With so many brands now claiming that their products are ‘ethical’ – how can you figure out what really is? Provenance’s Proof Points ensure brands define and prove these terms in the same way. It is a framework to help you make sense and trust what a brand says about its business or products.
Recycling is hard. It’s easy to be confused. Different countries, jurisdictions, councils, and boroughs have varying rules and vastly different infrastructure. Packaging is still often times mis-labelled or not labeled at all. New packaging is hitting the shelves every day. Corn starch straws, beet sugar plastics, compostable glasses… Are they recyclable, biodegradable, home compostable, industrially compostable? Most of the time different rules apply to different components - which is often not made explicit and means it’s hard to trust recycling claims. It’s time for clearer transparency in the industry.
Aside from helping you identify what components of the packaging are recyclable directly at the point of sale, Provenance is also launching a tool in partnership with Valpak to offer better recyclability assessments which take into account the current local recycling infrastructure and goes beyond a simple theoretical exercise. This is crucial as calling something ‘recyclable’ does not guarantee that it will actually be recycled where you live. It’s important to double-check with your local government.
Ultimately, better recyclability claims are not the be-all and end-all. Improvements in infrastructure and change in consumption behaviour are both needed to prioritise reduce and re-use before we indeed look to recycle.
Biodegradable: The idea behind biodegradable items is that they will eventually break down by natural processes and do not need to be in a specific environment (e.g. industrial facility) to do so. Since there is no standard regulation on how long this process should take, it allows for most items to be considered biodegradable rendering the majority of these claims meaningless. Additionally, many items claiming to be biodegradable – especially plastics, can cause more harm than good in certain instances (e.g. ocean debris). In terms of recyclability, most biodegradable items are not recyclable unless repurposed before the breakdown process.
Compostable: Often used interchangeably, compostable and biodegradable are actually two separate things – both of which differ from recyclable. Compostable goes one step further than biodegradable and requires the materials to break down into non-toxic components such as water or carbon dioxide. While some items are compostable at home (e.g coffee grounds, eggshells, wood chips), the majority of consumer products do not naturally decompose at home in the required 6 to 12-week timeframe. Industrial composition is the ideal alternative to solve this problem by artificially creating the optimal settings (e.g. temperature, humidity and oxygen) needed for decomposition. However, few places have the right facilities and reaching these conditions can often be energy-intensive.
Recycled Material: This refers to what was used to make the packaging. Packaging made from recycled materials, sometimes referred to as ‘upcycled’, should hopefully mean it’s more likely to be recyclable but this isn’t always the case. Because different materials have varying amounts of ‘lives’, it can affect post-consumer recycling. Recycled content made from aluminium, metals, and glass is not an issue since all three have almost infinite ‘lives’ and can be recycled many times over. However, plastic is a different story and can only be repurposed a limited amount of times.
Compostable, biodegradable, and recyclable are not mutually exclusive claims. Something that is compostable can still be considered biodegradable and also recyclable if the end material is then repurposed. On the other hand, most recyclable items can probably be considered biodegradable but not compostable.
At least X% of the product or packaging can be diverted from the waste stream through available processes and programmes and can be collected, processed and returned to use in the form of raw materials and products*.
We further categorise recyclable into 2 different levels to help you differentiate better:
Our guidance to brands follows ISO Standard 14021. This assumes that collection or drop-off facilities are reasonably accessible to the majority of shoppers and follows a strict methodology on how recyclability is calculated.
When a brand makes a Provenance-powered claim about recyclability online, you will see one of the following:
Proof Points are designed to be interactive. When you click on a ‘Recyclable' Proof Point you should see an expanded card with supporting information and links:
Types of supporting evidence
Every Proof Point also contains links to evidence, so that brands have to prove what they say with real documentation. For ‘Vegan’ this is the type of evidence and verification you can expect to see:
What does verified mean?
A verified proof point means an independent 3rd party has confirmed the accuracy of the brand’s statement. This is the verifier.
Provenance has our own list of approved verifiers. Third parties include (but are not limited to):
This Proof Point is just one example from our entire framework. As we grow the framework we will publish a full list so you can learn about the key claims businesses are making about themselves and their products.
Interested in getting updates? Sign-up to our newsletter.
Provenance is setting a new global standard for consumer sustainability, by validating and amplifying sustainability credentials throughout the customer journey. Provenance’s platform enables businesses to be transparent about their impact, so that they can reduce the risk of greenwashing, realise their sustainability ambitions and future-proof their market share. 200+ leading CPG businesses are using Provenance to communicate their sustainability credentials, including Cult Beauty, The Ordinary, The Nue Co, Shiseido, BELU, Arla and Napolina.
Provenance powers sustainability claims you can trust. The global leader in sustainability marketing technology, Provenance helps brands and retailers share credible, compelling and fact-checked social and environmental impact information at the point of sale. Provenance’s technology is already increasing conversion rates, brand value and market share for customers including Cult Beauty, Douglas, GANNI, Napolina, Arla and Unilever
.png)
).png)
%20(1)%20(2).png)