RE: Talking Trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis

The Changing Markets Foundation writes to Mars Incorporated, identifying it as one of the worst plastic polluters and criticizing its failure to meet packaging targets and its reliance on 'climate-unfriendly' chemical recycling. The letter demands that Mars publicly support global deposit return systems, increase transparency regarding its plastic footprint, and commit to meaningful reductions in single-use plastics.

• Mars Incorporated is identified as a significant plastic polluter, specifically ranking as the sixth worst plastic polluter in the 2019 Break Free From Plastic brand audit.
• The company has a history of failing to meet its own sustainability targets, such as a 2007 pledge to achieve 100% recyclable or 'recoverable' packaging by 2015, which only reached 89% by the deadline.
• Mars's commitment to a 30% recycled content target by 2025 is criticized for being an average rather than a baseline for all products, and the company currently uses no recycled content in its packaging.
• The Changing Markets Foundation warns against Mars's apparent reliance on chemical recycling, describing it as an 'immature and climate-unfriendly technology' that should not be part of the circular economy.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2020). RE: Talking Trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash_Letter_Mars.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. RE: Talking Trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis. 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash_Letter_Mars.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=RE: Talking Trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis |date=29 October 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash_Letter_Mars.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{changingmarketsfoundation2020talking, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{RE: Talking Trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis}}, publisher = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash_Letter_Mars.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }