Friend,
Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our future for hundreds of years. Yet major retailers continue relying on single-use plastics that we simply don't need.
We're calling on companies such as Costco, Amazon and Whole Foods to move beyond plastic -- and we think 2022 is the year to do it.
Throughout the past year, our national network has been building public support and passing more and more laws to reduce plastic pollution. And we're ready to capitalize on that progress in the coming year and get these companies to commit to stopping their worst uses of plastic in 2022.
But that's not all. We'll keep working to pass bans on the worst single-use plastics, along with producer responsibility laws to hold companies accountable for the plastic pollution they create.
Thank you for your support,
Faye Park
President
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. PIRG <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Dec 31, 2021
Subject: One day left: Donate to help us move these companies beyond plastic
To: Friend <[email protected]>
 |
Friend,
Our world is drowning in single-use plastics, and just 20 companies are responsible for over half of it.1
From Amazon to Costco to Whole Foods, megaretailers are producing massive amounts of single-use plastics every day that flood into our oceans and landfills.
We're working to end plastic pollution by calling on industry giants to commit to ending the worst uses of single-use plastics. We've collected tens of thousands of petition signatures to companies urging them to reduce plastic waste, but we aren't stopping now, and we need your help to make sure our message gets heard.
This is a critical campaign, and that's why generous donors will match donations until midnight tonight, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000 nationwide. Will you help us move beyond plastic by fueling our campaign today?
These three major retailers have the opportunity to end their part in the plastic waste crisis and spur industry-wide changes. But right now, they're still producing massive amounts of plastic.
Amazon: According to one report, Amazon was responsible for 465 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2019.2 That's an absurd amount of plastic. After public outcry, Amazon decided this year to reduce its use of plastic packaging -- but only in Germany.3
Whole Foods: Back in 2008, Whole Foods was the first retailer to stop distributing plastic bags at checkout.4 But since then, the grocer has fallen far behind in the work to end plastic pollution. Will 2022 be the year Whole Foods recommits to the planet and takes single-use plastic packaging off its shelves? This year our national network knocked on tens of thousands of doors to help spread the word and build support for our campaign.
Costco: This year, a survey of major retailers gave Costco an "F" for its single-use plastic packaging.5 This big box retailer needs to move beyond plastic in 2022, and more than 10,000 PIRG supporters have already signed on to our petition.
The path forward is clear, and reducing single-use plastics is a must. It's time to stop adding to the mountains of plastic waste coming from major retailers.
We're committed to getting these megaretailers off plastic, and we know how to do it. We're building a public call to action that these companies can't ignore. We're also working outside of the industry to pass bans on some of the worst single-use plastics and to hold plastic producers responsible for the pollution they create -- building on some of the successes we had this year in Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Colorado.
This year, we helped pass the first producer responsibility legislation in Maine and Oregon, holding our waste-makers accountable.
Thank you for your support,
Faye Park
President
1. Sandra Laville, "Twenty firms produce 55% of world's plastic waste, report reveals," The Guardian, May 17, 2021.
2. David Vetter, "This Is How Much Plastic From Amazon Deliveries Ends Up In The Ocean," Forbes, December 15, 2020.
3. "Amazon to cut down plastic packaging in Germany," Associated Press, November 22, 2021.
4. "Tell Whole Foods: Move Beyond Plastic," U.S. PIRG, last accessed December 20, 2021.
5. "2021 Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard," As You Sow, September 29, 2021.
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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