Winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, the global competition powered by nonprofit Lonely Whale to source and scale marine-safe and biologically degradable alternatives to traditional thin-film plastic made from fossil fuels, were announced at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards (GCFA) by Prize founder, TomFord, during his acceptance speech for The GCFA Visionary Honor. The $1.2 million Prize Purse is a combination cash prize and direct investment presented by Title Sponsors Tom Ford Beauty And The Estée Lauder Companies, and Trousdale Ventures, the exclusive venture capital partner of the Prize. The Prize Purse aims to support Winners to scale their solutions to replace traditional thin-film plastics, which make up 46% of all plastic waste leaking into the ocean each year.
“I started this Prize three years ago with a harrowing fear that the world our children would inherit would no longer be a livable one,” said Ford. “I wanted to be a part of the solution, not be an arbiter of the problem. If we did nothing about the waste and pollution flooding our oceans the disruption to our planet would be irreconcilable. Watching the brilliant minds within this competition has given me extraordinary hope in making the impossible possible. Our three winners have created truly viable alternatives – alternatives that when scaled across markets and industries will drastically change the course of the health of our planet. Today, as we announce the winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, I am honored, hopeful and thankful. Honored to have such great minds and partners join me to pioneer change. Hopeful for a better tomorrow, and thankful for all that has already been achieved.”
The GCFA Visionary Award was presented by award-winning actor and Prize Judge Trudie Styler in honor of Mr. Ford’s leadership of launching the Prize with Lonely Whale to help reduce the estimated 180 billion traditional thin-film plastic poly bags used annually by the fashion industry alone. Mr. Ford’s speech inspired the audience’s luminary leaders in fashion and business to take action and celebrate the solutions. The GCFA was co-chaired by actors Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Simu Liu, Simone Ashley, American fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford, and model Quannah Chasinghorse in a celebration of collective transformation and commitment to sustainability and moving the fashion industry forward.
“It was an honor to highlight the alternative materials created by the Prize winners to reduce the environmental impact of traditional thin-film plastic at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards,” said Livia Firth, activist, producer and founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age and the Green Carpet Fashion Awards. “It has been inspiring to work with Mr. Ford, Lonely Whale and my fellow judges to identify a solution for traditional thin-film plastic that has the potential for wide-scale adoption. I look forward to seeing the fashion industry rise up to this challenge and embrace these biologically based and degradable alternative materials.”
The winners were – Sway, an American company offering seaweed-based, home-compostable replacements for regenerative thin-film plastic packaging at scale; Zerocircle, an India-based company making wildlife and ocean-safe packaging materials from locally cultivated seaweed that will dissolve harmlessly in the ocean after use; and Notpla, a London-based start-up inspired by the way nature encapsulates liquids, on a mission to make plastic waste disappear by pioneering natural-membrane packaging that uses seaweed as an alternative to single-use plastic.
“The Winners of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize continue to inspire me with their commitment to innovate in order to scale marine-safe alternatives, helping to mitigate the 11 million metric tons of new plastic made from fossil fuels that enters the ocean each year,” said Lucy Sumner, Co-founder of Lonely Whale. “The investment and ongoing partnership from Tom Ford Beauty, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Trousdale Ventures underscores the vital need for collaboration to achieve systems change.”
“We’re honored to receive first place recognition from the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize Judges as innovators providing a viable alternative to traditional thin-film plastic. At Sway, we’re working to replenish the planet from sea to soil, and, thanks to the support of the Prize, we’re better positioned than ever to scale our solution for fossil fuel-based plastics to meet industry needs.” – Julia Marsh, Co-Founder & Ceo, Sway – First Place
“This is a special hour for us where our team’s work has been recognized globally among diverse panelists. This, however, is just the beginning and we are excited for what the future holds for us. This recognition is also a reminder of the urgent need to prioritize sustainability and environmental stewardship in all aspects of our lives.” – Neha Jain, Founder & Ceo, Zerocircle – Second Place
“It is an honour to be recognised as a TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize winner amongst this international group of entrepreneurs developing solutions to traditional thin-film plastic. We look forward to the forthcoming innovation accelerator and expanding our impact across the market.” – Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder & Co-Ceo, Notpla – Third Place
A panel of extraordinary Prize Judges, informed by an esteemed group of Scientific & Technical Advisory Board members, selected Sway, Zerocircle and Notpla out of the eight Finalists under consideration including Genecis, Kelpi, Lwanda Biotech, Marea, Notpla, Sway, Xampla, and Zerocircle. The Judges’ selection was made following a rigorous nine month-long testing phase, sponsored by Nike and aligned with international standards, to ensure their materials are biologically degradable, minimize negative social and environmental impacts, meet industry performance standards, and are also cost-competitive, scalable and market-ready. The testing was led by the New Materials Institute at the University of Georgia and the Seattle Aquarium.
