Plastic pollution is one of the most pervasive threats to environmental and human health. At every stage of its life cycle, it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, ecosystem degradation, and public health risks. The global plastic system remains largely linear: extract fossil fuels, manufacture products, and dispose of them after a single use. This model has driven both overproduction and widespread mismanagement of plastic waste. 

As You Sow works to replace this linear system with a circular economy for plastics, where materials are kept in use longer through reduction, reuse, redesign, and recycling. In a circular model, plastics retain value rather than becoming pollution. Without such a transformation, plastic waste entering the ocean is projected to nearly triple by 2040, rising from about 11 million metric tons annually in 2016 to roughly 29 million metric tons

Through corporate engagement and investor collaboration, we work with major brands to reduce, redesign, and reimagine their plastic packaging. Our approach, as outlined in our latest report,  ranks 225 major consumer goods companies on six pillars of progress: recyclability, reduction, recycled content, recovery, reuse, and extended producer responsibility. 

As shown in the chart below, we have had considerable success obtaining commitments to reduce plastic use. Nine major global brands have committed to reduce use of virgin plastic by more than a cumulative 1 million tons after engagement with As You Sow. 

1 Million Tons Of Reduction Commitments

To strengthen global accountability, As You Sow founded and manages the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, an international coalition of more than 50 institutional investors from four countries with a combined $2.6 trillion in assets under management. The alliance engages leading consumer goods companies—including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and Unilever—to address plastic waste as a material business risk and to drive new corporate commitments and solutions. 

By aligning investors, companies, and civil society, As You Sow advances a vision of a circular plastics economy that protects the environment, conserves resources, and creates long-term value for shareholders and society.