Marjolein Thickett 🌍 AITI

As part of a coordinated push on the UK market, Organic Sweden is bringing together nine companies under a shared pavilion at this week’s Nordic Organic Food Fair event in Stockholm (October 9-10 at Kistamässan in Stockholm). The pavilion is part of a broader push towards the UK, where the demand for organic and sustainable products is steadily increasing. Organic Sweden sees the UK market as a priority for Swedish organic exports and aims to strengthen ties with UK stakeholders through this project, which will run until 2026. The companies exhibiting at the stand include Berte Qvarn AB, Biofood, Camelina Of Sweden, Dig, Fazer Mills, Moonvalley, Nordic Chocolate, Oh Mungood, and Svenska LantChips AB. Together, they represent a rich diversity of organic products across various categories such as snacks, bars, cereals, oils, and plant-based alternatives. Commenting, Charlotte Bladh André, CEO of Organic Sweden, said: “We are excited to bring together some of Sweden’s leading organic companies under one umbrella and showcase the strong added values that come with organic production. Within the EU, strict requirements are placed on organic production, and through certification, Swedish organic companies can guarantee sustainable production that truly makes a difference for both the environment and the consumer." https://lnkd.in/eke_gtpW

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Businesses will face significant consequences if their packaging is not compliant with the regulations brought about by the EU Green Deal. Packaging that isn’t compliant could be recalled, meaning the products within are also recalled. This is costly and challenging to fix and could damage the brand’s reputation and destroy consumer trust. #packaging #consumer #eu #europe https://lnkd.in/d5udnjB3

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While last-minute packaging data submissions are winging their way for the 31 May deadline, let’s get a quick update on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): * The draft EPR regulations were sent to the European Union and World Trade Organisation on 1 May. Later this year, the legislation will be brought before UK Parliament to come into force 1 January 2025. * Producers will start accruing packaging fees from April 2025, with modulated fees introduced from 2026. All labelling obligations will commence 1 April 2027. * Changes to the draft EPR regulations include recycling targets for 2025-30; drinks containers to be subject to EPR if a Deposit Return Scheme is not in place by 1 January 2028; and the removal of binned waste/litter, which will be covered by a separate regulation. The definition of ‘Household packaging’ has been widened to exempt packaging sold through third parties for business use. * The EPR Scheme Administrator will soon publish a call for evidence around modulated fees, and this document will include estimated base EPR fees. * EPR will be the same in all four nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales). At first, the focus will be on recycling, but in the future EPR will also consider things like refill and reuse. * Local authorities will be guaranteed 80% of their packaging waste management net costs. In return, they will have to prove they are providing the best service they can. * Poorly performing authorities will be given support to improve their services, so that producers get value for money and as much high-quality recycled material as possible. * Despite uncertainty around this year’s general election, Dr Margaret Bates (Head of EPR Scheme Administrator) said she believes “there is a commitment at all levels of government to EPR and to the reforms” but added that it’s likely to have “administrative implications.” Sources: DEFRA, Packaging News #Sustainability #Packaging #SustainablePackaging #CircularEconomy #Recycling #Waste

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Key Objectives of GRS: Recycled Content Verification: The primary focus is to verify that a product contains a specified amount of recycled content (such as recycled fibers or materials), reducing the need for virgin resources. Environmental and Social Responsibility: GRS aims to improve the environmental and social performance of products, from raw material sourcing to manufacturing, including aspects like water usage, energy consumption, and fair labor practices. Supply Chain Transparency: The standard emphasizes the traceability of recycled materials in the supply chain to ensure that recycled content is effectively incorporated into the final product. This includes verification of the recycling processes and the supply chain transparency. Chemical Management: GRS establishes guidelines on restricted substances to ensure that harmful chemicals are not present in the recycled materials or the final product.

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Thank you Michael P. Washburn, Ph.D. For sharing this survey & article. It sheds light on how so many companies have little understanding or control on what’s coming down the EPR highway. Here are 4 key points from the article, a survey of senior packaging and retail industry professionals: 1) Only 25 percent think their strategy for sustainable packaging is “robust and achievable.” 2) Only 14 percent believe their business is on track for 100 percent accuracy in the data to manage their packaging sustainability and ensure compliance with regulations like extended producer responsibility (EPR). 3) More than 25 percent of respondents admitted they still are collecting data manually, rather than using a dedicated platform or an existing product lifecycle management platform 4) Only 11 percent were confident they knew what had to be done both now and in the future, while the remaining 89 percent said they knew only part of the picture.

