Great Stories: On Plastics
I’ve been collecting positive and inspiring stories for years. These are stories I find in various pockets of the media, from advertising (yes, some exist) to mainstream magazines, to niche blogs and podcasts.
After hearing a friend express her frustration about the lack of positive stories in the media, it finally dawned on me.
I thought, "Oh, I should share these."
In reality, many of what I will call “great stories” are being published, we just don't hear of them if we aren’t looking in the right place.
They rarely appear in search. They aren't highlighted in mainstream media. If they are published there, they are quickly buried under a barrage of the latest crisis new reporting.
So ever Monday I will share a bit of positivity to help you start your week on a hopeful note.
Expect a mix of mainstream and niche media.
I’ve already collected many ideas but if you have some to share, feel free to message me and tell me why.
TODAY'S STORY PICK
A Simple Burst of Bubbles is Keeping This River Clear of Plastic
published by Fast Company
I read this today and it made me smile.
STORY ELEMENTS
Why did I choose this story? So many business articles focus on the next unicorn. The big opportunities for financial gain or changing the world.
This article hones in on the creative and collaborative nature of the idea behind The Great Bubble Barrier, an innovative way of preventing plastic found in waterways from escaping into larger bodies of water.
The innovation came from applying an idea being used in an Australian treatment plant to waterways in Amsterdam. The founder who was from Berlin then teamed up with three women from Amsterdam who were working on a similar idea. But the article also mentioned other efforts in this area, as there is a global collaboration from individuals working on cleaning up the oceans.
STORY FAILS
This article names the male founder but refers to his business partners as “three women from Amsterdam.” Those women, all co-founders, are Francis Zoet, Chief Technology Officer, Saskia Studer, Chief Creative Officer, and Anne Marieke Eveleens, Chief Operating Officer. The male co-founder quoted is Philip Ehrhorn, Technical Development.
THE NARRATIVE CHANGES
The tide is changing in the way we talk about plastic in so many ways. Yesterday, an article on Low Impact travel came to my attention. Glamour UK measured travel by the number of trees that would need to be planted to offset carbon emissions. One factor in their low impact ranking included the banning of plastic. One top pick was an island location that had banned plastic including plastic straws. Straws there are made of bamboo or compostable materials.