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

The Changing Markets Foundation writes to Unilever regarding its 'Talking Trash' report, which found a global trend of corporations undermining legislative solutions to plastic pollution. While acknowledging Unilever's progress in disclosing its plastic footprint and trialling refill pilots, the foundation criticises the company's low recycled content (1% of total purchased resin in 2018) and its reliance on chemical recycling. The letter demands that Unilever publicly support mandatory deposit return systems globally, increase transparency on its full plastic footprint, and commit to measurable reductions in single-use plastics.

• An investigation into the ten most plastic polluting companies and lobbying in 15 countries across 5 continents revealed a "global trend of corporations trying to undermine proven legislative solutions to the plastic crisis."
• Unilever was ranked as the fifth worst plastic polluter in 2019 according to brand audits conducted by Break Free From Plastic.
• Unilever's progress on recycled content is considered lagging, with recycled plastic making up only 1% of total purchased resin in 2018, representing a 1% absolute decrease since 2015.
• The Changing Markets Foundation expresses concern over Unilever's reliance on chemical recycling for multi-layered plastic packaging, arguing the technology has not solved the problem despite years of research and development.
• The foundation recommends that Unilever publicly support mandatory deposit return systems (DRS) globally to achieve high levels of separate collection and reduce plastic pollution.

APA

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

Chicago

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

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=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_Unilever.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{changingmarketsfoundation2020talking, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{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_Unilever.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }