Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR), L’Oreal, Mars, Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE:CCE) and H&M are among the big-name companies that have pledged to eradicate plastic waste by 2025.
The consumer goods giants, along with more than 250 companies, have signed up to a campaign led by the record-breaking yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur to combat plastic pollution, which is harming the seas.
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All of the companies involved have promised that 100% of their plastic packaging will be reused, recycled or composted within seven years.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation said that if current trends continue, there could be more plastic than fish in the seas by 2050.
The foundation was launched in 2010 by Macarthur to help tackle plastic use after she was shocked by the level of plastic pollution she witnessed on her round-the-world sailing trips.
"The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment draws a line in the sand, with businesses, governments and others around the world uniting behind a clear vision for what we need to create a circular economy for plastic,” Dame Ellen MacArthur said in a statement.
“This is just one step on what will be a challenging journey, but one which can lead to huge benefits for society, the economy and the environment.”
The signatories have pledged to eliminate "problematic or unnecessary" plastic packaging and move from single-use to reusable packaging by 2025, to ensure all plastic packaging can be "easily and safely" recycled or composted and to increase the amounts of plastics reused or recycled into new packaging or products.
Unilever, the maker of Marmite, Dove and Ben and Jerry’s products, recycles some two-thirds of the plastic it produces. Earlier this year, it stopped sealing its pyramid-shaped PG Tips teabags with polypropylene, moving to cornstarch instead.