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6-22 Ethics & Social Responsibility [CH 6

Communities and states face these kinds of questions that affect business: Are the
benefits of cleaning up pollution worth the costs? What are you willing to pay now for
a future ecological benefit? While most of us recognize the problems associated with
pollution, our willingness to pay for designated corrections are doubtful. Yet, the
directors of two of the nation’s largest pension plans said that they have nearly $1

billion to invest in clean technologies. The Chief Investment Officer at CalSTRS,
(California State Teachers Retirement System), the nation’s third-largest public
pension plan with $287 billion in assets, stated that his group is interested in
everything from generating power from solar and wind farms to wireless sensors, to
monitor power usage in supermarkets, or to home water-treatment systems.
The Recycling Solution. The United States has become a use-and-discard nation.
recycling Use it and dump it has been made possible by advances with personal hygiene and the
Reprocessing of used innovativeness of the chemical industries so that we design disposable packaging, such
materials for reuse. as the throw away plastic bottle. However, this innovation has created other

environmental concerns. Instead of our reusing plastic bottles as we did with glass, we
only need to throw them away. Where glass bottles would be scrubbed and re-used,
plastic bottles end up in landfills and have an amazing resistance to decomposition.
Trash accumulation is such a problem that cities and state legislatures design
environmental laws to reduce the accumulations of trash. States such as Michigan and
Oregon, passed legislation requiring cash deposits on all soft-drink and beer bottles
and cans; San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami require their citizenry to sort
their trash into different categories before collection. This, all in preparation of
recycling. Recycling—the reprocessing of used materials for reuse—provides a

substantial portion of the materials required in our manufacturing sector; newspapers,
cardboard, auto mobile scrappers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles are being reprocessed
and recycled. Some businesses are proactive with recycling; AT&T and Warner-
Lambert recycle their wastepaper, and some drinking establishments have added bottle
busters behind the bar.
There are companies that engage in recycling plastic that accumulate in the world’s
oceans. What they recycle are derelict fishing nets and plastic water bottles that are re-
processed to make useful products.
Patagonia was the first outdoor retail brand to start manufacturing fleece with
recycled plastic bottles in 1993, and they've continued to be a leader in the decades
since. Currently Patagonia has been experimenting with using discarded fishing nets in
its products, and is currently manufacturing their Stretch Rainshadow Jackets using
Econyl, 100% recycled nylon yarns which include, at least in part, discarded fishing
nets.
The Bureo Corporation was founded by Ben Kneppers and Kevin Ahearn in 2013
to elicit positive solutions to the environmental plastic pollutions in our oceans. Using
derelict and retired fishing nets recovered off of the Chilean coast, Bureo makes
everything from sunglasses (in partnership with Costa) to skateboards and Jenga sets.
Sunglasses fitted with high-tech Costa lenses, are effective eye covering on and off the
water.

Bureo x Costa Untangled Sunglasses made from
recovered fishing nets. REI/Costa Courtesy: Patagonia

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