Grounded World

GROUNDBREAKING (pun intended!) NEWS FROM GROUNDED!! We’re beyond thrilled to finally launch something we’ve poured a lot of heart and brains into – a first-of-its-kind industry resource— Introducing "Policy to Profit: How New Rules Can Create Commercial Wins for Fashion." – our inaugural whitepaper to debut our Mind the Gap series. Think of it as your go-to guide for not only navigating legislative and regulatory challenges but rather transforming them into commercial opportunities to scale sustainable innovation. We designed this white paper to be an interactive resource that provides tailored advice based on industry expert interviews, sustainability legal counsel, real-time rigorous research, and embedded FAQs for an enhanced Q&A session led by Gaia, our resident AI! (we know what you’re thinking “Gaia who?”) Chat with Gaia to receive real-time analysis tailored to your unique challenges, using the latest industry data, policies, and legislation! And please do let us know what you think… Explore our full resource center linked in the comments now! #TimeToGetGrounded

This Zara jacket is made from 100% textile waste. Here’s the tech behind this circular fashion innovation - Most “circular” fashion still relies on just minimal recycled content such as 20-30%. But Zara is proving that full-scale textile recycling is possible. This jacket, made entirely from @loopamid?, the first-ever nylon 6 made entirely from textile waste, proving that high-quality, fully circular fashion is possible, WITHOUT virgin inputs. And it’s not stopping there. Zara’s collaboration with Circ? is also reshaping textile recycling, introducing Circ Lyocell, which incorporates 50% recycled textile waste, a critical step toward breaking down blended fabrics. Why does this matter? ? 85% of discarded textiles still end up in landfills or incinerators and solutions like these are crucial to closing the loop. ? New regulations are raising the bar, such as the EU’s Ecodesign Regulation to California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act, verifiable circularity is no longer optional. ? Scaling textile-to-textile recycling is the key to replacing virgin materials and shifting fashion’s waste-heavy model. What Comes Next? ?? Brands must move beyond low-recycled-content claims and commit to true circularity. ?? Policymakers need to support innovation-driven regulations that accelerate adoption. ?? Cross-industry collaboration is essential - circularity isn’t a solo act. We break down what it takes to win in the next era of fashion in our white paper, "Policy to Profit: How New Rules Can Create Commercial Wins for Fashion." ?? Download 'Policy to Profit' in the comments! ?? Repost this circular fashion innovation to inspire others ?? Follow Grounded World for more insights on circularity and next-gen materials

Well done Julia O'Mara, Brian McMahon and the whole team at Pickle for their $12M funding round! It's great to see impact investment flowing into brands with sustainability and circularity at their core, especially in the fashion space, where it's desperately needed.

A climate and health win this morning! Actual Veggies just raised $7M to revolutionize plant-based eating Actual Veggies is taking the plant-based world by storm with its veggie-packed, whole-food burgers. With a recent $7M funding round, they’re poised to deliver more veg to the world. Awesome work! ? What do they do? ?? Whole vegetable ingredients: Actual Veggies uses 100% vegetables, beans, and grains, making their burgers a far superior alternative to the trash in traditional veggie patties. ?? Nutrient-dense: Each burger is a nutritional powerhouse. This isn't a bland, plant-based option because you feel like you should – this is the best across the board. ?? Variety and flavor: Gone are the days when the only veggie option was a grilled portobello in a bap. With options like Purple Roots and Super Greens, Actual Veggies offers diverse, flavor-packed burgers. ?? Child-friendly positioning: Actual Veggies has exceptional branding for kids and families. Their vibrant, playful packaging makes plant-based fun for younger audiences. No more hiding lentils in my Bolognese, Mum. ? What Actual Veggies could do to scale from here: Strengthen brand purpose & market messaging: Actual Veggies could refine its brand purpose, ensuring every message strengthens its sustainability and clean nutrition goals. By conducting a thorough brand purpose assessment, they might better connect with eco-conscious and health-focused consumers, making their products even more relatable. Build community: Impact branding is all about community in 2025. Offering sustainable eating education, interactive workshops, or even brand-aligned, offline events such as pop-up fitness classes, would build customer loyalty and position them as a thought leader in the health space. This would address gaps in consumer knowledge, making their value proposition clearer. Showcase impact with case studies: Actual Veggies could partner with early adopters to showcase how they are making a real impact on health and sustainability. Highlighting success stories through compelling case studies would demonstrate the product’s effectiveness and help build market trust. Expand Kid-Focused Offerings: Given the strong branding toward children, Actual Veggies could develop products specifically for the younger demographic, such as fun-sized burgers or school-friendly meal options. A partnership with Jamie Olivers healthy school meals campaigns in the UK could be a great expansion on this side of the pond. So a massive virtual high five to Actual Veggies and founders Hailey Swartz & Jason Rosenbaum for securing their funding and continuing to lead the charge in plant-based nutrition! Researching Actual Veggies has made me hungry. Is it weird to have a veggie burger for breakfast? ?? Repost to help spread awareness about the great work that Actual Veggies are doing ?? Follow me - Matt Deasy - for content that helps impact founders launch and scale. Image credit: Actual Veggies Insta

?? Progress or Rollback? The EU is revamping its sustainability directives, and if the Omnibus Simplification Package passes, 80% fewer companies will need to report. Will this truly cut red tape or cut accountability? The CSRD (and its supporting standard ESRS) and CSDDD present some of the most impactful ESG reporting mandates on the horizon. Now, the EU is proposing to reshape these transformational policies and frameworks with the?Omnibus Simplification Package. What does that mean for business? ?? 80% fewer companies will need to report if the Omnibus is finalized. ?? CSRD reporting alignment with CS3D will focus on large companies: 1,000+ employees, €50M turnover, or €25M in assets. ?? Listed SMEs won’t be required to report, but can voluntarily report under a separate standard. ?? The value-chain cap expands beyond SMEs to those undertakings not required to report under the proposed thresholds, with voluntary reporting for both. ?? Sector-specific standards?and reporting would be?eliminated. ?? Auditing requirements would?remain at limited assurance. ?? Two-year delay on reporting for second and third wave companies. ?? EU Taxonomy disclosure will only apply to companies within CSRD scope and €450M turnover. ?? Double materiality remains, but the ESRS may be revised. ?? Remember - this is still a proposal and nothing is set in stone. Hopefully there's no foolery going on but voting on the omnibus is set to start on April 1rst. How do you feel about the EU omnibus proposal? Will the EU sustainability directives be simplified? (for better or for worse?) We break down why CSRD, ESRS, CSDDD matters, what’s changing, and what it means for businesses and sustainability. Read more → in the comments! ?? Share to inform your network ?? Follow Grounded World for more ESG updates

"Instead of fishes they're catching clothes" - This is Waste Colonialism. According to the experts at The Or Foundation, waste colonialism is defined as: “When a group of people uses waste and pollution to dominate another group of people in their homeland.” When the Global North (North America, EU, UK, +) dumps millions of metric tons of its own accumulated waste on an annual basis upon the Global South (Africa, Latin America, Asia, +) without providing a proper financing structure to manage such high volumes of waste - that is waste colonialism! The fashion industry’s dirty laundry is finally getting aired out. Decades of abuse - overproduction and designing for disposal - is washing up on our shores and sinking deeper into our seas. Secondhand markets in the Global South relentlessly struggle to process the sheer mass amounts of clothing that is being cycled through by the Global North. To worsen matters, the majority of textiles (that took a lot of time and money to make!) that reach these markets like Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana are damaged goods that are deemed low value and waste upon arrival. Kantamanto Market alone receives about 15 million secondhand clothing items every week! How do we Stop Waste Colonialism? Naturally, collaboration is key. Everyone must do their part to dismantle waste colonialism at its core from government to brands, retailers, and of course consumers. ??? Unprecedented Policy Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks offer necessary solutions to address waste colonialism by appropriately distributing funds to establish the circular infrastructure needed to manage the legacy waste incurred: ?? Eco-Modulated Fees: Brands are incentivized to design more circular products by paying fees proportionate to waste generated. ??♀? Formalize Informal Waste Workers: On the frontlines, informal waste collectors, highly experienced and skilled in waste management, are bearing the brunt of the world’s waste while getting stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty. By formalizing existing waste workers through equitable labor practices, our transition to a global circular economy will be accelerated. ?? Incentivize Circular Design: Robust reduction targets and incentives promote durable, repairable, and recyclable product life cycles. ?? Corporate Responsibility Brands must embrace circular solutions as responsibility is increasingly a requirement! ?? Conscious Consumption Closing the intention-action gap as consumers has never been more important. The reality of being a “conscious consumer” in 2025 involves mindful consumption habits on a daily basis, prioritizing quality + longevity and actively supporting brands that embed circularity and transparency into their DNA. Like Joe said, the OR team is identifying the brands on the tags and asking them for their help to fix this problem. So let's help. Don't know where to start for your business? ?? Download 'Policy to Profit' below

