Plastic pollution is becoming a major worldwide problem that is choking our oceans, ruining our landscapes, and posing a threat to species. While people are advised to reduce, reuse, and recycle, it’s time to focus attention on some of the biggest companies and brands in the world—the true offenders behind this environmental calamity. Despite their claims of sustainability and environmental responsibility, these organisations frequently contribute to plastic waste through dubious business practices and greenwashing.
The scale
The extent of plastic contamination is depicted in horrifying detail by recent figures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that each year, more than 8 million metric tonnes of plastic enter our waters.
That means that every minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck’s worth of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean.
If current trends continue, there may be more plastic in the ocean by weight by 2050 than fish. UNEP figures on plastic pollution show that, since 1950, the world has generated over 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic, with half of that quantity occurring in the previous 13 years alone. Given that plastic manufacturing is predicted to quadruple by 2050, the drive towards new plastics doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Plastic garbage overloads landfills as well, taking up large amounts of space that are devoted to storing our abandoned goods and packaging. According to estimates from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, just 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled worldwide, with the remainder ending up in landfills or polluting the environment.
Numerous global businesses and brands highlight their dedication to sustainability and environmentally conscious activities. On closer inspection, though, there is a clear discrepancy between what they say and do. Break Free From Plastic, whose most recent global Brand Audit study also holds the top three plastic polluters accountable for exacerbating the climate issue.
Consider global beverage corporations which manufacture billions of single-use plastic bottles every year. These businesses continue to produce enormous amounts of non-recyclable plastic packaging, adding to the plastic soup in the ocean, despite their promises to cut back on plastic consumption. What is worse is that these ‘so-called most loved brands’ also go onto being corporate sponsors of some of the world’s biggest climate change conferences and forums.
Giants in the fast fashion industry are also implicated, producing low-quality apparel wrapped in plastic. Since synthetic fibres release microplastics into rivers with each washing, the fashion sector is among the worst pollutants in the world. The fashion industry exploits labourers, particularly those engaged in the manufacturing of textiles made of synthetic fibres and plastic, as the documentary “The True Cost” reveals. The movie shows the human cost of fast fashion’s dependence on plastic components.
Western businesses hold considerable sway on the formulation of policies, both domestically and internationally. These firms use political pressure, including lobbying and campaign donations, to sway rules so that profit is given precedence above social and environmental responsibilities.
Exploiting developing nations
Under the pretence of recycling, Western nations frequently export their plastic garbage to underdeveloped countries. Nevertheless, a large portion of this garbage is burned or disposed of in the trash, endangering the health of the surrounding population as well as the environment. For example, demonstrations and requests for stronger rules have resulted from the flood of plastic garbage imports into nations such as Malaysia and Thailand.
Numerous Western businesses outsource their production, usually to Asia, to nations with cheap labour and inadequate environmental restrictions.
Because these nations do not have the facilities and capacity to adequately manage garbage, outsourcing not only contributes to labour exploitation, but also exacerbates plastic pollution.
Workers in plastic manufacturing plants are frequently exposed to dangerous circumstances in nations with cheap labour and lax standards. Western firms benefit from the creation of plastic, but these workers—many of whom come from marginalised communities—bear the brunt of its negative effects on the environment and human health.
Advocacy gone wrong
Western NGOs and advocacy organisations frequently present themselves as defenders of sustainability and environmental justice, yet occasionally their efforts support the exact exploitation they say they oppose. For instance, some non-governmental organisations have come under fire for advocating solutions to plastic pollution in poor countries that are Western-centric and fail to sufficiently include or empower local populations.
Cooperation between companies and NGOs, especially those connected to plastic waste, can result in charges of greenwashing and jeopardise the credibility of advocacy campaigns.
NGOs run the risk of unintentionally aligning themselves with the interests of polluting companies and placing profit ahead of environmental justice by accepting funds or partnering with corporate enterprises.
Some NGOs and advocacy organisations lack accountability or transparency systems in place to make sure their deeds reflect their declared goals and beliefs. The pursuit of true environmental justice and sustainability may be subordinated to institutional viability or fundraising efforts in the absence of effective monitoring.
When it comes to combatting plastic pollution, the relationship between developed and poor countries is frequently marked by stark power disparities, with Western players having a disproportionate amount of influence over resource allocation and policy formulation. This relationship has the potential to sustain a neocolonial mindset that puts Western interests and viewpoints ahead of local sovereignty and self-determination.
In the context of plastic pollution, neocolonial power relations may also be seen in the ongoing exploitation of labour and natural resources in developing nations. These nations may provide raw resources to Western businesses for the creation of plastic, worsening socio-economic injustices and environmental deterioration. Meanwhile, communities that are least prepared to handle it sometimes bear a disproportionate share of the responsibility for handling plastic garbage.
