Hello Plastic-free Family:
I received an exciting update this week from Oceana, the nonprofit organization that has gotten involved to help drive forward our mission to improve consumer choice when it comes to ecommerce packaging.
Oceana reported that at Amazon’s annual general meeting in May, 35.5% of the company’s shareholders voted for a resolution to require the e-commerce giant to issue a report quantifying its use of single-use plastics by year end. This level of support is huge and effectively puts the plastics issue on the company's agenda! As You Sow and Green Century filed the resolution, and Oceana called on shareholders to support it.
“Pressure will mount as more investors learn about the company’s plastic problem, as more customers call for plastic-free alternatives, as more legislators urge the company to reduce single-use plastics, and as more environmental and other groups push Amazon to act," said Oceana's Matt Littlejohn about the vote.
This is exactly the sort of progress we need - shareholders, customers, and activists alike speaking up for our planet. By using your voice, 741,555 of you are a part of it. Let's build on this momentum together! Please share this petition with your friends and family and feel free to please also Call Amazon Directly and tell them why you believe we need more choices at checkout so we can better manage ecommerce waste in our communities. Recycling is not a sufficient enough solution and it doesn't address many of the ecommerce-driven waste streams. Amazon's # is 1-888-280-4331.
If you don't shop at Amazon, contact any other ecommerce companies you do patron or please make your local businesses who have an Amazon merchant presence aware of this movement. Merchants should have choices around how they ship as seller's too. Many local businesses now must also call on Amazon for supplies to operate their stores so the impact is there even when you do your part to shop locally.
Ecommerce has been thriving for over 20 years now --it is time that the packaging end of that industry embrace sustainable innovation to curb the massive distribution of unmanageable waste to individual households.
Thanks for your support and thanks Oceana for this exciting update.
Nicole Delma
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