Building a Pathway towards a Refillable Beverage System in California

Groundbreaking New Report Integrating Reuse Into California’s Beverage Container Deposit System: A Feasibility Study The Story of Stuff Project commissioned Eunomia Consulting to investigate how the state of California might create a system for converting a quarter of the state’s 28 billion beverages sold annually, to reusable containers alongside the benefits of doing so.  The…

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Governor Newsom: Don’t Back Down

Implement California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act Without Delay Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 54 in 2022 – the nation’s most far-reaching plastic reduction law – pledging to “hold polluters responsible” and “cut plastics at the source.” But now his office is being targeted by industry lobbyists to delay the law’s…

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We Asked, You Answered: Analyzing Coca-Cola’s Advertising Portfolio 

Over the course of two months, Story of Stuff worked with its global community of Changemakers to crowdsource Coca-Cola commercials, ads and imagery displaying the company’s products. Coca-Cola is one of the world’s biggest advertisers spending $4 billion every year to advertise its products and is known as one of the world’s most recognized brands.…

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What’s with the Stanley Cup Craze?

Yes to reusables, no to overconsumption. Have you heard all the hype around Stanley cups? Stanley cups are the current “it” reusable water bottle of the moment, and in the last few months, we’ve seen them all over our feeds. We’re all for reusables and making sustainability more popular. But excessive consumption and microtrends? Not so much. From kitchen…

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Coca-Cola’s Use of Plastic is Up and Reusables is Down

Ellen MacArthur Progress Report: Coca-Cola’s Use of Virgin Plastics is Up and its Share of Reusables is Down Today The Ellen MacArthur Foundation released its 2023 Annual Progress Report revealing that despite its pledge to reduce its use of virgin plastic and increase its share of reusables, the company is failing on both counts.  Coca-Cola…

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New Report Released: Bring Back Refill

The Story of Stuff Project has released a new report Bring Back Refill: Calling on Coca-Cola, the Beverage Industry and Policymakers to Bring Reusable Beverage Bottles Back to the US. The report details Coca-Cola’s role in the rise and fall of the refillable glass bottle – exposing how the company knew that single-use plastic bottles…

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A Win for Public Water!

This was no ordinary campaign: waged over the course of eight years and led by a remarkable coalition of local, regional and national groups and individuals, it transcended the fairly mundane facts of the case to become something bigger – a metaphorical fight about who controls our water. 

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Story of Stuff Community Update: October 2022

Over the last quarter, we’ve notched some big wins, shared incredible stories and ensured our grassroots partners have the support they need to thrive. Storytelling: Honoring Native Voices on Indigenous Peoples’ Day Story of Stuff celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day with two big storytelling content drops: a new animated video in The World We Need series…

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Walmart Tops Major California Grocers Ducking Obligation to Redeem Beverage Deposits

The Bottle Bill’s Dismal Performance Highlighted as Legislature Considers Inclusion of Wine and Spirits Containers CALIFORNIA – New research reveals that California’s largest retailers are flagrantly violating their legal responsibility to return deposits on bottles and cans to consumers under the state’s bottle bill.  A survey of 500 outlets of the state’s top ten grocers carried…

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