The BioDesign Newsletter

Issue #027

With climate change making headlines more often— most recently, the floods in Chiang Mai and Hurricane Milton in Florida—government action is becoming critical. While some sustainability measures are moving forward, others are hitting roadblocks. Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening in the UK and US, focusing on plastics, textiles, and cellular agriculture.

Plastic Tax Deferred in the UK

The UK currently has a Plastic Packaging Tax, on plastic packaging components that contain less than 30% of recycled plastic, which was meant to jump to £605 per tonne from £217.85 per tonne in October 2024. However, this effort to put pressure on manufacturers to shift their packaging strategies and reconsider the impact of their single-use materials has been delayed following lobbying from major brands, raising concerns about inflation and the impact on consumers.

Unsurprisingly, this has left the sustainable packaging industry disappointed—as they would have been the go-to alternative had the tax gone up as planned. Read more on this here 

Cellular Agriculture Sandbox in the UK

On the other hand, the UK’s Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  have announced a New Regulatory Innovation Office. This office will help emerging technologies—like AI and Engineering Biology—navigate regulatory hurdles more easily, meaning they can get to market faster and safer.

One of the first initiatives is an Engineering Biology Sandbox. This sandbox will focus on regulatory approaches for cultivated meat and is backed by a £1.6 million award to the Food Standards Agency. This is a huge win for the cultivated meat industry which has been vocal about the lack of regulatory guidance and support from the UK government. Meanwhile, the wider Engineering Biology community will benefit from standardised guardrails released for screening synthetic nucleic acids. Let us know if you want to know more about this. 

The UK government is clear about its goal - following through with the National Vision for Engineering Biology cutting through the red tape and speeding up commercialisation of technologies and innovations that offer sustainable alternatives.

A New Path for Sustainable Fashion: Industry Urges UK Government to Implement Variable EPR Fees

Hoping for a sandbox of their own is the UK fashion and textile industry. The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), British Fashion Council (BFC), and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) are all calling on the government to introduce a variable Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fee system. This was highlighted in the recent Clothing EPR Sandbox Project white paper, presented at the UKFT Sustainability Conference. 

How would this system work? The fees would be adjusted based on a product's circular attributes—such as durability, ease of repair, and recyclability. Brands that design with sustainability in mind would face lower fees, while less sustainable brands would face higher costs.

This model aims to shift the burden from consumers and the environment onto the industry itself, encouraging recycling, reuse, and sustainable design practices. Big names like Burberry and Marks & Spencer are on board, believing this system would reward those prioritising sustainability and penalise those who aren’t.

California's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Program

Across the pond, California is leading the way in the US with the Responsible Textiles Recovery Act (SB707), making it the first state to introduce an EPR for textiles. 

As in the EU, this law requires manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for their products across their entire life cycles. It’s a big step forward for the US market,  with support from textile brands keen to reshape how textile waste is managed.

Senator Newman stated, “I’m very proud to see SB 707 (Responsible Textiles Recovery Act ) signed into law. It will have a major positive impact on California’s environment and communities. SB 707 isn’t just about recycling; it’s about transforming the way we think about textile waste.”

The Overarching Concern: Lobbying and Global Alignment

While we’re seeing progress in many areas, lobbying still plays a huge role in shaping these outcomes. The delay in the UK’s plastic tax is a prime example of how lobbying can shift priorities away from long-term sustainability, while bioengineering regulations, on the other hand, are moving faster thanks to industry pressure. Perhaps the sustainable packaging sector could learn from this and consider its own lobbying efforts.

As more countries adopt different EPR systems, the need for global alignment is becoming clear. Without international cooperation, it will be difficult to tackle issues like climate change and pollution, as brands struggle to juggle the complexities of multiple regulatory frameworks.

Catch up on the most recent Behind the Breakthroughs issues with Aisha Kuijk

I’m walking through the forest, a fallen bird's nest catches my attention. A marvel - a perfect sphere, its interior lined with mud, the outside decorated with moss strings like nature's own jewellery.

This nest, now on the forest floor, isn't trash. It's becoming a new home for tiny creatures, then it’ll become food for the soil. This is exactly what I want for shoes, or any tool humans use for survival and desire. This seamless cycle is nature's way of ensuring that nothing is ever lost, only transformed.  How can we make shoes part of this big renewal story, not just another thing to buy and throw away?  

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