Nic Esposito wants to reimagine the retail industry; he believes that people, profits and the planet would benefit from leaving business as usual behind. That’s where Circa Systems comes in. Esposito founded the Philadelphia-based company in 2023 to create a more sustainable, local retail model, allowing paying members to purchase and swap mostly used products
More
Alexander Torrey’s business idea came to him shortly after he ran out of hand soap. He’d placed an order for another bottle online, and when the replacement arrived, he was dismayed. “It came in a box the size of my kitchen table,” he remembers. He opened the package, pulled out the soap and put it
More
By Shari Hersh, Ron Whyte and Emma Wu While many people are experiencing pandemic fatigue, understandably eager for a return to normalcy, the COVID-19 crisis remains far from over. India is experiencing a nightmarish second wave that has led to overcrowded hospitals and critical shortages of lifesaving medical equipment. In its neighboring country Nepal, the
More
In the United states, hospitals produce almost 6 million tons of garbage each year. The pandemic hasn’t helped this already existing problem, globally, between late July and December 2020, volunteers collected more than 107,000 pieces of PPE from beaches and waterways, and this is likely a vast undercount of what was and remains out there.
More
In my February Grid commentary on the glut of single use takeout food containers during the pandemic, I expressed hope that local innovators and entrepreneurs would develop reusable container systems. I’m excited to report that my hopes have been answered—or at least they were for a moment On March 22, 2021 Philadelphia-area Indian food chain
More
When I was a kid—we’ll call this long ago time “the ’70s”—seatbelts hung unused while Mom’s arm reached across our bodies any time our car came to a sudden stop. Beer and soda were packaged in aluminum cans and had what was called a “pull-tab,” or “ring-tab.” You would put your finger through the ring
More
In 2020 the failures of Philadelphia’s recycling and waste management were on spectacular display. Sanitary workers were seen throwing garbage bags and carefully sorted recyclables into the same truck, leaving environmentally minded onlookers appalled. The city blamed a depleted workforce, ravaged by COVID-19, and a significant increase in volume due to people staying home. But
More
After a year delay, Philadelphia is set to formally implement the long awaited plastic bag ban on July 1. By July 31, all businesses will be required to post signage informing their clients of the plastic bag ban, which will officially go into effect on Oct. 1. Although plastic bag bans are gaining momentum across
More
I love food. I feel like I need to say that because last month we did a vegan issue and I wrote a diatribe about Facebook’s failure to recognize that they are publishers, and how they shirk their responsibilities to society. Since publication, I’ve tried Vannah Banana’s vegan ice cream and it is delicious. This
More
Trump sycophant and stooge Sebastin Gorka once said that the New Green Deal is like a watermelon: “It’s green on the outside but bright red on the inside.” As much as it pains me to give print space to someone like Gorka, this may be one of the best explanations of this aspirational legislation that
More
“What do you mean you can’t recycle this?” This is a question I get from my 6-year-old son all too often, especially when we’re bringing new items into our home. I want to tell him that we need to figure out an economy that can thrive without such an outsized focus on consumption. But he’s
More