Member - travel4thoughts
Projects with social and environmental impact on local communities worldwide inspired by travel experiences.
About
What is at stake?
1- The achievement of SDG14 (life under water) with a tangible contribution to reduce plastic waste, and other SDGs implementation (poverty, social inclusion, sustainable communities, inequalities, innovation) strictly related.
2- Changing consumers’ behaviours by creating awareness among youth of alternative products to plastic.
What are the objectives?
A) Replace as many single-use plastic straws as possible by introducing innovative solutions and biodegradable materials.
B) Create a local, regional and national movement against plastic straws in partnership with key players.
3- Pilot a social inclusive business model involving local communities in the Indian ocean, mobilizing
stakeholders in the action against plastic pollution. This inclusive business model could be scalable and
adapted to other local contexts.
4- Build an innovative product portfolio to replace plastic to enforce other environmental friendly solutions and alternative productions/consumptions patterns.
Currently the activities focus on the research for sponsors, partners with a CSR profile, in both the public and private sector. The Start up is supported by UNCTAD and incubated by Softweb in Switzerland.
The goal is to build awareness about plastic pollution, using the most obvious symbol of our wasteful ‘throwaway’ consumer culture – the plastic straw (as a starting point). Social media is one of the tools to achieve this objective (www.instagram.com/travel4thoughts).
Key objective is to drive and encourage a shift in mindset, which will result in a change of consumption's patterns.
Contract with an ethical supplier source of bamboo straw to offer the product in Switzerland is in place.
Process optimisation and assessment of product’s quality/performance has been completed successfully.
Aim is to introduce the product to local events, and festivals at high visibility, shops and retailers to deliver a strong message against single use plastic and reach a wider audience.
In parallel, work is done on the development of the manufacturing plant with a NGO in an island of the Indian Ocean, that will create new jobs and economic growth in the local community ((SDG1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) amongst a vulnerable category of people (disables).
The product is ready for the Swiss retail market.
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Headquarters 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
SDG’s of application
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity everywhere.
SDG 6
Clean Water and
Sanitation
Sanitation
SDG 7
Affordable and
Clean Energy
Clean Energy
SDG 9
Industry, Innovation
and Infrastructure
and Infrastructure
SDG 11
Sustainable Cities
and Communities
and Communities
SDG 12
Responsible Consumption
and production
and production
Documents
Offers from travel4thoughts
Other products
The intention is to set up a production line with Bamboo in an island of the Indian Ocean (Rodrigues). In fact, the island is rich in this natural resource that is currently considered as waste being an invasive plant (SDG9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). Currently over 150k plastic straws are ending up in the Ocean every year, due to high coconut water consumption at the market. This is adding up to the catastrophe of water contamination by micro plastic. Bamboo straws are 100% biodegradable, compostable and reusable. They can be disposed by placing them directly in the compost bin. Bamboo is a plant that consumes less water than any other plants. Bamboo absorbs carbon dioxide and releases 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere than an equivalent stand of hardwood trees, it does not require pesticides or insecticides, and it is one of the most renewable plant resources in the world. Once hardwood forests are clear-cut to provide fertiliser and space for growing crops, erosion inevitably occurs as the topsoil and nutrients are washed away by rainfall in the island. The eroded soil then clogs rivers and streams and affects the lives of people and animals living downstream. Bamboo roots remain in place after harvesting by preventing erosion and retaining nutrients and vital moisture for the next crop. Bamboo can grow in arid regions, from low wetlands to higher elevations in the mountains; thus, the high complementarity with the hilly and mountainous geography of the island. Care-Co is a small NGO with limited funding and resources that aims to give people with disabilities a vastly improved life and a place in the society via sustainable development work that benefit the entire community too. People with disabilities are given training, employment and support with full remuneration and all the conditions of work laid down by Government regulations (SDG1, 4, 8, 10). The transport impact of bamboo is minimised by donating to climateneutral, a UN carbon neutral platform for impact zero.
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Available inMauritius, Switzerland,
Status
Implemented
