Living Plastic Free

Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our ocean, and every year, 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our marine environments—enough to circle the Earth four times.

Every July, the global community is encouraged to limit plastic waste through the Plastic Free July initiative. But beyond individual actions, systemic industry disruption will be necessary to help society achieve ocean pollution reduction and avoidance at scale.

So I asked John Felts (Co-Founder and CEO of Cruz Foam ), Keely Anson (Partner, Venture and Philanthropy at Incite.org ), and Doug Woodring (Founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance ) to share their expert perspectives on market circularity across sectors.

Looking ahead, August will mark both National Startup Day and National Nonprofit Day. and I’ll tap industry experts to discuss the importance of cross-sector collaboration for our ocean. 

Stay tuned!

Daniela: John, I’m so excited to feature you as our founder in this month’s Planet & Purpose!

In 2019, your venture became part of the second class of startups accelerated by Sustainable Ocean Alliance .

And today, you’re an active member of SOA’s newly announced Ecopreneur Network. 

I’ve been genuinely honored and inspired to witness the Cruz Foam journey from concept, to creation, to market introduction.

For the benefit of our readers, can you share more about the industry you are actively working to disrupt and why you feel there is great potential for systemic reimagination?

John: Thank you, Daniela.

We’ve been grateful for the support of Sustainable Ocean Alliance and our visionary investors as we build and scale a brand whose products can upend the plastic packaging crisis.

According to the UNEP, approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers of which approximately 85% end up in landfills or as unregulated waste.

Cruz Foam is on a mission to replace single-use plastic packaging like polystyrene foam with our regenerative, earth-digestible packaging solutions from natural materials like chitin from shellfish shells and fibers from agricultural waste.

And studies show 87% of consumers are explicitly concerned about extensive packaging waste. So consumer demand will undoubtedly drive the industry’s adoption of more circular alternatives to plastic. 

It’s only a matter of (limited) time.

Daniela: The data definitely reinforces what trailblazers like you knew intuitively—that a seismic shift is necessary and about to take place in the packaging industry. 

Aligned with that, who do you feel is leading the market’s plastic waste reduction/circularity progress today?

John: Our partner, Atlantic Packaging , is moving the entire industry in the right direction. As the largest privately-owned packaging company in North America, its influence is unparalleled.

Atlantic Packaging’s A New Earth Project is dedicated to ridding the world’s waterways of plastic pollution by helping consumers, brands, and packaging suppliers increase their access to state-of-the-art sustainable packaging solutions. They’re simultaneously educating the industry and providing a vehicle for transitioning to these new products in a clear and understandable manner.

The industry and the planet will benefit from continued progress as well as move towards:

1. Creating new sustainable economic opportunities with a reimagined supply chain.
2. Encouraging customers and the end consumer to expect truly circular and sustainable solutions.

Daniela: Disrupting harmful but operational practices of an established industry takes innovation and stakeholder buy-in. 

What has been your biggest challenge thus far in this regard, ideally something founders with a similar mission might encounter, and how did you turn it into an opportunity?

John: Companies like ours that are trying to replace non-sustainable materials or processes with earth-friendly solutions will encounter a myriad of challenges.

One, trying to meet technical benchmarks established for non-sustainable counterparts.

And two, making a case for the solution (beyond planetary benefits) to your target market/industry.

To solve these dilemmas, I encourage ecopreneurs to think about the problem by looking at completely redesigning the system they are looking to disrupt, rather than meeting the current product or process at parity.

Cruz Foam , for example, redesigned the entire packaging experience by both eliminating the single-use plastic element AND lowering overall shipping costs by reducing packaging weight.

Daniela: I agree that product differentiation is so important for capturing a market segment.

Any advice on how to design a solution that has unique and compelling attributes for end users, beyond ocean or planetary benefits?

John: When a founder is conducting design exercises, they are considering the needs, behaviors, and user experience of the end consumer.

So, I recommend that founders explore how a product can be useful beyond its intended purpose (an important circularity principle).

Also, ask how the consumer experience could be made more rewarding and more efficient. Can you make the disposal process easier? Can you integrate systems that both benefit the consumer and the planet?

At Cruz Foam , we’ve found that materials designed to disappear into nature can often have different physical properties than non-sustainable materials. 

This can be translated into fun as well (think about the delight of popping bubble wrap but without the plastic guilt). A little extra creative thinking can frequently bring unexpected rewards.

Daniela: You’re undoubtedly an expert in creative thinking. To inspire readers to think outside the box, can you share a bit more about how your solution works?

