Percentage of U.S. MRFs That Accept a Specific Item (Factor 2) 33 3.5 Existing U.S. Recycling/Reprocessing Capacity (Factor 3): Assessment of U.S. Post-Consumer Rigid Plastic Waste Recycling/Reprocessing Facilities 35 3.5.1 Assessment Scope 35 3.5.2 Assessment Results 36 4. 2025 California Post-Consumer Rigid Plastic Waste and Recycling Assessment 41 4.1 2025 California Plastic Waste Generation by Type 43 4.2 Acceptance of Items in California Curbside Recycling Bins (Criterion 1) 44 4.3 Sortation of Items into Defined Streams in California MRFs (Criterion 2) 44 4.4 Recycling/Reprocessing Capacity for California’s Post-Consumer Plastic Waste (Criterion 3) 45 4.5 Contamination Levels in Plastic Waste Bales Produced by California 46 MRFS and Compliance with Basel Convention (Criterion 4) 5. Conclusion: what we are calling for 48 Appendix A: U.S. EPA 2018 Sustainable Materials Management Report – Table 8 for Plastics 50 Appendix B. 2025 Survey of U.S. Materials Recovery Facilities for Plastic Waste Item Acceptance in Curbside Recycling Bins: Survey Methodology and Public Transparency 52 appendix C: Survey of u.s. post-consumer rigid plastic waste recycling/ reprocessing facilities 53 Appendix D: Survey of U.S. Post-Consumer Rigid Plastic Waste Recycling/ Reprocessing Facilities 55 Appendix E: Master Survey of All U.S. Plastic Waste Recycling/Reprocessing Facilities 55 REFERENCES 62 endnotes
Spread the word about these companies’ plastic clothing to more people and build momentum for change.
Sign the petition to urge children’s clothing makers to reduce their polyester footprint. here
Here’s their message that arrived today from their email to me as a subscriber:
“Did you know that most clothing is made of plastic? In fact, polyester is now the most widely produced fiber in the world, accounting for more than half of all global fiber production.1
This is a particular concern for the youngest members of society. 👶👶🏾 Babies and kids are more vulnerable to the toxic chemicals used in plastics than adults because their brains and organs are still developing, they receive a higher dosage due to their smaller body size, and they tend to put their hands and clothing in their mouths often.2 😨
That’s why we’re working to protect children’s health by calling on three top children’s clothing-makers to stop using so much toxic plastic in their products. 🛑 Will you please join us by signing our petition to these brands? ✍️
Unfortunately, more and more clothing is made out of polyester—a form of plastic made from fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals that includes many chemicals of concern. ☣️👕👖👚
Defenders of Health’s 2025 Children’s Fashion Scorecard found that many of the chemicals used in polyester — including phthalates, bisphenols, and flame retardants—are known “endocrine disrupters”3 that interfere with the body’s hormonal system, which is essential to a child’s development. Studies have found that exposure to endocrine disrupters, even at low levels, can have long-lasting consequences in children.4
On the bright side, there are safer fibers available to clothing-makers, including cotton, linen, wool, and hemp. ✅ And, just as they control the style and fit of the clothes they manufacture, clothing companies can also choose to cut down on polyester and other synthetic fabric in their products.
Please join us in urging leading children’s clothing makers Carter’s, H&M, and The Children’s Place to stop using so much of this plastic in their products. Add your name to the petition here.
In 2024, H&M reported that polyester makes up 22% of its clothing, with other synthetic fabrics including acrylic, elastane, and cellulosic fiber fabrics like viscose, modal, and lyocell accounting for an additional 12 to 22% of its products.5
In 2024, Carter’s reported that polyester makes up 28% of its clothing, with the synthetic fabrics viscose and elastane accounting for an additional 2.8% of its products.6
In 2022, The Children’s Place reported that polyester makes up 17.9% of its clothing, with the synthetic fabrics modal, viscose, nylon, elastane and acrylic accounting for an additional 2.6% of its products.7
That’s a whole LOT of plastic. 🆘
We believe that all babies and children deserve to wear safe, non-toxic clothing that will not threaten their health or harm the environment.
