Tom Ford partners with 52HZ to launch the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, calling inventors and entrepreneurs to catalyze the use of thin-film plastic alternatives
The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize is now accepting submissions from inventors, entrepreneurs and those invested in the fight against plastic pollution to facilitate alternative solutions for thin-film plastic, a material that accounts for 46 per cent of all ocean plastic leakage.
Fashion brand Tom Ford teams up with Lonely Whale's 52HZ, an advisory service that helps organisations create strategies in support of the ocean and environment to launch the competition. It's the only competition to focus exclusively on material science innovation to incentivise the development and adoption of affordable and scalable alternatives to thin-film plastic.
The two-year competition offers a prize total of US$1.2 million, followed by three years of support for the finalists. By bringing together investors, brands and other partners together in an action-focused coalition, the Plastic Innovation Prize will help finalists reach scale and market adoption of their creation by 2025.
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"Thin-film plastic enters our lives for a minute, yet continues on as waste, never truly disappearing," says Dr. Dune Ives, CEO of Lonely Whale. "The origin story of plastic starts with an innovation prize and the solution to the plastic crisis can be found in the tale of its creation. As a campaign organisation capable of catalyzing global change on a massive scale, the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize is an opportunity to create another new beginning and promote solutions commensurate with the plastic pollution problem."
Thin-film plastic contributes 46 per cent of the approximately 11 million metric tons of plastic that leaks into the ocean annually. The figure is expected to triple to 29 million by 2040.
"Sustainability is a key critical issue in our lives now," says designer, Tom Ford. "Plastic pollution is taking one of the greatest tolls on our environment and thin-film plastic makes up 46 per cent of all plastic waste entering our ocean. We will continue to advocate for the adoption of the winning innovations and will do whatever we can to turn the tide of plastic pollution and thin-film plastic specifically. We need to work towards finding a solution before it’s too late to save our environment."
To learn more about the Plastic Innovation Prize, please visit the official website at plasticprize.org.
See also: Rolex Ambassador Sylvia Earle On Her Mission To Protect The Ocean