| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental Organisation |
| Purpose | Marine conservation |
| Location | |
| Methods | Advocacy, Education, Innovation |
| Website | plasticsoupfoundation.org |
Plastic Soup Foundation is a non-profit marine conservation organisation that aims to reduce plastic pollution, specifically marine plastic pollution. [1] [2] Established in 2011, Plastic Soup Foundation advocates towards imposing bans or voluntary phase-outs of microbeads in cosmetics at a global scale with the Beat the Microbead campaign. [3] [4]
Initiated in 2012, the campaign has raised awareness and engaged people, cosmetic manufacturers and governing institutions on the issue of microbeads. [5] [6] [7] Since the campaign, 15 countries have taken steps to ban microbeads. [8] [9] Beat the Microbead has introduced an app [10] [11] that detects over 500 microplastic ingredients to be used as a tool by customers to recognize and avoid products containing microbeads, while also creating a database. [12] The project has introduced a "Zero Plastic Inside" logo to incentivize and recognize manufacturers who use eco-friendly alternatives to microbeads in their products. [13] [14]
Since 2016, Ocean Clean Wash aims to reduce synthetic fiber pollution by 80% in the coming years by stimulating and promoting innovative solutions to microfiber filters [15] and exerting pressure on clothing and washing machine manufacturers to develop products that prevent the flow of fibers to the water systems. [16] [17] The campaign has developed a new methodology and benchmark for fashion and textile brands to get their clothes tested for the amount of microfiber release whereby tested items will be assigned a label according to the release. [18] [19]
Plastic Soup Foundation initiated a partnership between national and environmental and research organisations to encourage further research into the human health impacts of plastic. [20] [21] [22] [23]
Plastic Soup Foundation has developed a scanning method called the Plastic Soup Footprint where companies can measure their plastic footprint. [24] [25] [26] The organisation holds inventor competitions to find innovation solutions for plastic pollution such as The Young Plastic Pollution Challenge. [27] [28] The organisation also published teaching materials and conduct guest lecturers on plastic pollution in education institutes. [29]
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