Beauty brand Garnier has developed the world's first “green net,” a competition-grade tennis net made from recycled plastic waste that debuted this week at the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament.
Garnier, a partner of the Australian Open for 2020, is using their Coast to Court campaign to create new nets using previous netting scraps that were bound for landfill. By doing so, the brand is hoping to bring attention to Australia’s plastic waste problem and reduce the 8 million tons of discarded plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans each year.
"We're on a mission to reduce the amount of harmful plastic waste found in our oceans and on our beaches every year,” Garnier wrote on Instagram. “For us, that's by taking a more sustainable approach to our packaging with a focus on recyclable materials.”
The nets will be on display on Show Court 3 at Melbourne Park, as well as part of an activation in Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Garnier has long worked to reduce its environmental footprint by sourcing sustainable packaging for its products.
In 2018, just under 80% of new or renovated Garnier products had an “improved social or environmental profile.” For 58% of these products, the increase stemmed from using packaging with a “lower environmental footprint.”
All Garnier products are also now free of Polyvinyl chloride, one of the most environmentally damaging types of plastic ever created.
Beyond the Australian Open, Garnier now hopes to create more nets from recycled plastics to supply to schools and grassroots clubs around the country.
Australia is the second-highest producer of waste, per person, in the world — sitting just after the United States.
Australians send 690 kilograms of waste to landfill per person, each year, according to non-profit Clean Up Australia.
"The amount of waste placed in landfill each year in Australia is enough to cover the state of Victoria,” Clean Up Australia reports on its website. “Plastic has remained the most common category of rubbish picked up on Clean Up Australia Day over the last 20 years. In 2017, it made up 35% of all rubbish found. Of the plastic rubbish found, 16.6% were plastic bags.”
In recent years, Australia has made a concerted effort to reduce its plastic waste.
All Australian states and territories, except New South Wales, have committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags. Retail and supermarket heavyweights Target, Kmart, Coles, and Woolworths have likewise committed to eradicating plastic bags from their stores.
In addition, in May, the government will hold a summit to discuss further innovative ways to reduce and recycle plastics.