I’m still in awe of how you and the team of Ph.D. scientists and bio-engineers at Cruz Foam have been able to harness building blocks from nature to solve a major industry challenge, especially with the proliferation of e-commerce and its environmental impacts.

John: Absolutely. We took our inspiration from nature to reimagine packaging!

First, we capture unwanted waste from the seafood industry. Chitin is the key to our process. It is the second most abundant biopolymer on the planet and is the structural compound found in crustacean shells, as well as insects and fungi.

We use it to create a package that then can ship all kinds of products, from coffee beans to salmon and even shrimp—full circle.

And at the end of the day, the person receiving it has a complete system that works, not only for receiving materials but disposing of them in a way that it returns to the Earth and is reabsorbed.

Daniela: With this amazing breakthrough in circular packaging, can you share any current or upcoming Cruz Foam developments that readers should keep on their radar?

John: Thanks to our partnership with Atlantic Packaging , and given that our solution is designed to work with existing manufacturing equipment, we are now actively rolling out new products and working with clients to bring our sustainable packaging to the market.

The first product you will see this year is Cruz Cool™, now available for shipping this month! This innovative alternative tackles the critical issue of polystyrene foam in the 48-hour cold chain industry. The ideal use cases include temperature-sensitive, consumer products that require shipping such as seafood and meats, perishable foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and beyond.

We are also addressing traditional foams and bubble wraps in the wine and spirits industry with our curbside recyclable Cruz Wrap™ product, which also is now beginning to ship in limited quantities.

Daniela: It’s absolutely amazing to see what the Cruz Foam team has already achieved with these first two, innovative products shipping out. Please keep us posted as additional products become available! 

It is always a pleasure to tap the mind of a successful industry disruptor. Whenever I see a disturbing headline about plastic pollution, I pause and remember the systemic change our ocean urgently needs is already underway—thanks to innovative and creative founders like you!

John: My pleasure, Daniela. At Cruz Foam , we are on a mission to reduce plastic waste in our ocean and planet by empowering and educating industry leaders on better, sustainable alternatives. We strive for the global adoption of circular solutions without compromise!

Daniela: Keely, I’m so thrilled to welcome you to Planet & Purpose. Having started out in the venture space a decade ago, you clearly have your finger on the pulse of disruption and innovation.

How would you define circularity for a newcomer to the space and why are you committed to financing circular solutions to reimagine entire industries? 

Keely: In our current linear economy, materials are extracted from the Earth, they are used to produce goods, and then much of those materials are discarded as waste. They don’t return back to where they come from but rather pollute it.

Circularity involves first and foremost eliminating waste, but also, building a system that is good for business, the environment, and humanity. 

It's an incredibly tall task, but fortunately, many new and existing companies are figuring out ways to not only reduce waste but also support systems that are natural and regenerative. 

Daniela: In honor of Plastic Free July, can you share successful examples of products or services that employ waste reduction or are models for circularity? I imagine there are a number that you and the team at Incite.org have invested in that are on the market now!

Keely: It's tough to pick the most successful examples, but I'll share a few companies I'm working with who are doing an incredible job.

Mill is a first-of-its-kind food recycling system, that takes all of your food scraps and leftovers and transforms them into food grounds to be put back into our existing food systems. We now know that the food we toss out is heating up our planet, and most of that waste is coming out of our homes. Fortunately, we can leverage collective action as consumers to reduce food waste and thereby reduce emissions in ways that feel very tangible and actionable.

Another company, Dispatch Goods —which is also a member of SOA’s Ecopreneur Network—offers circular packaging for restaurants, catering, and meal delivery services. If you're like me, you're taken aback by the volume of single-use plastics, containers, and packaging that comes with your take-out on Friday night. It's such a no-brainer to move to reusable packaging that is simply better for the planet, but also provides an elevated dining experience.

Daniela: Is the sector oversaturated or does whitespace remain for further innovation, and if so, where do you see the need?

Keely: Fortunately, for all of the brilliant company-builders out there, we still need a ton of innovation in this space!

One area that is top of mind for me is recycling. Current recycling systems are highly complex and how to do it properly greatly varies from city to city across the entire globe.

The fact that so much of our recycling ends up in landfills or the ocean is deeply problematic but also presents a tremendous opportunity. 

And it's not just limited to plastics, we deeply need to consider what the end of the lifecycle looks like for many materials that are recovered from products that are no longer in use. 

Daniela: So let’s say someone comes to you for an investment in a startup that addresses all or a number of the flaws with recycling for a given market or at a greater scale. What do you generally look for in a promising seed company?

