Sports Nutrition Industry: Time to Ditch the Plastic

32% of all plastic packaging leaks into our oceans and ecosystems ((Source: The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of PlasticsEllen MacArthur Foundation)). Motion cofounder Joe Welstead calls times up on single-use plastic as the de-facto packaging option in the health and sports nutrition industry.

By the time you've read this article, 3 truckloads of plastic waste will have been dumped into our oceans. From microbeads to plastic bottles and protein bar wrappers, plastic waste is out of control. Big pieces of plastic are entangling turtles, smaller pieces end up in bird's stomachs. Inevitably, plastic residue will end up on our plates and in our guts. We, the nutrition industry, make it our mission to improve the health of our customers. So what does this make us, if we keep on ignoring exacerbating plastic waste issues? Hypocrites, you are absolutely right. The nutrition industry also strives to make your life easy. It's our goal to make good nutrition convenient. So quite naturally, for a long time now, I’ve obsessed over the idea of merging convenience with environmentally friendly packaging materials. Convenience and eco-friendliness: two priorities pulling apart from each other. Seemingly impossible to combine. Until now, anyway. How are nutrition brands making your life easier? Subscriptions, grab & go packaging, and convenient, functional products that fit the reality of modern living. Indeed, subscribing to regular deliveries can be very handy. No more time wasted re-ordering products you already know you’ll want more of. Plus, subscribe in bulk and you have the potential to minimise your packing and shipping footprint (speaking of which, why not subscribe to 3-months of Unplug?). Sign up for a product you love, and this is a win for everybody: you, us, Earth. Brands across the industry are also offering more and more convenient solutions. Individually wrapped portions of protein bars, hydration blends, protein powders, breakfast drinks - you name it. Everything on the go. This is generally a positive step, since we tend to live busy lives with hectic schedules. Except for one major problem: plastic waste.

Let me tell you straight up: sports nutrition brands need to do better with plastic. It’s not easy. But we need to do better.

If a brand’s sole offer is a subscription-based, plastic-wrapped, single-use product: they are not doing enough. Their subscriptions are locking you in to the plastic economy and exacerbating one of the biggest threats to the world as we know it. So tell these brands like it is: they need to do better. Then move on. I can say this with the certainty and assurance of having developed, after months and months of research and team-work, a better solution: plastic-free, recyclable and compostable. I am super proud of it, and I think you're going to love it.

By combining FSC-approved cardboard, vegetable-based inks, water-based laminates, wood-pulp films, and compostable paper, we’ve been able to create sustainable grab & go packaging which will make your life easier while reducing your plastic footprint.

We’ve merged Convenience and Eco-friendliness

Through February, you’ll be able to pre-order our new, 100% plastic-free, compostable and recyclable boxes of organic protein powders and workout blends. Each box is beautifully printed with non-toxic, vegetable-based ink and contains 12 grab & go sachets for your convenience. Use each biodegradable sachet when you’re ready - at home, at the gym, on the go - and, with a clean conscience, dispose of it with food waste. The sustainable plant-based material will naturally degrade and contribute to soil-regenerating compost. You can dispose of it in your council food waste bin or even in your home compost. Simple, beautiful, regenerative.

Zero waste: one part of the Motion mission

At Motion, we are here to help you build strong mental and physical fitness as a foundation to pursue your goals. We create products you can trust and believe in. Products nutrition professionals can not only endorse but actively recommend. We align ourselves with Organic values to provide the most reliable nutritional profiles, with no artificial ingredients, growth hormones or pesticides. We create products for a lifetime. A powerful, healthy lifetime. Part of this means providing just the right products in just the right formats to fit into and improve your life. It means providing products which you can count on as being positive for your own health, without causing a burden on the health of the planet. Going plastic-free is a simple and natural extension of our core values. So next time you find yourself looking at a health food or sports nutrition product, look beyond the brand’s promises. Are they delivering on their promise of a healthier future? Or are they locking you in to the plastic economy? Choices are powerful. As consumers and as brands, if we choose to prioritise our own health, it's our moral obligation to prioritise the health of the planet. So choose plastic-free. Choose Motion.