Among the inspirational moves being made by one of our new Global Women members is Rebecca Percasky and her groundbreaking POLLAST!C™: the world’s first 100% Ocean Bound Plastic mailers & bags.
As Co-Founder and Director of The Better Packaging Co, Rebecca is on a mission to reimagine packaging and mailers in a more considered, sustainable way. At present, around 80% of the plastic in the ocean has entered through rivers and coastlines — where some of the poorest, and usually the most polluted communities in the world reside. So, The Better Packaging Co dared themselves to ask…
Imagine if packaging actually cleaned up the environment…
Imagine if packaging helped break the cycle of poverty and plastic pollution…
From there, POLLAST!C™ was born. Working with coastal communities, The Better Packaging Co. collects Ocean Bound Plastic pollution — the plastic pieces and articles that would likely otherwise bank up the coastline or make its way into the ocean. Not only does it stop this pollution at its source, it brings that ‘lost’ plastic back into the loop, making something practical from it. By treating pollution as a valuable resource, they can turn a negative into a positive and reward people for cleaning up their environment.
Spinning the starting point of the manufacturing journey on its head was a key part of POLLAST!C™’s creation. It took looking at the issue differently to come up with this world first, circular approach: “When we started out, we were focused on reducing the negative impacts of packaging, what we realised is we needed to do more and that we could use packaging to make a positive impact both environmentally and societally,” Rebecca Shares with Global Women.
“When we started out, we were focused on reducing the negative impacts of packaging, what we realised is we needed to do more and that we could use packaging to make positive impact both environmentally and societally” — Rebecca Percasky
“I love the fact that we have a business that is both environmentally and financially sustainable, it proves that you can have both. Product development gets me really excited, with systems re-think and design we’ve been able to reimage packaging,” shares Rebecca.
It comes to no surprise that POLLAST!C™ delivers on 14 of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, Rebecca has received backing from ShEO and Cartier Women’s Initiative. “It’s been such a unique business experience to have this incredible continuous support from SheEO and the Cartier Women’s Initiative,” she shares. “What is really neat about both communities is that they are about supporting women-lead impact businesses to thrive on their own terms and take a holistic approach to it. Everyone within those communities is there to support each other, it’s very powerful as you have this amazing network on your side.”
As for Rebecca’s outlook on joining as a Global Women member?
“I’m so inspired by the Global Women community and can’t wait to connect, learn and grow! What’s really stood out for me is how positive action focused the group is, its very forward thinking which is refreshing.”
“I’m so inspired by the Global Women community and can’t wait to connect, learn and grow! What’s really stood out for me is how positive action focused the group is, its very forward thinking which is refreshing” — Rebecca Percasky
Want to learn more about POLLAST!C™ and Rebecca’s mission? Explore the story through Better Packaging’s website or recap our recent webinar to hear Rebecca’s entrepreneurial journey, learnings and musings from our recent Entrepreneurship Webinar.