Keely: I have to really love the founders, the idea, and understand their “why”. Otherwise, all risks are on the table at the seed stage. When vetting a potential investment, I primarily look for:

1. Character: A founder or founding team that is humble, down to earth, and receptive to feedback. If we’re going to work together for the next 7-10 years, this is essential. 
2. Motivation: Ideally your lived experience or proximity to the issue informed the decision to start the venture. In many ways, it should be your life's work.
3. Expertise: I expect founders to be absolute subject matter experts obsessed with the problem and solution. Live, breathe, and know your market and opportunity space implicitly. 

Daniela: What is a major red flag when a startup or nonprofit approaches you for funding?

Keely: A major red flag is a transient leader or leadership team that hops from one idea to the next. This is related to the above, but it's really tough to gauge motivation when meeting over the course of 30 or 60-min video chats.

I want to know if a founder is a serial entrepreneur always looking for the next shiny thing or has the grit, resilience, and determination to see this venture through when times get challenging. 

Another red flag is thinking small. You need a healthy amount of foolish optimism surrounding the scale of what you hope to achieve. I catalyze products and projects with outsized impact and return. 

Daniela: Last question—if someone is interested in becoming an investor, what practical tips would you offer on how to get started?

Keely: I think the best practical advice I would give is to first build something entrepreneurial.

In my opinion, the best investors are former operators who built something from scratch, hired and managed people, and became obsessed with building a best-in-class solution for whatever problem they were working to solve. You could start a nonprofit, run for public office, build a small business, or create a venture-backed company to get the necessary, foundational experience.

The two-parter here is how to break into venture capital once you’ve built something successful and are armed with knowledge of best practices. You’ll succeed at breaking into the VC ecosystem if you take a nuanced, opportunistic, and relationship-driven approach. 

Daniela: Thank you, Keely. 

I hope our conversation inspires readers who are aspiring founders to approach investors with big ideas, passion, and commitment to their unique ocean solution. I also hope your insights might capture the attention of professionals who have the right vision, resources, and experiences to pursue investing in innovative solutions themselves!

Daniela: Doug, thank you SO much for taking the time to participate in Planet & Purpose!

To give everyone a bit of context on your career, in what capacity do you currently serve as an ocean advocate?

Doug: My pleasure!

I’m the proud founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance , a Hong Kong-based, charitable organization endorsed by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and The World Bank . 

We address plastic pollution through education, programming, and beyond. Our resources often work immediately at a global scale because they don’t require bans, taxes, or legislation.

For example, our Harvest Plastics Program empowers under-resourced villagers in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to capture and acquire value from reselling uncontaminated plastics.

Our Plasticity Forum conference we spearheaded for nearly a decade focused on solutions, logjams, and opportunities to give plastic a second life and prevent pollution. 

Our Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) offered the world’s first plastic footprinting methodology to help manage manufacturing and municipality waste through measurement.

We also introduced the world’s first multi-lingual app for reporting trash hotspots across global waterways and coastlines (Global Alert).

Daniela: Your plastics expertise is unique to our other interviewees in that you operate within the social sector and your impact and experience span cultures and countries.

In honor of Plastic Free July, what are some successful examples of plastic waste reduction and circular economy models that you think could be applied more broadly in other regions?

Doug: Two of the most highly effective ways to encourage a circular economy are reward programs and extended producer responsibility programs (EPR).

In the first case, consumers are rewarded for bringing sorted, clean materials back to a service center for easier, higher-value recycling—a model that has proven to work universally.

In the case of EPR programs, producers or vendors of products pay a cost that then funds missing infrastructure and programs in that jurisdiction to make recycling more efficient and scalable.

Without a reward to inspire good behavior or a cost to inspire avoidance, we will have significant challenges in truly slowing the plastic pollution crisis.

Daniela: There are definitely many challenges to tackling plastic pollution, and many emerging startups and nonprofits are committed to uncovering ways to tackle this crisis.

Aligned with that, is the plastic management sector already oversaturated, or does whitespace remain for further innovation? If so, where do you see the biggest need?

Doug: The sector is totally undersaturated (hence, we still have a massive plastic pollution problem). 

Part of the problem is working in silos, and most advocates do not consider what “circular” means in the context of domestic vs. global management processes.

It is very hard to have circular economies for plastic at a domestic level for every country, as many lack sufficient recycling and manufacturing capacities to reclaim polluting materials.

Domestication also leads to wasted, replicated efforts everywhere—often without the right inputs in the first place to even make the programs work. Thus, there are great opportunities for scalable, global circularity innovations.

Daniela: Speaking of global opportunities, what recent initiatives with Ocean Recovery Alliance offer a model for replication?

