Jacob Grames
Brady Ross
Wil East
Ramon Porras Rodriguez
The University of Toledo
Gary Insch
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The 1990s saw a massive boom in recycling as this became the new “fad” on how to live more sustainably. The concept of plastic recycling was great, as it reduced the amount of crude oil that had to be mined and refined to produce new products. Companies, however, were not properly outfitted to accept recycled plastics; therefore, the recycled material had nowhere to go after being collected. Eric Hudson recognized this gap in the industry and, in 1996, founded Preserve to help close that gap and give life to recycled plastic waste. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Preserve began using pre-consumer recycled plastic to make various consumer products such as toothbrushes, razors, and to-go containers made from 100% recycled material. As the market has evolved, Preserve has transitioned its focus to using more post-consumer plastics, increasing the influence it has on creating a circular economy for plastics.
Preserve’s innovation is a recycled plastic supply chain that they built and expanded to allow partnerships with other companies to reduce consumer product impact by using recycled plastic. In the ’90s, founder Eric Hudson saw the state of recycling plastic and wondered where the recycled plastic went. By then, there was a strong societal pressure to recycle; however, businesses were not using this recycled plastic effectively. Hudson saw this and wondered if he could find a way to use the recycled plastic and build something out of it. With this opportunity, Hudson created Preserve.
Preserve was built around finding a use for the recycled plastic stream, commercializing recycled plastic by selling products like toothbrushes, and building partnerships with other sustainable companies. To create this network, Hudson met with recycling processors like Aaron Industries and other businesses with plastic waste streams, such as Stonyfield Farms, to effectively commercialize recycled plastic. Hudson built the partnerships that led to the growth of each of these substituent parts of the recycled plastic stream. Preserve’s relationship with Stonyfield Farms, which COO John Lively quoted as “the peak moment of [his] career with Preserve, paving the way for both companies to make a huge impact”, helped both companies position themselves as leaders of sustainable change in the subsequent decades.
To maintain a sustainable recycled plastic supply stream that continues to produce plastic of a consistent quality, Preserve has specific regulations and outlines that detail how incoming plastic is handled and processed. Preserve’s products are made with 100% recycled plastic, which means there must be a standardization for the large-scale processing of plastic. For use in their products, Preserve chooses to use #5 plastic (polypropylene) because it is a versatile and benign plastic that is widely used and relatively safe for human use. By specifying this choice, Preserve can better regulate the consistency of product quality, despite the various sources of #5 plastic that are fed to the supply stream. Preserve uses a cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the origins and intended uses of all sourced plastics, working with suppliers to ensure that the initial application of every bit of recycled plastic is known. Knowing the origin of the sourced material serves a dual purpose of both helping Preserve better process the material and giving insights into what contaminants the plastic may have obtained in its previous life. Plastics from all sources are tested for foreign elements, such as heavy metals, to ensure that no harmful chemicals are migrating from the plastics used in Preserve products.
At the conception of the company, these types of guidelines and procedures for processing recycled materials were yet to be created and standardized in society. By being an early adopter of recycled plastic processing and resale, Preserve has set the standard for how the commercialization of recycled plastic and recycled material supply chains can be built sustainably. Preserve’s process has extreme attention to detail that accounts for the variability associated with sourcing recycled material safely and cleanly. Just as well, the partnerships that Preserve has created help expand the use of their recycled material and further integrate more plastic into the safe and clean supply stream they have created.
Founder and CEO, Eric Hudson grew up in rural Massachusetts where he had a strong passion for the natural world. Growing up, Hudson’s love for the outdoors would motivate him to create a company that focuses on helping the environment. In 1996, the idea of sustainability was new, so Hudson and Preserve had to focus on finding an innovative way to create a more sustainable world. After analyzing the recycling system, Hudson realized a key component was missing. He found that many people and businesses began recycling, but few manufacturers used recycled materials to create new products. Hudson used this information to develop Preserve’s first product, a toothbrush made of 100% recycled plastic. Preserve’s founding principle in 1996 was to create remarkable products that were lighter on the earth. Preserve was created to be a leader in sustainability, and to be a model for other companies trying to become more sustainable.
Looking to the future, Eric’s efforts to create a sustainably based business have paved the way for others looking to create sustainable futures in industries even beyond that of plastic recycling. The partnerships that Eric and John have forged have opened doors that may never have been discovered without their innovative minds. And to support the future of sustainable business, they launched the Preserve Connect program, offering guidance and assistance in navigating the waters of sustainable business. We see other companies following in their footsteps, seeking to develop partnerships to introduce recycled plastic feeds into the production of their products. Brands like Philadelphia, Adidas, and Unilever (Hellmann’s & Dove) have all, since, begun to seek these partnerships.
Financially, the recycled plastic stream is, at its core, the base of the business. It provides the primary revenue stream for the business and drives the company's continued success. Their partnerships with various recyclers and other companies, such as Stony Field Farms, drive long-term financial benefits for the company by securing the future of the business.
The availability of a sustainable plastic product, like a toothbrush or storage container, provides a significant benefit to society. These types of products allow the public to seek a sustainable option for a product that would, traditionally, be manufactured using raw materials, which in this instance is crude oil. This then creates a long-term sustainable impact on the environment by creating a cradle-to-cradle ecosystem, minimizing the number of raw materials needed for new products, and maximizing the return on raw materials that have already been extracted. Furthermore, the plastics that are being recycled are no longer ending up in landfills or the world’s oceans. This then further allows for POPi to impact the world and continue working on creating cleaner oceans.
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Eric Hudson, Founder & CEO
John Lively, COO
Preserve is a company that gives plastic new life, preventing it from ending up in landfills or the world's waterways. The company strives to build sustainability in the long term, assisting entrepreneurs looking to break into the sustainable business market. With the addition of the Preserve Ocean Plastic Initiative (POPi), Preserve further aims to reduce the harm plastic can do to ecosystems and the environment and continues to find a new life for discarded plastics.