Please join Beyond Plastics and our allies at Defend Our Health in urging these companies to commit to reducing their polyester footprint and providing more transparency about the chemicals used in their clothing. Click the button below to add your name to the petition. ⬇️
It’s bad enough that researchers keep finding plastic trash blocking the digestive tracts of dolphins. Or “shocking” levels of smaller plastic particles, known as microplastics, in sea turtles.1Now scientists are finding microplastics in people too, and they’re growing increasingly concerned about the impacts on our health.That’s why we’re urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Microplastics Safety Act, which would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to study the impacts of microplastic exposure on human health.2Add your name. Tell your U.S. House representative to support the Microplastics Safety Act today.Research suggests microplastics in people could lead to inflammation, lung and liver effects, and a disturbing list of other health problems. But the researchers need to do more. And given increasing plastic and pollution, we can’t wait long for the answers.Just as a turtle doesn’t know that it’s eating a plastic bag instead of a jellyfish, most of us don’t know that we’re ingesting plastic dust from plastic-wrapped tomatoes and peppers, plastic water bottles or even the air we breathe.3 Nor do we know what all this plastic is doing to our health. We’re guinea pigs in a massive science experiment that nobody authorized.Researchers have found links between microplastic consumption and health issues ranging from inflammation to rising rates of cancer and more.4,5 But they need to do much more research to determine how strong these links are — and how worried we should be.The Microplastic Safety Act would help fill this knowledge gap by directing the FDA to conduct a comprehensive study of the impacts of microplastics on our health. And this bill has something rare in Congress these days: bipartisan support.Will you tell your U.S. House representative to help protect our health from microplastics?The Microplastics Safety Act wont stop the flow of plastic waste and pollution into our environment and our bodies. But it could result in powerful new evidence for why we must stop this pollution — not only to save sea turtles and dolphins, but people, too.Congress has an opportunity to take a step in the right direction to help us all better understand how microplastics affect human health. Ignoring the threat of microplastics to our health is unacceptable.Urge your U.S. House representative to support the Microplastics Safety Act today.Thank you,Lisa Frank Executive Director
Environment America, Inc. 1543 Wazee Street, Suite 410, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 801-0581 Member Questions or Requests: 1-800-401-6511 Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Here’s an excellent article from BEYOND PLASTICS that details where plastics are being used in building materials (only packaging accounts for more) and what alternatives are available in each case. The impact to our environment and our health is growing and plastics in building materials are expected to TRIPLE from 2019 levels by the year 2060. LINK
This hardly comes as a surprise, but Jennifer McDermott makes clear the main issues that were presented in Geneva and where the failures occurred. We know only too well why they failed. Here’s her article: Link.
In what could be the final round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, governments might as well be wrapping things up in plastic. A strong outcome could make this a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rein in plastic pollution and deliver binding rules to hold polluters accountable. But all seems status quo out in Switzerland where the UN meetings are taking place, and without strong leadership and commitments, the Treaty could end up toothless — full of promises but short on impact. Here’s a quick look at what’s happening in Geneva:♳ What’s at stake This round of UN negotiations will determine whether the Treaty:Caps virgin plastic production, or lets it keep rising uncheckedBans harmful additives and single-use plastics, or merely encourages voluntary changeIncludes strong enforcement and global funding, or leaves countries on their ownThat’s why we’re calling for a treaty that is legally binding, ambitious, and fair — one that puts people and planet over profit. Headlines you should seeTotal infiltration: how plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talksLobbyists from the plastics and fossil fuel industries have flooded past meetings, threatening to derail meaningful progress. World in $1.5tn ‘plastics crisis’ hitting health from infancy to old age, report warns Plastic pollution is fueling a global health emergency and costing the world economy over $1.5 trillion each year — driven by a 200‑fold surge in production since 1950, with amounts projected to nearly triple by 2060. Plastic-clogged ‘Thinker’ sculpture highlights pollution crisis as UN treaty talks beginA towering “Thinker” sculpture outside the UN was buried in plastic waste to spotlight the growing threat plastic poses to human health and future generations as treaty talks began. Add your name The future is as yet unwritten. With public pressure, we can still shape a treaty that curbs plastic production and delivers justice for communities impacted by pollution. Share the petition today and stand with us in calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.
For a cleaner, healthier planet,The Only One Team
We have only one planet and only one ocean, and there is only one way to do this: Together. Sign up or log in here Connect with us!
These are indeed dark and deeply disturbing days we’re having to witness. Faith and hope are always welcome allies, but we’ll also need non-violent action in the days to come to stem the tide of brutality and injustice that’s being foisted upon the people by the current administration. There isn’t room here to iterate the wrongs being committed.
FWIW (For What It’s Worth) I have found a great source of comfort in reading the many wonderful articles to be found in Substack.com. It’s more than people ranting and raving about what we’re up against. There are also writings that bring comfort, inspiration, and perspective. One among many is Dino Alonso. This website/application is a truly excellent model – it doesn’t cost a dime to subscribe. If/when you find an author, or you yourself wish to contribute as one, you will find a host that is more interested in disseminating ideas than making money. Blessings on you and yours!
This article from the Associated Press describes very well exactly where we are today with respect to addressing this crisis we’re facing and how we got here:
