Inside Lonely Whale's Efforts to Scale Thin-Film Plastic Alternatives
Lonely Whale is helping to scale seaweed-based packaging that can help brands meet sustainability goals.
![A person's hands holding a material similar to a plastic wrap roll over a grassy field.](/content/images/size/w2000/2024/07/Example_03_Zerocircle.jpg)
The well-documented environmental impact of traditional plastics — e.g., carbon emissions stemming from the fossil fuels used to create the material, and ocean pollution caused by plastic waste — has prompted consumers and businesses alike to rethink their relationship with plastic.
But as nice as it would be to simply switch from virgin to recycled plastic, or to use other materials instead, the ubiquitousness of plastic makes it hard to replace overnight.
However, Lonely Whale, a nonprofit co-founded in 2015 by Entourage star Adrian Grenier, is on a mission to stop plastic waste from entering the ocean, and part of its work has recently revolved around finding alternative materials to thin-film plastics.