A simple framework for a regulatory landscape that’s anything but. The CSRD and CSDDD are already reshaping corporate sustainability. But now, the EU Omnibus Simplification Package is poised to rewrite the rules yet again. What’s changing? What’s staying? And what does it all mean for businesses trying to keep up? If you’re feeling like the goalposts keep moving, you’re not alone - that’s exactly why we created Policy to Profit. With help from our trusted legal counsel and co-author of our whitepaper, Policy to Profit, Aimee Simpson, CEO of Sustainability Law & Strategies, we’ve developed a rich list of resources to help you to stay ahead: ??? Tune in to the latest Mind The Gap podcast episode, where Aimee explains the key ESG policies, legislation, and regulations you need to watch. ??? Read our latest blog, legally reviewed and co-authored by Aimee Simpson, for a proper breakdown of what the EU’s sustainability reporting directives and potential changes mean for your business: CSRD, CS3D, and the proposed Omnibus Simplification. ?? Download the full whitepaper that now includes an ADDENDUM diving deeper into what the Omnibus Simplification Package actually means for the fashion industry. ?? Ask Gaia (our sustainability ai assistant) any questions you might have during your read or listen for a real-time, data-driven Q&A session! Don't panic! There’s opportunity in these changes. The reality is, sustainability is no longer optional. Now is the time to take a leadership position and commercialize your sustainability efforts. There’s no turning back now; the future HAS to be sustainable, and it’s your move. Did you miss yesterday's newsletter? All these resources and more are included in our latest edition! ?? Subscribe to our newsletter to never miss an update ?? Follow Grounded World for more frameworks, guides and resources ?? Ring our bell to be the first to know! Framework credit: Circularise

The intersection of policy and profit is here and it’s reversing business as we know it. In our latest newsletter, we dissect the EU’s Omnibus proposal and what it could mean for businesses worldwide with expert legal counsel from Aimee Simpson, CEO of Sustainability Law & Strategies, and co-author of our whitepaper, "Policy to Profit: How New Rules Can Create Commercials Wins for Fashion", we’re making sense of the latest regulatory shifts so you don’t have to! ??? Here's what's in this edition: ??? Policy to Profit landed in Forbes, Sourcing Journal, and more... see what the press is saying! ?? The EU Green Deal Omnibus proposal: What it means for your business. ??? Aimee Simpson joins hosts Heidi Schoeneck and Phil White on the Mind the Gap podcast to explain the key ESG policies, legislation, and regulations you need to watch - making complex legal talk crystal clear for your business! ? Our latest articles you might've missed from us! It's been a wild ride since launching Policy to Profit... this newsletter just about sums it up. ?? Don’t just read, stay ahead. Hit follow Grounded World, tap the ??, and subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive info delivered straight to you! Read & subscribe now ??

Circ just raised $25M to prove that sustainability is scalable. Here's the tech behind the textile revolution- Meet Circ?, the US-based pioneer turning textile waste into textile worth. Circ is the only company with a proven ability to recycle polycotton blends, recovering both fiber fractions and setting a new benchmark for circular fashion. ? Revolutionary Innovation at Scale:? ? Over the past 18 months, Circ has made major technical and commercial strides. Their patented process transforms discarded textiles into higher-quality fibers such as 100% cotton. ? Strategic Funding & Industry Powerhouses:? ? Circ closed an oversubscribed $25M funding round led by Taranis through its Carbon Ventures fund, with crucial backing from strategic investors like Inditex and Avery Dennison. ? Creating a Ripple Effect:? ? With client collaborations that have included industry-leading brands?like Zara, Mara Hoffman, United Arrows, and Christian Siriano, Circ is working to influence broader market practices. As Circ moves toward launching its first industrial-scale blended textile recycling plant, this partnership brings more than capital. Taranis, owned by the Perenco Group, will contribute deep expertise in developing and operating large industrial projects to commercialize Circ’s technology globally. “Circ has developed and demonstrated a breakthrough solution for circularity in fashion, and we believe our industrial expertise can help take it to the next level,” said?Emmanuel Colombel, CEO of Taranis. With this latest investment and strategic partnership, Circ is making circularity the industry standard. What excites you most about the circular revolution? Let us know in the comments! ?? Repost this to inform your network ?? Follow Grounded World to stay in the loop

Dr. Bronner’s just dropped its B Corp certification. Should we be asking if the B Corp community is?actually?walking the walk? Last month, Dr. Bronner’s, the highest-scoring B Corp, made a bold move by dropping its certification, citing concerns that some companies use it as a marketing badge rather than a true commitment to impact. So where does that leave the B Corp movement? Grounded's Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Phil White, lays out a roadmap for businesses that truly want to walk the walk in his latest op-ed for Environment+Energy Leader... because certification alone isn’t enough. ?? Do good AND make money: Sustainability and profit aren’t mutually exclusive. ?? Validate your supply chain: Accountability and transparency are non-negotiable. ?? Back up your claims: Generalized ESG promises won’t cut it anymore. ??? Align governance with impact: What you market should match how you operate. ?? No excuses: Shifting responsibility to consumers is not the answer. As we celebrate B Corp Month, let’s ask the tough questions: How do we ensure B Corps live up to their promise? How can companies hold themselves (and each other) accountable? What steps do you think are necessary to keep the movement credible? Let us know what you think! ?? Read the full article or listen to the audio version in the comments ?