Our company (Woohoo Body) is dedicated to growing in our sustainability efforts. So we are very proud to announce our Plastic Negative Certification, achieved through our partnership with rePurpose Global.
We’ve earned our Plastic Negative Certification by funding rePurpose Global to remove and recover 2x as much plastic waste from the environment as our products create.
Now every one of our products is either plastic free or carries a beyond Net Zero Plastic Footprint!
rePurpose Global's Impact Projects remove and recover plastic pollution across 7 countries and 3 continents.
By contributing a percentage of our revenues to the 'Project Saaf Samudra' rePurpose Impact Project in Goa, we recognize the dire need for funding to be diverted to this ongoing emergency, and we are proud to have taken our first step to facilitate long-term holistic impact.
The project catalyzes the collection and ethical disposal of low-value plastic waste in Goa, India. Goa is a coastal state with long stretches of beaches opening up into the Arabian Sea.Unfortunately, Goa's coastal location also means that most of its municipal waste is at risk of leaking into the ocean.
Currently, there is very minimal waste management and households and private establishments end up openly dumping their waste or setting it on fire, giving rise to several negative environmental consequences. More specifically, the types of waste that get mismanaged the most are Multi-Layer Packaging (MLP).
MLP are the softer flexible types of plastic that you see very commonly in chips packets and candy wrappers. They are composed of several overlapping layers of plastic (and sometimes Aluminum) that is difficult to separate. They have very low economic value and currently do not get recycled or recovered at all. Therefore, it is this type of plastic waste that also ends up most often in marine ecosystems.
rePurpose Global is working with an impact project VRecycle, one of the India's most veteran waste management innovators to create strong collection supply chains that deal with overlooked waste materials.
Woohoo Body's contributions enable rePurpose Global to finance the recovery of ocean-bound low-value plastic MLP waste that otherwise would be too expensive and unachievable. This recovery and collection happens every single day directly from households and commercial areas, essentially 'catching' the plastic before it leaks out into the environment. All of rePurpose Global's efforts involve setting up a holistic long-term supply chain to stop the leakage of plastic waste. Importantly, in setting up this supply chain, they are also able to provide additional livable wages to waste workers who are otherwise often marginalized.
Following its collection, waste workers segregate, clean and transport the MLP to cement kilns for co-processing. As this type of plastic cannot be recycled, the best environmental option as prescribed by the United Nations Basel Convention is to "co-process it" wherein energy is recovered from the plastic and the remaining waste material is effectively disposed of without harmful emissions. They are also able to extract some of the minerals in the plastic waste and use them in the creation of cement. Not only does this initiative take care of unrecyclable plastic waste without sending them to landfills but also, it reduces the usage of coal in the cement manufacturing process, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
100% of the plastic recovered on Woohoo Body's behalf is "Ocean-Bound". What this means is that this project focuses on the collection of plastic waste in a 100km radius from the coastline (as defined in the Verra Plastic Standards) that would otherwise have not been collected and would most likely end up in oceans. Essentially, it is an intervention to divert this plastic safely away from the oceans before it ever has a chance to leak into it.
“Now more than ever, we need brands to take responsibility for the global plastic epidemic. We’re proud to announce that Woohoo Body has taken a commendable step towards creating change by becoming certified Plastic Negative with rePurpose Global and facilitating the removal of nature-bound plastic.”
“We’re thrilled to see Woohoo Body rally around sustainable action and take the admirable step to implement some necessary changes to their operations. Their pledge to sustainability, starting with becoming certified Plastic Negative, is one we’re sure will inspire other businesses as well.”
- Svanika Balasubramanian (Co-Founder and CEO)
“We’re thrilled to partner with Woohoo Body in their commitment to creating environmental impact. We can’t wait to help them achieve many more sustainability goals in the future and see their brand help the planet flourish”
- Peter Hjemdahl (Co-Founder and Chief Advocacy Officer)
“Woohoo Body's dynamic decision to go Plastic Negative is the need of the hour. We hope this pioneering move pushes more brands to take responsibility for their own plastic waste and to take active efforts towards reduction of plastic usage.”
- Aditya Siroya (Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer)
