It has been six months since the premier of the International Plastics Design Competition (IPDC) at NPE2009. In the relative quiet since the awards were celebrated and the last exhibits found their way home, I was recently reminded again of the excitement and pride we all felt to learn of so many critical problems being solved through innovation with plastics materials. 

Last week, as  I continued to read through news of the earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti, I thought of one plastic product in particular: the WaterBrick, which won two IPDC Awards last June — in the Sustainability Part/Component and Industrial/Military categories. Two plastics industry companies — FPM Tooling & Automation (designer and moldmaker) and ACM Plastic Products(molder) — were key to producing this life-saving resource. 

The WaterBrick is an industrial container made of HDPE (high-density polyethylene) that is recyclable and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for water storage. It can be air-dropped into disaster zones to provide 3.4 gallons of clean water per container to people in need.  The use of HDPE renders the WaterBrick less costly than comparable steel containers, and careful design enables the containers to withstand the impact of a fall to the ground from a plane.  Once the water inside is used, the WaterBrick can be refilled with dirt or sand and utilized as a building block for construction of shelters in lieu of expensive concrete blocks (which is the case in Mkuze, South Africa.) 

It occurred to me that if these WaterBricks were not being sent to Haiti, then someone should find a way to get them there.  I was thrilled to discover that WaterBrick International had indeed formed a partnership with GlobalGiving to raise funds to get as many WaterBricks as possible into Haiti.  I encourage everyone  to donate – as little as $10 provides one person with a week’s supply of clean water!  (Currently, WaterBricks are not being used for shelter purposes in Haiti.)

It is gratifying to work directly with people and companies whose products transform lives and help overcome challenges of this magnitude — and we in the plastics industry get to do it a lot.  Let this example be a reminder for us to continue encouraging innovation and supporting one another’s efforts to make the world a safer, healthier place for all.

On December 3rd in Atlanta, SPI’s Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Packaging Materials Committee (FDCPMC) will join media analysts and officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in taking on one of the greatest challenges currently facing the plastics industry, consumers and the regulatory agencies that seek to protect human and environmental health while promoting innovation: The misreporting and intentional distortion of science in the news media. 

There are all manner of books, web sites, reports, columns and more web sites devoted to this topic. Prompted in part by CNN’s decision one year ago to cut  its entire space, science and environment unit, the World Federation of Science Journalists hosted a press briefing  in February titled, “Is Science Journalism in Crisis?“  

Reporting on science has suffered a marked decline in quality, accuracy and breadth of coverage in recent years for a variety of reasons, many of them economic and political.  Under competition from Internet sources like blogs and online videos, science journalists are often the first to be laid off from traditional news organizations. We’re left with journalists who have little or no science background doing their best to write the occasional science story, often using the very blogs and online videos that are competing for their jobs to drum up hot stories. Instead they should be turning directly to the scientific community and the peer-reviewed journals for science stories.  Unfortunately, the blogosphere and the online video channels, and by extension the journalism that relies on them, are rife with unreliable information and scientific claims of questionable origin.

The end result is that the public is often fed misinformation from trusted media outlets that misinterpret or, worse still, intentionally misuse scientific studies to put out sensational stories.  The danger is that society can be led to divert significant time and money away from serious problems to issues that the most rigorous science available suggests are of comparatively low concern for the health and well-being of people and planet. 

Consumers can also be put at risk by news stories that direct them to choose certain products on the basis of poorly designed or biased scientific studies.  Instead of making well-informed product choices and having a reasoned discourse on critical issues like consumer health, the global environment and the efficacy of our regulatory agencies, we’re all busy trading narratives manufactured by struggling media outlets and agenda pushers.

A recent editorial in Nature decried the decline in science journalism and challenged scientists to step up and fill the void directly by blogging and sharing their research through channels that are more accessible to the public than peer-reviewed academic journals. 

Those gathered in Atlanta for the FDCPMC Winter Conference will examine ways that they, too, can get involved in correcting misinformation in the news media. Perhaps one way is by helping reporters without scientific backgrounds gain access to clear, easy-to-understand, sound science on the issues they are covering.  Conference attendees will explore the roles that industry, the research community, the regulatory agencies and media watchdogs can play in ensuring that the public receives the full story and can make educated decisions about the products they use, the materials they trust, and the policies they support.  Everyone stands to gain when people are empowered to make decisions based on the best information available.

Summer is ending. For most, the vacation is in the rear view mirror and for many it’s ”back-to-school” time already. For voters in New Jersey and Virginia, the fall season will also mean a return to the polls come November 3rd.

All registered voters in both states have the privilege to elect a Governor in November,  and New Jersey voters will also cast votes for members of the General Assembly. This November is a prelude to next year when 37  states will hold not only gubernatorial elections but many local, state legislative and congressional races too.

In New Jersey, running for re-election is sitting Governor Jon Corzine (D), to be challenged by Chris Daggett (I), a former regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a nd Chris Christie (R), a former federal prosecutor.  At this time, Christie is leading in the polls.

In Virginia, Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R) and state Senator R. Creigh Deeds (D) face off.  The race is considered close.

To jumpstart the process, visit the election pages of the  New Jersey and Virginia state websites, as well as the League of Women Voters’ sites for New Jersey and Virginia.  Share this information with friends, family and colleagues.   

Are you familiar with the candidates?  Are you happy with the status quo?  Are you looking for change?  Are you registered to vote? (If not, SPI’s Political Action Center can help!) Will you vote?  I sure hope so!

Do your homework! If you live in Virginia or New Jersey, mark your calendars for November 3rd, and Get-Out-the-Vote!

Here at SPI, grassroots mobilization efforts have always centered on member companies making connections with their elected officials. They still will, but there’s another dimension to this. Going forward, a more comprehensive SPI approach to grassroots advocacy will also underscore communication within the plastics industry value chain and with its all-important employees — two groups inextricably linked to our member companies’ future success.  

Writing in May, I highlighted BIPAC’s leading-edge research in employer/employee communication, and shared a few data points that underscore the mutual value realized when employers take the time to engage employees on policy issues — global, federal, state and local — that affect the company’s bottom line.

Value chain communication is equally important.  Engaging a supplier or customer on common issues helps amplify our industry’s voice — and multiplies our ability to affect legislative and regulatory outcomes for the better.  Need an example?  How about the cost of employer-provided health care that’s currently being debated in Washington?  SPI member companies continue to struggle against the burden of ever-escalating employee health care costs.  SPI must rally lawmakers to find solutions that increase competition in insurance markets, drive down health care costs, and rein in runaway litigation, not increase the tax burden on businesses providing employee health care.

In the coming weeks and months, SPI will be rolling out more and more materials to guide members through this important activity.  Much will be enabled through our website, so keep an eye out.

That title probably grabbed your attention, huh? However, I am not referring to conversations in the nude; instead I am referring to the title of a book: Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, which argues that blogs have revolutionized the way business and industry talk to their customers because transparency and authenticity are now expected by the consumer. While the book was written “way back” in 2006, I think it is safe to say that this has become the new reality for business. 

At the NPE2009 show SPI President & CEO Bill Carteaux spoke in the opening luncheon about a proposed consumer outreach initiative that is currently in the works at SPI.  The purpose of this initiative is to engage key audiences, particularly millennials, in an open dialogue about plastics. The Millennial Generation is one that thrives on transparent and authentic discussions – essentially naked conversations. The initiative will aim to not only give the plastics industry a voice in the online world where millennials live , but seek out the voice of these consumers and supply them with sound science and trustworthy information to help them make informed choices.

Some of these conversations are already taking place. In the past few days, a lively dialogue has heated up on two blogs — check out the posts and comment going back and forth on Fake Plastic Fish and Plastics.com where individuals are weighing in with questions, concerns and input on various aspects of plastics and the plastics industry. You will disagree with some of these comments and others you will applaud; some will irritate you for their inaccuracies, others you will think “hmmmm… interesting point.” But my point is that these conversations are happening, and I think this can be healthy for the plastics industry, as long as we are ready to enter this conversation ourselves.

Rather than ignoring the debate that is already happening, SPI’s proposed consumer outreach initiative will let us engage with influential millennials — a generation that is actively asking questions, looking for answers and wanting to make sustainable choices for the future.

You may have seen the recent poll on Plastics News asking what people think about such an initiative. While most who voted find it to be a modern step in the right direction, some people selected “It’s a lost cause” or “What’s a millennial?” However, the real lost cause is if we do not enter the conversation already happening. Any millennial (like me!) can tell you that!

So, what are your thoughts? How can the plastics industry be better recognized as a credible source of information? How can we do a better job of helping consumers balance criticisms with relevant science? It seems Tell us what you think…and let the “naked conversation” begin!