Picture this, Friend:

It's Thanksgiving 2025, and for the first time, you're able to get all the groceries you need without bringing home a mountain of unnecessary plastic waste.

Now imagine people all across the country are able to do the same -- what could that mean for the fight against plastic pollution?

We can make that vision a reality if we raise our voices together and call on major retailers like Costco to reduce single-use plastic packaging in their stores. We've shown time and again: When everyday Americans get organized, we can drive bold change.

Will you stand with us in this crucial campaign, and help us reach our $20,000 goal, by donating to our Giving Tuesday drive?

Every day, people like you and me are trying to do our part to fight the ever-growing scourge of plastic pollution. And every day, we run into the same problem: Nearly everywhere we go to shop or eat, single-use plastics are all but unavoidable.

And Costco is one of the worst offenders -- a recent survey of major retailers' plastic reduction policies gave Costco an "F" for failing to reduce single-use plastic packaging at its stores.1

A national big-box retail chain, one that always somehow seems to have everything you need, should at least be trying to reduce the mountain of single-use plastic it produces. Costco's "F" grade shows it has a long way to go -- but it also represents a huge opportunity for the store to go from zero to hero in the fight against plastic pollution.

If we convince Costco to step up and eliminate single-use plastic packaging, it could make a big difference right now and set the stage for more brands to follow suit. Donate today to help move Costco and other corporations beyond plastic.

Support from people like you has already driven landmark progress toward getting rid of the single-use plastics we just don't need.

From the nation's first bottle deposit laws in Oregon and Massachusetts, to statewide bans on the worst single-use plastics in California, Colorado, Virginia and more, to recent commitments from Coca-Cola and Target to reduce virgin plastic use, every year more of our country is choosing to move beyond plastic and toward a zero-waste future.2,3

Still, we've got our work cut out for us. America produces enough plastic waste every day to fill 1.5 football stadiums -- and less than 10% of it actually gets recycled, while the rest is left to clog our landfills, litter our parks and pollute our waterways.4,5

But the more of this plastic we can simply cut out of our lives, the less daunting our plastic pollution crisis will become. That starts with major producers and sellers of single-use plastic leading the way toward a future with less waste.

We've set a goal of raising $20,000 by midnight tonight to ensure our campaigns have the resources they need in the months ahead. Will you be a part of our Giving Tuesday drive and help move Costco and our country beyond plastic?

Thank you for your support,

Faye Park
President

1. "2021 Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard," As You Sow, last accessed November 12, 2021.
2. "Beyond Plastic," U.S. PIRG, last accessed November 12, 2021.
3. "Statement: Target's new plastic packaging goal is a step in the right direction," U.S. PIRG, June 22, 2021.
4. "Break the Waste Cycle," U.S. PIRG Education Fund, October 29, 2020.
5. Laura Sullivan, "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled," NPR, September 11, 2020.

Your donation will power our dedicated staff of organizers, policy experts and attorneys who drive all of our campaigns in the public interest, from banning Roundup and moving us beyond plastic, to saving our antibiotics and being your consumer watchdog, to protecting our environment and our democracy. None of our work would be possible without the support of people just like you.

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