Doug: Last month, our inaugural Inland Ocean Festival in Cambodia on the shores of the Tonle Sap Lake leveraged the concept I previously mentioned of rewarding communities for recycling. 

The event engaged over 3,000 locals and 30 families in attendance were awarded 10 kilograms of rice each for their collection efforts. This is part of our larger Harvest Plastic Program through which we will continue distributing rice as a recycling incentive, thanks to a donation of 3,000 kilograms total from the local government.

We’ve already received inquiries about replicating this event and the broader Water Rising & Water Falling Festival in other countries as well as making it an annual, ecotourism draw to benefit the community in their off-season.

Readers can learn more about innovative programs worth replicating at oceanrecov.org

Daniela: With your extensive programming, has securing funding presented a challenge?

Doug: It is definitely a challenge to find the right financial support. 

I’ve often encountered donors who behave as though they’re investing in bonds or highly conservative instruments rather than a nonprofit.

A unique cultural challenge we’ve faced being based in Hong Kong is the lack of a “foundation/giving” background amongst the broader community in Asia. For those who do commit financing to NGOs and causes, the giving is not skewed to environmental initiatives. 

And corporations that have funds earmarked for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) don’t always align with our values.

Thankfully, we’ve overcome these challenges by offering unique, creative, multi-stakeholder programs which help to inspire the right donors for the right projects.

Daniela: What fundraising advice would you offer to others considering getting into this space?

Doug: First, seek out funders that genuinely want to be part of the change, believe in your vision to accomplish it, and support the people you’ve put in place to build the programming.

You want to align yourself with entities that will be excited to support your work and vision rather than focusing on controlling the process and details, thanks to understanding the bigger picture.

A final piece of advice is to pursue emerging opportunities for more engagement and funding. 

When the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and we saw rebounds in the environment, it prompted a realization and motivation in individuals and companies that we all need to do much more. It also showed us that if we give nature even a little bit of time to heal, it can bounce back and restore itself.

Daniela: How can readers who want to make a difference for the ocean or planet by founding a nonprofit learn from your personal and professional experiences?

Doug: First, look at your environment and experiences to inspire your mission. I was inspired to start Ocean Recovery Alliance because I experienced plastic pollution firsthand as a recent college grad and expat in Asia when I was organizing water sports.

Also, consider your “why”. If you are mission-driven and looking to put your earnings back into your idea, consider a nonprofit. If you’re an innovator who wants to make money, the for-profit, sustainable blue economy may be right for you.

Be an actionist (not an activist) to get on the radar of champions for your cause. Approach cooperation with creativity, collaboration, and engagement rather than aggression.

Lastly, let naysayers fuel you. For me, when an industry expert indicated PDP wouldn’t work, I promptly launched it! If you believe in something others discredit, you might be onto something.

Daniela: I couldn’t agree more with your assessment. Just because something hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it won’t be successful. That’s why we need innovators and ocean advocates like you, Doug. 

The ongoing work of Ocean Recovery Alliance is so important to solving the plastic pollution crisis and moving towards circularity. I’m so grateful you’re in the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Mentor Network. Thank you for sharing insights with Planet & Purpose readers!

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Exclusive Opportunities for Planet & Purpose Readers

DIRECT LINE TO POTENTIAL INVESTMENT

Keely Anson : If you’re a reader working on an idea that’s simply better for the planet, email me at keely@incite.org. Note: Include “P&P Reader” in the subject line of your message!

CRUZ FOAM IS HIRING!

John Felts : Visit cruzfoam.com/careers to apply for the role of Senior Packaging Engineer.

HARNESSING CREATIVE EXPRESSION TO INSPIRE RECYCLING

Doug Woodring : Ocean Recovery Alliance ’s play about recycling, “Uncle Roo – the Recycling Rooster,” has been translated into eight languages and is a free tool for all ocean and planet advocates to produce and perform.  

We know almost every village in the world has a rooster, and roosters always crow. As the play’s familiar, universally recognizable hero, Uncle Roo informs the community how to properly recycle and sort materials and not dump or burn their trash. 

Thanks to eco-repetition—or the sound of nature which happens every day—communities are regularly reminded to recycle, long after the performance ends. If done well, this is incredibly powerful.

Have questions on ecopreneurship, ocean and climate innovation, impact investing, or more? Ask Daniela V. Fernandez ! 

Submit your inquiries (anonymously!) to be answered in future editions → https://bit.ly/dvfqa 

About Planet & Purpose

Planet & Purpose is a Linkedin Newsletter featuring professional insights and personal experiences from ocean and climate ecopreneurs, investors, and advocates brought to you by Daniela V. Fernandez , Founder & CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA).