Packaging

What happened to plastic packaging in the plastics treaty negotiations? This short briefing is part of a series covering core elements that need to be revisited in the negotiations as they are central to achieving the treaty's objectives.

This study examines microplastic contamination in cigarette tobacco across global markets. It analyzed 88 cigarette packs collected from 18 countries and found that microplastics were present in the vast majority of samples. The identified polymers (e.g., PE, PP, PET) are commonly associated with packaging and industrial processes, indicating that tobacco products themselves may act as an unrecognized source of plastics exposure.

This scoping report highlights the vast scale of microplastic exposure in daily life. The author's research on over 350 peer-reviewed studies shows that human exposure is continuous and global. Microplastic releases of 60 different polymer types were reported across five major categories: food, indoors, outdoors, children’s products and personal care/healthcare.

Thee 2025 Brand Audit report reveals the ‘Dirty Dozen’ - the 12 most polluting household brands in the UK and their parent companies. Coca-Cola topped the leaderboard for the fifth-year running, closely followed by McDonalds and Cadbury. The other top brands included: Red Bull, Walkers, Monster, Lucozade, Pepsi, Stella Artois, Haribo and Mars. And theUK’s largest supermarket, Tesco has made it into the Dirty Dozen for the fifth-year running. 

Business journalist Saabira Chaudhuri explores the corporation's massive lobbying effort in the EU to exempt a 'reuse for dine in' requirement in the landmark Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and draws parallels between the tactics McDonald's used in EU and its efforts to thwart the foam ban in the 1980s in the US which was ultimately successful. 

The documentary is an eye-opening journey into the hidden dangers of plastic in our homes. When six couples embark on a plastic detox, it changes their families forever. The film explains what microplastics and their chemicals are doing to our health. From hormone disruption that’s fueling a worldwide fertility crisis, to growing rates of cancer, and early heart attack and stroke, this powerful documentary reveals the shocking science behind plastic’s impact on human life.

The report looks into the sachet economy in the Philippines that continues to add to and worsen the growing plastics pollution problem, showing how the big businesses corrupted Filipino’s tingi culture. It explores the public attitude towards plastic pollution and presents new findings and recommendations for companies and policymakers.

The potential hazards of microplastics for humans and the environment are difficult to identify. This dossier summarizes main aspects as well as open questions arising from the links between microplastics, food packaging and human health.