Reduce Plastics Letter-Writing Campaign
image courtesy of National Institute of Standards and Technology
The petrochemical corporations have set a goal of tripling production of plastics in the next few years, which would be disastrous to the health of our planet and all who live on it. We can’t recycle our way out of this situation and burial, incineration, or continuing to dump it on third-world countries are untenable and unethical. The best solution is to use less plastic to begin with! Unfortunately, the public has to contend with the overwhelming amount of single-use plastic that stands between them and the products they wish to purchase.
To let retailers know how we feel about single-use plastics, Mission Earth has created a letter-writing campaign asking retailers to consider plastic-free alternatives. We have started with grocery stores because they stock so much single-use high-turnover plastics, but we expect to add other retailers as the campaign advances. We thank you for joining our effort to strive for a sustainable, equitable and clean environment. Help us to achieve our goal of 1,000 letters! This is an on-going campaign, if you are new to this page, feel free to jump in and write a letter - there is no deadline for this action!
We have modeled this letter-writing campaign after the millions of letters written as part of the successful nonpartisan “Vote Forward” effort used to encourage voters to go the polls. Accordingly, we have provided a few examples of letters that can be sent to the corporate headquarters of local companies that you may frequent. Each is a partially typed form letter, but also includes a space where you can write a personalized message. We believe letters that include a handwritten message with hand-addressed envelopes are more likely to get attention than those that are entirely typed.
We also believe that directing your letters to the corporate headquarters of your local retailer will be more effective, because that is where policy and purchasing decisions are more likely made. Let us know if you find addresses for other retailers so that we can share them with the group (please forward that information to Barb Munn).
Procedure:
Download and print a form letter
We have six possible letters to choose from below - choose the one that suits you or you can make your own letter to best express how you feel.
Download the addresses
Address and stamp an envelope
fill out the name and address of the company and person in charge; your return address is optional
Hand write the heading information at the top of the letter
date, addressee (and his or her title), and the name of the company
Hand write your own comments in the blank lines provided
comments related to the use of plastic/single-use plastic, including any personal experiences you might have with the local retailer.
asking for help and stating that you like their store and want it to improve is likely to be more effective than trying to scold or shame them. But, of course, the letter is your own, so do as you see fit.
if you have the time, do a little on-line search research on what each store may or may not already be doing.
a well-crafted paragraph can be used multiple times if you are writing to different companies.
Sign your name at the bottom and optionally include your address if you want a reply
if you belong to an organization, consider adding the name of your organization as well.