Why is plastic-free important?
Plastic pollution has quickly turned into a serious environmental concern. The creation of plastic transformed the modern world but now we are realizing we can not keep up with the disposal of it. Single-use plastics account for 40% of the plastic produced today. These single-use plastics have a very short lifespan of just a few minutes to hours before they can possibly spend the next few hundreds of years in our environment. About 8 million tons of plastic pollute our oceans every year.
The problem doesn’t end there. Once plastics are polluted in our environment they begin to break down into very small pieces. “These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.”
Millions of animals are killed every year from plastic pollution. Our water and food systems are polluted and poisoned from this plastic epidemic. We know the problem, now what about a solution?
As consumers we can reduce our plastic use greatly by being mindful and replacing single-use plastics with eco-friendly reusable alternatives.
As a business we can do even more.
Every step along the way of starting and operating Kind Hemp Co. we ask ourselves “how can we reduce our plastic use?” The original sample packaging for our hemp socks used a considerable amount of plastic. This made us think, why is this the norm? Why is plastic so widely and irresponsibly used to only be disposed of in a matter of minutes?
We have these beautiful eco-friendly hemp socks with plastic packaging… This doesn’t make sense! After receiving our original hemp sock prototype with that plastic packaging we got to work to make sure our hemp socks were packaged 100% plastic-free. Research and development led us to create the perfect packaging for us that is, yes, 100% plastic-free!
If you look at the photo below you will see the transformation our packaging has gone through. The plastic in the 1st samples were completely unnecessary. All of it would be thrown away within moments of the new owner opening their hemp socks. Now all of our packaging can be recycled (preferably) or will biodegrade naturally in landfills.
This was a big accomplishment for us and we look forward to sharing the ways Kind Hemp Co. strives to go beyond sustainable. Together, we can help reduce the impact of plastics on our Planet.
Facts and quote cited from National Geographic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/plastic-pollution/