The Prize Purse, presented by Title Sponsor Tom Ford Beauty and The Estée Lauder Companies, totals $1.2 million and is a combination cash prize, sponsored by the companies, and direct investments in the Prize Winners by Trousdale Ventures, the Prize’s exclusive venture capital partner. Awards were allocated to the Winners as follows: $600,000 for Sway, $250,000 for Zerocircle, and $150,000 for Notpla. A Milestone Award of $200,000 was paid out equally to all finalists in 2022.
“Tom Ford Beauty is thrilled to support this partnership in sustainable plastics innovation. We are honored to continue Mr. Ford’s legacy and further our commitment to investing in innovation that contributes to a more sustainable future,” says Guillaume Jesel, President, Global Brands, Tom Ford Beauty and Luxury Business Development. Nancy Mahon, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability at The Estée Lauder Companies shared, “Social investment and environmental responsibility are core pillars of The Estée Lauder Companies. The significance of these tenets continues to positively impact the employees and communities we work with and has helped drive our company’s success.”
Following the award of the Prize Purse, Lonely Whale will launch an Innovation Accelerator sponsored By Tom Ford Beauty and The Estée Lauder Companies, designed to ensure Prize Winners achieve widespread market adoption of their innovative alternatives to traditional thin-film. Further details will be announced in June 2023.
“As an innovation-focused investment firm in search of companies designing a brighter future, we are thrilled to join Lonely Whale as the Prize’s exclusive venture capital partner to invest in the three Winners of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize,” said Phillip Sarofim, founder of Trousdale Ventures. “Accelerating access to capital for innovators like Sway, Zerocircle and Notpla is critical to scale marine-safe alternatives to single-use plastics made from fossil fuels. Our investment in the Prize recipients aims to further that cause.”
The testing program included field testing in Caribbean waters and in-lab testing led by the New Materials Institute at the University of Georgia. The Seattle Aquarium led in situ field testing in Pacific Northwest waters and a bespoke, first-of-its-kind laboratory-based test designed to model what would happen in a marine mammal gut if the materials were ingested.
“When it comes to protecting the future of sport and the future of our planet, Nike is about innovating, creating and scaling solutions. By joining the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize as the sponsor of the Finalist material testing and part of the Early Adopter Coalition, we committed to accelerating the creation and adoption of material solutions that solve the issue of traditional thin-film plastic waste,” said Liz Rodgers, VP of Sustainable Product for Nike. “We are proud to celebrate the announcement of the three Winners who underwent the vigorous material testing track led by Lonely Whale’s research partners at the New Materials Institute and Seattle Aquarium and look forward to continued collaboration with this group of incredible innovators, brands and advocates that share in our ambition to raise the bar for sustainability.”
Finalists’ materials were also tested by major brands within their packaging solutions and supply chains to ensure viability as a replacement to existing non-recyclable thin-film poly bags made from fossil fuels. The Early Adopter Coalition includes Burton, Dell Technologies, Florence Marine X, GoSili, HP Inc., Imperial Dade, J. Crew, Le Club, MillerKnoll, Nike, Noah, Rachel Comey, ROQ.US, Stella McCartney, TOM FORD Beauty, TOM FORD International, Veronica Beard, Version Tomorrow, and Vuori.
“Partnering with Lonely Whale to conduct rigorous lab and field testing for the TOM FORDPlastic Innovation Prize was an important opportunity to showcase and advance the material testing standards necessary to ensure alternatives to traditional plastics are not just marketing wins, but are truly marine-safe and biologically degradable,” said Jason Locklin, Ph.D. and Director, New Materials Institute at the University of Georgia. “The New Materials Institute was proud to play a role in blindly assessing each of the Finalists’ alternative materials and I am excited to follow the winning teams’ success.”
“The world must move away from fossil-fuel based plastics to protect and rewild the ocean and other ecosystems,” said Wes Sechrest, CEO of Re:wild, Lonely Whale’s fiscal sponsor. “Innovative alternatives to single-use thin film plastic, like those developed by the winners of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, are powerful tools in helping to address the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and human wellbeing.” – Wes Sechrest, Ceo Of Re:Wild, Lonely Whale’s Fiscal Sponsor