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A few (incomplete) impressions from Climate Week: 🎯Voluntary #sustainability target setting leads to a bevy of self congratulatory trivial achievements. e.g. * a fashion sustainability leader shared her company’s water reductions of 30% / unit….(but did not include water at the farm level)… * an industry collaboration trumpeted a goal to zero out participants carbon emissions (but, only for their own operations, which represent 2% of the total).. * an airline executive touted carbon reductions from slowing docking speeds and lowering food waste…(when 99% of airline emissions are related to burning fossil fuels). 🛍️ Profits are distributed unevenly in value chains and those with the biggest profits are often furthest from the "outsourced" social and environmental impact. By contrast, suppliers who deliver the biggest negative impacts often have the least resources. 💰Sustainability costs money and most investments are NPV negative. Discussions of innovative “creative financing” and collaboration lack scale. 🌎 Committed NGOs describe the mounting challenges…executives nod…and the chasm between the two remains vast. 🔬Planetary challenges are science based….but…almost no companies are reporting their “sustainability” progress using science and comparing their progress to planetary boundaries.  📲Impressive energy and courage from founders #ClimateTech ventures seeking to address carbon emissions, agriculture productivity, low emissions mobility, alternative proteins, (see, for example, Yard Stick PBC, Vow, Reflect Orbital, Zeno, AM Batteries , Revel, ZymoChem….). As long as system structure, rules and incentives remain broken….#ClimateWeek will remain aspirational and inadequate. Alison Taylor John Elkington Joel Makower Heather Clancy Maxine Bédat Sarah Kent Rachel Arthur Rachel Cernansky Kate A Larsen Samantha Taylor Noel Kinder Deanna Bratter Bill Baue Cynthia Cummis Tariq Fancy Lisa Sachs Leslie Johnston, M.Sc.Tom Lyon Mike Barnett Auden Schendler Adam Rome Nolan Lindquist Andrew King Andy Hoffman Matt Powell Tim Mohin Denise Hearn Gillian Marcelle, PhD Mads Oscar Haumann

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👕🧶 Cobalt Fashion is measuring with Carbonfact! Cobalt Knitwear switched from manual carbon accounting with consultants to working with Carbonfact. The knitwear supplier chose a more scalable method, especially because of the increased reporting needs coming up with the #CSRD and the French Eco-Score. Read more about how we minimized the time for ellen arosio, Senior Compliance and Sustainability Manager, on data admin tasks and ensured 100% transparency in calculations https://lnkd.in/edTNxgpD

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🪧 Environmental labeling: How can traceability help improve scores? ➡️ Provide accurate primary data. For instance, disclosing the origin of raw materials, the country of spinning, or the proportion of air transportation instead of opting for Ecobalyse’s default value will avoid overestimating environmental impact! ➡️ Display traceability information directly on products. 15% of the durability coefficient depends on whether traceability information is accessible to consumers. This coefficient, in turn, influences product's overall lifespan, making traceability a pivotal factor in environmental cost calculation. Get in touch and start tracing your products now! #SupplyChain #Sustainability #Traceability #AffichageEnvironnemental

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SAVE THE DATE - Social protection for garment workers, 21 May, 3pm UK / 4pm CET "Please join the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and IndustriALL Global Union for a one-hour investor webinar on 21 May at 3pm UK/4pm CET, when we will explore the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh. Speakers will include trade union representatives, GIZ and signatory brands, who will speak about the EIS and the impact it is already having.    The EIS pilot was created to bring Bangladesh, the world’s second largest exporter of garments, closer to comprehensive employment injury insurance. Such insurance is one of the most fundamental forms of social protection, an internationally recognized labour right central to building social resilience in the face of crises. The pilot is a concrete example of a social protection programme that is up and running: several dozen well-known brands and retailers are participating, and payouts from the pilot’s fund to affected workers are underway.   In the webinar you will learn more about this innovative programme, which brings together companies, trade unions, the government, supplier factories and the ILO to solve a sector-wide challenge. We will also discuss why the EIS is relevant to investors, and what they can do to support it.    The webinar will be moderated by John Gray, Vice Chair, LAPFF.   You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eSzPK5XM"

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💀🌲 Killed by cardboard packaging! Indeed, that’s both the title of the most recent Greenpeace Sweden report and the reality of Swedish old-growth forests. 📝 This report was published today and it denounces the devastating impacts that e-commerce packaging has on centuries-old (!!) forests in Sweden. The final product? Your Amazon package. This reports is yet another proof that paper packaging doesn’t come from “well-managed forests” in Europe. They decimate ecosystems! Centuries-old European forests – central to Europe’s fight against the climate crisis – are being turned into throw-away packaging and sold across Europe. ❌ Don’t kill old-growth forests for paper packaging! 🤓 Full Report here: https://lnkd.in/dNSBRn6t 🔁 Share this message to spread the word of the deforestation caused by throw-away e-commerce packaging on century-old forests #Sweden #Sveridge #Packaging #Cardboard #MakeThrowAwayGoAway #OldGrowthForest #SwedishForest #Greenpeace

