Dear John,

Seasons greetings to you and yours from everyone at Plastic Pollution Coalition.

What a year 2021 has been! Our shared movement continues to face immense challenges and yet has achieved so much in the past 12 months. A few wins to help put 2021 in perspective:

• The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act was reintroduced in the U.S., building support in Congress to 120 cosponsors in the House and 13 cosponsors in the Senate in addition to lead sponsors Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (CA).
  
  
• California Governor Gavin Newson signed historic sweeping legislation to significantly reduce consumption & disposal of plastic, overhauling California’s strained recycling infrastructure, and building historic statewide systems that are renewable/sustainable.
  
  
• The Story of Plastic won an Emmy award! During its free run on Discovery’s YouTube channel, it amassed over 338,000 views.
  
  
• We launched the Flip the Script on Plastics initiative to analyze and address the portrayal of plastic pollution in film and television.
  
  
• Break Free From Plastic completed the fourth major brand audit to hold corporations accountable for the plastics they create.

…just to name a few!

As 2021 comes to a close and we gather together with friends and family—whether in person or virtually—to celebrate the holidays and coming year, it’s important to remember what exactly we’re advocating for: 

• That future generations are able to live longer, healthier lives without constant involuntary exposure to toxic chemicals; 
  
  
• That we can visit beaches, rivers, and waterways without plastic pollution washing ashore; and 
  
  
• That no community on earth should have to worry for their health or the health of their loved ones living in the shadow of a petrochemical plant or an incinerator.

Please join us in celebrating our continued mission and another year moving steadily toward a more just, equitable world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts.

Happy holidays,

Dianna Cohen & the whole team at Plastic Pollution Coalition

P.S. To achieve even more in 2022, we need your help. If you haven’t already, please support our work with a year end gift. All donations by December 31st will be matched by a generous donor. In other words, your gift will be DOUBLED!

★ Harmony Foundation Honors Plastic Pollution Coalition with the 2021 Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice
Plastic Pollution Coalition CEO & Co-Founder Dianna Cohen accepted the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021 from the Harmony Foundation, presented to Plastic Pollution Coalition “for their role in leading a remarkable social movement that seeks to create a world free of plastic pollution and its hazardous impact on the planet." Dianna spoke at the Harmony International Conference via video on December 19.

★ 5 Plastic-Free Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season
The gift-giving season is upon us and you don’t need to spend a small fortune on waste-creating products to show your family and friends you care. This season, give the ones you love something meaningful with these plastic-free gift ideas.

★ PPC Youth Ambassadors Interview Experts on Plastics and COP26
PPC Youth Ambassadors Amber Chen & Eva Geierstanger interviewed Jackie Nuñez, Arlene Blum, Alexis Goldsmith, Dr. Shanna Swan, and Heather White on plastics and COP26. Watch here!

★ Story of Plastic Reaches Over 338,000 views!
In just two short months since winning an Emmy for Outstanding Writing at the 42nd News & Documentary Emmy Awards, The Story of Plastic’s free YouTube run has reached well over a quarter million viewers. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this film, and sincere gratitude to Discovery for making this important film available for free for a time.

★ Tell Amazon: Stop Polluting Our Planet With Plastic Packaging!
Oceana’s new report reveals that Amazon generated an estimated 599 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2020, with up to 23.5 million pounds of this plastic waste entering the world’s waterways and seas. Find out more and sign our petition to tell Amazon to stop polluting our planet with plastic packaging.

★ Plastic Free Future—Locating & Supporting Zero-Waste Businesses
Plastic Free Future is making it easier to locate and support businesses that are ditching single use. The non-profit features a Reuse Map that lists businesses that allow bring-your-own reusable cups or containers, sell products in bulk bins and refill stations, use 100% reusables for on-site dining, or partner with a reuse container company for takeout or events. Help them identify and celebrate businesses promoting reuse and refill by visiting their website.

January 2022 Webinar: “Flip the Script On Plastics” in Hollywood: Rethinking Single-Use Plastics in Film & Television
Join us Wednesday, January 19, 2022, for a deep-dive discussion on Flip the Script on Plastics—an initiative to empower the entertainment industry to model real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis, both on set and in storylines. Our star-studded panel will include Yareli Arizmendi, Ed Begley Jr., Kyra Sedgwick, and Dana Weinstein of the USC Norman Lear Center. Sign up.