Dear John,

When the American Academy of Pediatrics began to highlight the growing body of evidence showing that plastic chemicals are harmful to children, an Indiana-based pediatrician, Dr. Manasa Mantravadi, drew inspiration from her Indian roots to launch Ahimsa, a company specializing in colorful stainless steel dishes for kids. This month, Dr. Mantravadi sat down with Plastic Pollution Coalition Managing Director Julia Cohen to discuss how plastics and PFAS, as well as toxic lead, harm children. As lead pipe replacement is underway across the U.S., we must ensure our children's health is put first, and that we don't swap one toxic problem (lead) with another (plastic) in the forms of single-use bottled water and/or plastic PVC pipes. Learn more.

Despite another year of wins for our shared movement, plastic production continues to increase at an exponential rate. A recent report by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are on track to fail to meet their own commitments to reduce plastic by the year 2025. But thanks to your work and support, these companies, as well as governments worldwide, are increasingly feeling the pressure to turn off the plastic tap. With UN negotiations underway for a Global Plastics Treaty, and reusable alternatives now increasingly represented in media, our mission to stop plastic pollution is making a difference and our movement has never been more visible or effective.

Finally, with the start of the holiday season, we are often asked how to gift mindfully and plastic free to protect our health and the environment—something we discussed during our November webinar Plastic-Free Presents: Mindful Gifting for Healthier Holidays. We know it is best to be present, create new traditions, or give experiences and second-hand gifts instead of buying products extracted from Earth’s precious natural resources. But if you are planning to purchase new physical gifts this year, the next best option is to support plastic-free businesses that strive to be friendlier to people and the planet. We invite you to check out our 2022 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide for exclusive discounts from PPC Business Members—up to 30% off a wide-range of plastic-free items. Sign up here.

Onward together,

Dianna Cohen, MPH
Co-Founder & CEO
Plastic Pollution Coalition

P.S. Another great gift idea is to make a donation in your loved one’s honor to a cause they care about deeply. Today is the last day to have your gift matched for GivingTuesday. Thanks so much for your support!

★ Filtered Not Bottled: Protecting Communities from the Toxic Impacts of Lead and Plastic
The U.S. government has approved $15 billion dollars to address toxic lead water pipes, also known as service lines, which an estimated 22 million people rely on across the country. During community lead-pipe replacement projects, state or local governments typically provide affected homes with bottled water for drinking and cooking—but this only swaps one toxic problem for another. Plastic Pollution Coalition has two urgent science-backed recommendations for municipalities and states that will help protect community health and prioritize non-plastic solutions: filtered, not bottled water, and plastic-free pipes. Learn more.

★ Corporations Have Increased Plastic Production, Despite Commitments to End Plastic Pollution, Says New Report
Despite commitments to end plastic pollution, corporations like Nestlé, PepsiCo, and The Coca-Cola Company have only increased their plastic production, according to a new report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme. The report found that these corporations will “almost certainly” not meet their own voluntary target of using plastic packaging that is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable by the year 2025. Read more.

★ October Webinar: A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies
Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. They’re small enough to enter our cells, and they can mimic our hormones. Scientists are only beginning to understand the long-term impacts that these invisible contaminants have on our bodies—many have been linked to diseases, from diabetes to certain cancers. Plastics are a risk to all of us—made up of over 10,000 chemicals that are harmful to our health and the planet. During our October 27 webinar, we discussed the new book from Island Press, A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, with author Matt Simon, in addition to Doctors Deonie & Steve Allen in a conversation moderated by Plastic Pollution Coalition Executive Advisory Board member Asher Jay. Watch here. And find a discount on the book in our 2022 Plastic-Free Holiday Guide!

★ November Webinar: Plastic-Free Presents: Mindful Gifting for Healthier Holidays
Cultural norms around holiday gift giving often create an ocean of waste in their wake—in packaging, wrapping, and in the many gifted items that are used a limited number of times before breaking or being discarded. Many of these items are made from plastic that off-gases toxic chemicals and sheds microplastic particles, which are harmful to animals and people, especially children. On November 17, we were joined by Alejandra Warren, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Plastic Free Future and Dr. Manasa Mantravadi, Pediatrician, Founder/CEO of Ahimsa for a special holiday webinar moderated by PPC Co-Founder & CEO Director Dianna Cohen. Watch here.

★ Plastic “Tox” Episode 4: Plastic And Your Child’s Health With Dr. Manasa Mantravadi
Dr. Manasa Mantravadi is a board-certified pediatrician who practices in Indiana as a Pediatric Hospitalist, and is the CEO and Founder of the first company specializing in creating colorful, non-toxic stainless steel dishes for kids, Ahimsa. Dr. Mantravadi sat down with PPC Co-Founder & Managing Director Julia Cohen to discuss the impacts of plastics, PFAS, and lead on children during their developmental years and how to avoid exposing your family to these harmful substances in your home. Listen here.

