“PLASTISFERA”: A NEW THREAT IN THE OCEAN

Pelagos Sanctuary in Italy is in danger

The maritime area between Tuscany, Liguria, Corsica, and the French Riviera is known, among environmentalists, as “Pelagos Sanctuary”. This area has been piling up a shocking amount of plastic, which has created what is now called the “plastisphere”, a new sea ecosystem born around a mass of plastic waste. It covers about 80% of the area from the surface to the seafloor. It is composed of organisms that can be dangerous to fishes, birds, and mammals and it is threatening cetaceans.  

These organisms are dangerous its selves, but they can also develop bacteria, algae, and viruses potentially harmful for the marine inhabitants.  

What is PelagosFree?

PelagosFree is a project financed by various regions of Italy, the Principality of Monaco and France, and their participation with Legambiente and Expedition Med. It is a project born to study this “Plastisfera”, collecting information about its microbial communities, its consequences, and the potential damage to the ocean, the environment, and all the animal species. In this zone microplastic and textile fibers in very high percentages have been found in fishes; in shrimp and mussels, the presence of ingested plastic has reached 75%. 

So, it was necessary to start planning a scenario to find solutions. First of all, an awareness campaign was born to educate people about this very real problem. The campaign started from schools to raise awareness among young people; and from sea operators, such as fishing communities, because as they produce a large amount of waste due to their work that usually ends up in sea. Moreover, associations have been built up to free the Pelagos Sanctuary, starting from regional administrations to improve their management of urban waste. 

 
Plastic pollution facts

We have known for years that plastic is polluting our planet, especially seas and oceans; and we also know that in as many years the marine ecosystem will be full of plastic more than fishes if we do not act to find a solution now. 

This is only one of the many examples of plastic pollution consequences, and what mono-plastic causes not only to our environment but also to us. So, we need to find an urgent solution, that starts from the commitment and responsibility of everybody towards a more sustainable world. 

 

BOTTA Packaging is committed in offering environmentally friendly solutions, alternatives to plastic packaging, 👉click here

 

 

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SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Fashion: it's time to change the trend!

There has been increasing talk lately about sustainable fashion. Consumers are becoming more and more aware and demanding and are no longer satisfied with clothes that are just nice to wear. In fact, they also want to know how the clothes they wear were produced and make sure that the time and place of production do not contribute to the deterioration of the planet's environment and the working conditions of the people involved in production.  Let's find out what sustainable fashion is.

What is sustainable fashion? 

Sustainable fashion is fashion that respects the environment and society at all stages: from conception through production to distribution and sale.

This fashion proposal seeks to work with less polluting raw materials, reduce waste in products such as water and electricity costs and produce durable parts, stimulating conscious consumption. Furthermore, this model proposes a more humane production, without exploitation of workers and with fairer remuneration.

In this context, Industry 4.0 can bring numerous advantages to the fashion sector, thanks to new technologies and new production processes, less polluting and more durable materials can be created. Production processes can be more efficient, reducing the use of raw materials, thus reducing not only costs but also the environmental impact.

The advantages: 

The first advantage is the less environmental impact. The environment is the basis for the well-being of the world's population. If our planet overheats, if its air becomes increasingly polluted and its water contaminated, the lives of many people are compromised. In some areas of the planet, where the production of clothing is not regulated by specific environmental protection standards or where these standards are more easily broken, the health of many people has already been compromised.

The second benefit is the improvement of the conditions of the workers involved in the life cycle of a fashion product. In particular, production very often takes place in countries where minimum wages or acceptable working conditions are not guaranteed, and exploitation and abuses of various kinds occur.

Thirdly, the development of sustainable fashion can drive and contribute to the emergence of new technologies and processes, strengthening a growing sector and generating new opportunities for social and economic growth.

What can fashion brands do to become sustainable?

Sustainable fashion is therefore the future: not only to have a lower environmental impact and to safeguard the planet but also to protect workers and contribute to the creation of new technologies. 

Is it possible to consider a fashion brand sustainable even if it uses non-sustainable packaging? No! So click here to discover how to be a sustainable fashion brand starting from the packaging!

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CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A NEW VISION

Circular economy refers to a type of economy designed to be able to regenerate itself. This economy is in contrast to the linear economy, and its "take, make, dispose" model. Circular economy is based on the principle that the waste of a company becomes a resource for someone else, with sustainability as the main focus. 

Linear V. Circular economy

In a linear economy system, this does not happen: once consumption ends, so does the life cycle of the product, which becomes waste and must therefore be managed, consuming additional resources for disposal. 

Circular economy is an economic system designed to be self-regenerating, in which materials of biological origin are intended to be reintegrated into the biosphere, and technical materials must be designed to be revalued without entering the biosphere. Circular economy promotes a better use of resources based on the use of products rather than consumption and is characterized by the extension of the life cycle of products that leads to a valorization of waste.

What can a company do?

With this in mind, BOTTA Packaging is committed to the struggle towards a circular economy because cardboard is circular by nature: made from renewable sources, recyclable and biodegradable. We try not only to create recyclable products but also to raise awareness on reuse and recover properly after use. By doing so, a mechanism whereby you increase recycled content and post-consumer waste is created. Reducing the need for raw materials, emissions, and pollution are important for us. 

This virtuous circle created thanks to a circular economy has been completely absorbed by BOTTA Packaging, which is committed to improving on a daily basis in order to offer consumers products that are increasingly in line with this new vision. BOTTA Packaging is committed in paying greater attention to sustainability at all stages and widespread its vision.

Recycle is the key!

Among the company's products, Corrugated Cardboard represents the emblem of circular economy. It is 100% recyclable, biodegradable, and produced from renewable sources.  Corrugated cardboard lends itself to being recycled and reused in different ways. Recycled fibers make up 88% of the raw material with which new packaging is made. 

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CRADLE TO CRADLE

 

What is cradle to cradle?

The Cradle to Cradle model refers to the idea of the circular economy, which involves a way of producing and consuming that is based on principles of sustainability. The circular economy requires products to be as durable and efficient as possible. As a result, the goal is to drastically reduce the production of waste. Even products that have lost their original function and would appear to be no longer usable are actually made of materials that can be reused.

From this perspective, we move from a linear model that ends in the dustbin, with products from cradle to grave, to a circular system, which presents goods from cradle to cradle. Compared to the linear model, the Cradle to Cradle model, after the phases of choice of raw materials, design, production, distribution, and consumption, provides two more steps: collection and recycling, which are missing in the cradle to grave model.

A new approach!

More specifically, the Cradle to Cradle model, also defined as "regenerative design" is an innovative and sustainable approach to product creation. Cradle to cradle models, therefore, aim to create a sustainable system that is respectful of life and future generations, as the name suggests, from the birth, or "cradle" of one generation to the next.

What can we do?

The concept of Cradle to Cradle, suggests that it is possible to return to a model of the design of some materials providing for their reintegration into nature once their use is over. This new model also proposes that it is possible to transform the sale of some products into a donation of services, a sort of ecological leasing able on the one hand to use better materials (because more reasoned and durable) and on the other to minimize costs.

BOTTA Packaging is very sensitive to the theme of Circular Economy and the Cradle to Cradle model. For this reason, the products are all aimed at recycling, to give paper and cardboard a new life, and to continue the path not towards the grave but new reuse.

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