Right now, it’s difficult for consumers to avoid single-use plastic packaging. But change is possible and more businesses are innovating to find better, less toxic, less wasteful and more sustainable ways to deliver goods and products.
Please join Beyond Plastics for an inspiring look at some existing alternatives to single-use plastic packaging featuring reuse and refill business leaders, Sarah Paiji Yoo, the CEO and Co-Founder of Blueland, makers of non-toxic natural cleaning products sold in reusable, refillable packaging, Lindsey McCoy, CEO and Co-Founder of Plaine Products which makes salon-quality personal care products sold in aluminum bottles designed to be used, returned and refilled, and Rob Kutner, the CRO of USEFULL, a fast-growing reuse program provider that makes it easy for colleges and universities to seamlessly offer takeout meals in stainless steel returnable containers.
About our speakers:
Sarah Paiji Yoo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blueland, the brand reimagining everyday cleaning with 100% plastic-free products that are safe for families, proven to work, and better for the planet. Blueland’s innovative collection - available at Blueland.com, Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Amazon and more - has helped divert over 1 billion single-use plastic bottles from landfills and oceans.
A serial entrepreneur and Harvard graduate, Sarah has founded multiple consumer ventures and champions business as a force for good. Advocacy is at the core of her work - from pioneering legislation around microplastics to contributing regularly to Inc. on sustainable leadership. She’s appeared on Shark Tank and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Forbes.
She lives in New York City with her husband and two young children, the original inspiration behind Blueland’s mission.
Visit https://www.blueland.com/pages/about-us to learn more.
Rob Kutner is the Chief Revenue Officer at USEFULL, a reuse program provider that enables colleges to offer takeout meals in 100% plastic-free returnable containers. A longtime champion of early-stage, mission-driven companies, Rob spent nearly a decade driving impact at sustainable waste management leader Bigbelly, then at multiple other startup ventures. Now he’s accelerating growth at USEFULL with a deep passion for the circular economy and finding solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.
USEFULL works with colleges, universities, and communities to build toward a waste-free future by making the switch to plastic-free returnable containers easy. With stainless steel inventory designed with student health in mind, USEFULL offers a safer, non-toxic alternative to plastic containers, allowing users to check out and return trackable containers just like library books. The reuse program is remarkably affordable – saving an average of 20-50% over compostable or single-use plastic alternatives. In partnership with Transact + CBORD, the market leader in higher education campus commerce technology, USEFULL offers a seamless experience, where students can effortlessly check out reusables whether they are ordering from a cashier, kiosk, or through an order ahead app.
USEFULL is currently revolutionizing the takeout experience at colleges like Emory University, Northern Arizona University, University of Pittsburgh, Montana State University, UMass Lowell, and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. By making a plastic-free, waste-free option the default, USEFULL campuses have diverted 50 tons of waste from the waste stream and counting.
Visit https://www.usefull.us/about-us/ to learn more.
Lindsey McCoy is co-founder and CEO of Plaine Products, which offers salon-quality personal care products in aluminum bottles that can be returned, refilled and reused. She was inspired to start Plaine Products after spending 10 years working on environmental education in the Bahamas, islands full of single-use plastic.
All of the products are vegan, non-GMO, cruelty-free, biodegradable, color-safe and free of parabens, sulfates and toxins, good for the body and the planet. Founded in 2017, Plaine Products is B Corp and a member of 1% for the Planet. Lindsey has a master’s degree from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs from Indiana University. She is currently on the Board of Plastic Ocean Project and a volunteer for Citizen’s Climate Lobby.
You can learn more about Plaine Products at PlaineProducts.com or follow us on socials and get more tips about reducing the plastic in your life: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & Pinterest