★ Plastic “Tox” Episode 5: Powering Collective Action Through Art & Music with AY Young
AY Young is a musician, songwriter, artist, producer, PPC Youth Ambassador and sustainability advocate who uses his creativity to highlight issues related to the global climate crisis. The United Nations has named AY as one of 17 youth leaders from around the world “recognized for their leadership and contribution to a more sustainable world.” AY sat down with PPC Co-Founder & CEO Dianna Cohen to discuss the power of individual small actions and how coming from a family of changemakers influenced him to use the power of art and music to bring awareness to important issues and drive change. Listen here.

★ Plastic “Tox” Episode 6: Plastic-Free Products for Clean Beauty with Joshua Onysko
Joshua Onysko is an award-winning entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Pangea Organics. For more than 20 years, Joshua has led Pangea in developing sustainable, plant-based body and skincare products, culminating in the latest product launches in 2021 featuring plastic-free packaging. Pangea’s formulas combine natural ingredients to create products that are clean and nourishing. Joshua sat down with PPC Vice President of Programs & Communications Jen Fela to discuss Joshua’s journey as an entrepreneur. Listen here.

★ 2022 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide
Plastic Pollution Coalition’s 2022 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide features a wide range of eco-friendly products from Business Members committed to stopping plastic pollution. It also includes books from publisher Island Press with an exclusive PPC discount. Enjoy discount codes up to 30% and support plastic-free giving. Sign up here.

★ Citywide Film
Fishtown films—the first zero-waste production company—is offering a special promotion for their film, “Citywide,” which generated only 16 oz of waste total during filming and production. The film premieres on Vimeo December 5 and is available for 50% off with presale promo code plasticpollutes. The code will be good for one day, until December 6. Pre-order here. And don’t miss our recent “Plastic Tox” interview with Fishtown Films Co-Founders Austin Elston and Emily Gallagher, where they discuss how going zero-waste in their own lives inspired them to create their company. Listen here.

★ Track Your Spending & Shop Sustainably with Karma Wallet
PPC Business Member Karma Wallet has created a data-driven personal finance tool that allows you to compare retailers based on environmental impact before you shop. They gather data from more than 30 trusted sources to evaluate thousands of retailers on their social and environmental performance. Find retailers that list PPC as a value and choose plastic-free alternatives this holiday season! As part of our partnership with them, PPC Members can create free accounts—making it easy to support our people- and planet-focused PPC Business Members. Make your free account here and start earning cash back!

★ Tell EPA to Take Action to Study the Impacts of PVA/PVOH
This month, Plastic Pollution Coalition and other nonprofit groups joined cleaning products company Blueland to petition the U.S. EPA to urgently study and regulate a type of plastic called polyvinyl alcohol (which is also referred to as “PVA” or “PVOH”). The plastics industry, and the petrochemical industry which fuels it, has long tapped into misinformation campaigns to mislead the public and regulatory bodies, enabling widespread production and pollution of plastic across our planet and in our bodies. Since little is still known about the effects of PVA, even after decades of use, we are calling on the EPA to thoroughly study the impacts these plastics have on our health and the environment. Sign the petition.

★ Tell Activewear CEOs: Take the BPA Out of Sports Bras and Athletic Shirts!
New testing by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found BPA in eight brands of sports bras and six brands of athletic shirts. Some of these clothing articles contained levels of BPA up to 22 times the safe limit of the chemical established under California law. Add your name to the petition to tell these fashion CEOs to take the BPA out of their products.

★ Tell EPA: Don’t Replace Lead Pipes with Plastic Pollution
The U.S. Federal government has approved $15 billion to replace toxic lead services lines bringing water into the homes of 22 million people in the U.S. Sign the petition to ensure this funding goes to safe, non-plastic solutions that put community health and safety first.

➤ Find more Petitions on our website.

Securing Strong Extended Producer Responsibility – Beyond Plastics & Just Zero Webinar
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging is heating up in state capitals across the U.S., both from environmental groups and plastic producers. Beyond Plastics and Just Zero are supporting a model bill that requires: packaging to be reduced, refilled, or reused by 50% over 10 years; toxics in packaging to be reduced; a new revenue source to be established for local governments to invest in waste reduction and recycling programs; chemical recycling to be prohibited in all of its incarnations; and materials that cannot be source reduced to be recycled at a 70% rate over 10 years. Join Judith Enck, Kirstie Pecci, and Peter Blair for a special briefing on the model EPR bill on Wednesday, December 7 at 4pm EST. They will explain their model and the differences from other packaging proposals being peddled by the packaging industry. Register here.

➤ Find more Upcoming Events on our website & submit an event.