Looking for plastic free business ideas? Whether you are looking for plastic free packaging ideas, or ways to cut down on plastic around the office, every organisation’s journey towards cutting plastic looks slightly different.
As part of global Plastic Free July® celebrations, we interviewed Renton Bishopric, founder of Pottery For The Planet about their journey towards being a plastic free business.
Why is going plastic free important to you at Pottery For The Planet?
As humans there’s always more we can do for the environment, and reducing our plastic consumption in our personal lives, daily activities and business operations should be one of our top priorities. We live in a society where plastic has become ubiquitous, and the consensus is clear – our plastic pollution is causing huge problems both on land and in the ocean.
Our core business model is based on plastic reduction. Anyone purchasing our products is committing to making a change in their life towards reducing single-use plastic consumption.
Tell us about the packaging you use for your products. Was it difficult or expensive to source plastic-free options?
At this point, many of the plastic free packaging alternatives available on the market are more expensive than mass produced traditional plastic packaging items. We run our business on a varied model, using plastic free alternatives where we can, or better still, sourcing recycled/repurposed material suitable for our packaging processes from other local businesses. We figure getting one more use out of what would otherwise be waste materials is the best place to start in reducing our packaging footprint.
As the volume of packaging we require has grown, we have recently acquired a cardboard shredder that turns our surplus cardboard boxes into the perfect padding to keep our products safe during shipping.
Meet Munch, Pottery For The Planet’s new employee of the month
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Has there been any unexpected challenges in reducing the plastic you use as a business?
We have struggled to find a compostable tape product that is fit for purpose. We’ve tried many products on the market and are yet to find one that can replace plastic tape in all applications. We’ve recently noticed a consumer-led change in this space, with new products being offered by packaging suppliers in response to the demand. At present, the cost of these products is still inhibitive for most businesses – something that we hope will change over time.
What are some of the ways you get your staff or supporters involved in plastic free efforts?
We work closely with our supply chain to ensure everyone is educated about the plastics issue, and we require that they minimise plastic use in their processes wherever possible. This has been a slow process, as in some countries around the world, the momentum of awareness surrounding the plastics issue is a long way behind what we’re seeing in Australia.
We are happy to be growing a local business network who share and repurpose packaging that would otherwise go to landfill.
Our team are all dedicated to doing their bit and we run various initiatives to highlight the good things people are doing.
Initiatives such as Plastic Free July are a great opportunity for businesses like ours to share their story, and that of their team, with their supporters, encouraging wider networks to make small changes in their daily routines that make a big collective difference.
About our guest
Renton Bishopric, Pottery For The Planet
Renton is a second generation potter and founder of Pottery For The Planet – a local Queensland business with a mission to eradicate single-use culture and plastic waste across the globe.
Visit the Pottery For The Planet website to see their range of handmade ceramic travel cups and lunch bowls.
About Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July® is an initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation.