The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize

The Tom Ford Foundation in partnership with Lonely Whale & Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are set to unleash some of the most innovative and disruptive products the plastic industry has ever seen with its Innovation Prize. This will effect the entire eco-friendly product market so lets dive into it a bit.

What Exactly is the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize?

The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize is a recent innovation award that is given to organizations and individuals that develops a new and innovative way to reduce plastic waste. The prize is being launched by the Tom Ford Foundation in partnership with Lonely Whale & Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Started in 2020 the winners will receive $1 million, which they can use to further develop their innovation.

This prize is one of many that are being offered by the Tom Ford Foundation to help reduce the amount of plastic waste that is polluting our planet. With this prize, we are hopeful that we can find a way to reduce the amount of plastic waste that is produced each year and help protect our environment.

The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize was established to encourage and support the development of new and innovative ways to reduce plastic waste. The prize was created in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and is administered by the EDF Foundation.

Who Are The Winners?

Sway.
Sway is a USA-based company that has come up with an innovative seaweed-based, home-compostable replacement for regenerative thin-film plastic packaging that works at a commercial scale.

Sway will be testing its products in the spring of 2023. The company’s has come up with a first in kind tech that according to its CEO is “a melt processable seaweed resin that can be used to produce films such as bags, wrappers and pouches.”

Zerocircle.
This company makes flora and fauna safe packaging from locally cultivated seaweed that dissolves harmlessly after use. Based out of India, they are set to disrupt the packaging materials business across Asia. Zerocircle wants to make its packaging materials commercially available by the fall, says Neha Jain, CEO and founder.

Notpla.
A startup out of London that is taking aim at the single-used plastics industry. They pioneered a natural-membrane packaging that uses seaweed as an alternative to single-use plastic.

Notpla Coating is made from seaweed applied to take out container boxes. It is already available in eight countries in the European Union and the U.K.

Notpla Film is still at “an industrialization phase,” Paslier says. “We hope fashion companies will be interested in exploring innovative alternatives to traditional polybags for their large supply-chain, and that consumers will see our packaging in the next year or two.”

Who is Behind the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize?

Lonely Whale is a non-profit with a mission to eradicate plastic waste from the ocean. Founded in 2015 by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner. and operated by an established by a group of renowned conservation scientists. Backed by big names like Leonardo DiCaprio they are spearheading impactful global movements that have resulted in: the elimination of billions of single-use plastics, including straws and water bottles, in schools, businesses and communities around the world; more than 330 products launched that are made with ocean-bound plastics through the only global network of ocean-bound plastic suppliers; and youth from 90 countries accelerating a dawn of new leadership – youth leadership – on ocean health.

Lonely Whale’s latest venture is their partnership with TOM FORD International for the launch of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, addressing the 180 billion single-use, thin-film polybags used by the fashion industry every year.