We're delving into environmental responsibility in fashion, and sharing five bite-sized findings. Anything you want to know about it? Ask us a question in the comments.

Plus, if you haven’t heard it yet, our episode on packaging is live. 

1. “Up until the 1940s, when mass production, shifts in consumerism, and plastics came into play, things were actually quite circular.” We’re seeing more and more circular packaging solutions, but we’ll need a lot more for them to hit the mainstream again.
2. Polyester makes up more than half of the world’s fibre production - twice more than cotton. Animal fibres like wool, down, and silk make up just over 1.5% of total production. 
3. “A lot of donors look to the quantity and not to the quality. They want numbers… instead of looking at the depth of the innovation." Nadia Campos (iDE Global) spoke about the barriers nonprofits face from donors in our giving research. 
4. “A self sustaining, zero waste, productive house that demonstrates the potential of our homes to provide shelter, produce food and generate energy.”
5. Google and WWF have joined forces to create The Global Fibre Impact Explorer (not yet publicly available). “The primary goal is to identify high risk fibres in brands' portfolio and then guide them to recommendations on how to support local initiatives to improve their environmental impact.” Would you use a tool like this?

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The great packaging pileup: finding better ways to wrap up our goods

In this episode, we take a closer look at the claims and terms that we see often written on or said about packaging, like recyclable, recycled content, reusable, biodegradable... and try to demystify  what they mean in practice. We give some advice to businesses about how they can tell customers what to do with packaging once it's in their hands. 

We also share another framework to help businesses improve their packaging approach from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, with an example about the world's largest cosmetics company, L'Oreal.

Listen here 

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Using business as a force for good is possible, but complicated. How is your business tracking when it comes to its social and environmental impact? Have you got a plan in place? Do you know where to focus your efforts? If you need a hand, get in touch for a quick chat about how we could help.