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Our WRAP reports out today reveal the perfect storm facing the UK's textile reuse and recycling industry, as the sector has indeed been warning. 👕 In 2022 UK citizens bought 1.42 million tonnes of clothes & textiles. We also donated and disposed of 1.45 million tonnes. 🧺 We're throwing away 49% of used textiles in the bin - some 35 items per person a year on average going to landfill and incineration. It's a shocker. ♻️ Low-quality fast fashion is devaluing textile donations, putting financial strain on the reuse and recycling sector and impacting countries such as Ghana or Kenya that import second hand clothes. This is undermining some parts of the industry's ambitions to move towards a circular economy. WRAP is calling on brands, retailers, investors and governments to step up support for change. We also need improved designs to make clothes last longer through durability, enabling circular business models to scale and reduce ever increasing consumption. Read all about it 👉 : Textile Market Situation Report https://lnkd.in/ei8T-UWi Post-Consumer Textile Landscape Review https://lnkd.in/eZJX93xF Textile Waste Hotspots Report https://lnkd.in/eiWxyGit Textiles2030 brings the UK fashion industry together to tackle these issues and accelerate a circular clothing. Find out more & maybe get involved 👉: https://lnkd.in/eBzCpBJd

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DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PACKAGING LEGISLATION FACTSHEET 📄🌐 Keeping up to date with the global packaging legislative landscape can seem like a daunting task. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could access all the relevant updates in one place? Aura’s Horizon Futures Reports help to ensure you’re up to speed with the most significant legislative changes, current and upcoming, across global markets in an easy-to-read, digestible format. Check out our top line UK Packaging Legislation Fact sheet - it shows the topics we cover, in-depth, in our reports 👉 https://lnkd.in/ebrg_uss To find out more about the reports we provide, by territory, get in touch with a member of our team. They are ready to help: https://lnkd.in/eMMBxFGc #PackagingLegislationFactSheets #UKPackagingLegislationFactSheet #PackagingSustainability #HorizonFutures Keep an eye out for more Aura packaging legislation fact sheets covering more global markets!

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DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PACKAGING LEGISLATION FACTSHEET 📄🌐 Keeping up to date with the global packaging legislative landscape can seem like a daunting task. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could access all the relevant updates in one place? Aura’s Horizon Futures Reports help to ensure you’re up to speed with the most significant legislative changes, current and upcoming, across global markets in an easy-to-read, digestible format. Check out our top line UK Packaging Legislation Fact sheet - it shows the topics we cover, in-depth, in our reports 👉 https://lnkd.in/dt9tjK7y To find out more about the reports we provide, by territory, get in touch with a member of our team. They are ready to help: https://lnkd.in/dBxtDT3h #PackagingLegislationFactSheets #UKPackagingLegislationFactSheet #PackagingSustainability #HorizonFutures Keep an eye out for more Aura packaging legislation fact sheets covering more global markets!

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Without wanting to be too blunt, there is no future for approximation and uncertainty in traceability - and there is no future for transparency without the backing of science. As brands and retailers are becoming increasingly accountable for the provenance of their products, and the claims they make about their composition and their journeys, the demand for a different model of traceability are going to grow. More questions and answers about what this all means, and how to translate scientific progress into action, in our interview with Sam Lind of Oritain: interli.net/3NJlBuK #traceability #fashiontechnology

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📌 FEAD, in collaboration with NGOs and Businesses, supports MEP Jutta Paulus's motion for a resolution on the draft Implementing Act for the calculation of recycled plastic content in #SUP beverage bottles! Why? 📍 The Commission's draft will create an uneven playing field between recycling technologies. 📍It goes against the objectives of the SUPD to promote a circular economy. 📍It will hinder consumers's ability to make sustainable decisions. Read our joint paper to learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ezQbJPV9 ALPLA Group Deutsche Umwelthilfe Ecopreneur ECOS European Environmental Bureau EuRIC - The European Recycling Industries Rethink Plastic Alliance Werner & Mertz GmbH Zero Waste Europe Contexte ENDS Europe POLITICO Europe EUWID | Recycling and Waste Management Recycling Today

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The #WasteFrameworkDirective mandates that from 2025, EU Member States must establish separate collection systems for used textiles. This briefing provides an overview of the state of play of textile #waste #generation, #collection #systems, #treatment #capacity and the different classifications for used #textiles in Europe. It also identifies factors which must be considered when implementing separate collection systems, with a view to fostering the circularity of textiles without inadvertently increasing exports, incineration or landfilling. It is underpinned by a report from the #European #Environment #Agency’s #European #Topic #Centre on #Circular #Economy and #Resource #Use.

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🌿 New on the Interu Blog: Steps to Engage Suppliers for EUDR Compliance 🌿 Navigating the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) can feel daunting, but collaboration across the supply chain is the key to success. That’s why we’re thrilled to feature insights from Maggie FitzHerbert, Senior Sourcing Manager at the Soil Association, in our latest guest blog! Maggie shares practical strategies for engaging suppliers to ensure compliance while fostering stronger, more sustainable relationships across the chain. From mapping your supply chain to building trust and transparency, this piece is a must-read for anyone tackling EUDR challenges head-on. 📖 Read Maggie’s expert guidance here: https://lnkd.in/e5J--TDZ 💬 How are you engaging your suppliers to meet EUDR requirements? #EUDR #Sustainability #SupplyChain #Compliance #DeforestationFree

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