<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/may/12/plastics-body-shop-recycling-startup-india-plastics-for-change>
"Sitting in a sultry corner of southern India, beside the rain trees and
beaches of Mangalore, Shifrah Jacobs, the co-founder of Plastics for Change,
smiles as she recalls how it all began. One thing she says she won’t ever
forget is the Body Shop for its big-heartedness when her company was a
wet-behind-the-ears startup.
The Body Shop, whose main UK business collapsed into administration in
February, has closed more than 80 stores in its home market and is seeking a
rescue deal with landlords, while outlets in the US, Canada and parts of Europe
have also shut down.
While some of the small global suppliers to the high street retailer have
expressed fears about being left with a glut of stock and an uncertain future,
Plastics for Change is feeling optimistic.
The Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick, who died in 2007, was passionate about
backing small-scale suppliers in remote areas to supply key ingredients in her
products. The group worked with 18 community fair trade suppliers around the
world, providing Brazil nut oil from Peru, sesame oil from Nicaragua and
handmade recycled paper packaging from Nepal.
Jacobs and co-founder Andrew Almack set up Plastics for Change in 2015 with the
idea of creating the first fair trade verified recycled plastic platform. It
would connect waste pickers with scrap merchants and turn discarded plastic
into high-quality recycled packaging. In doing so, it would help protect the
environment and provide some of the estimated 2 million waste pickers who clean
India’s city streets with a regular income and dignity."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
