Grove Collaborative and Virgin Group Launch New Campaign Against Plastic With Brand Advocate Drew Barrymore and Sir Richard Branson

In an all-new video campaign, Grove Collaborative's Global Brand Advocate, Drew Barrymore, and Sir Richard Branson have come together to raise awareness about the growing issue of plastic waste – urging businesses and consumers alike to not look away while our pollution crisis gets worse.

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In a short video, Drew Barrymore and Sir Richard Branson explore together the lesser-known facts about the plastic crisis, including:

• People consume on average 44lbs (20kgs) of plastic in their lifetime – with some consuming as much as 55lbs¹
• Plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution and around 8-10 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year
• By 2050, plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the sea²
• A quarter* (26%) of Americans feel ‘powerless’ over the plastic crisis, feeling there’s no way to solve the issue
• Nearly three quarters* (72%) of those surveyed reveal they expect brands to be doing more to solve the plastic crisis
• Humans have produced more plastic in the past 10 years than they have in the previous century combined.³

Since the pandemic began, the plastic crisis has only gotten worse, with a reported 26,000 tonnes of plastic Covid waste polluting the ocean globally⁴, putting further pressure on an already out-of-control global issue. With climate change⁵ and plastic waste being one of many social and economic concerns for Americans at this moment, it is critical that we continue to educate consumers on why this issue is urgent, and encourage companies to take much more meaningful action in aiding consumers to reduce their plastic consumption.

The campaign, which will roll out on social media and online today, seeks to combat the false narrative that there's nothing we can do about the plastic waste crisis. Nearly half of consumers (48%) admit they do not know what else they can do to aid the plastic crisis and four in 10 (39%) think that brands are not doing enough to help stop the plastic crisis. Nearly three quarters (72%) of consumers say they expect brands to be doing more to solve the plastic issue, according to new research* commissioned by Virgin and Grove.

With this new campaign and the brand's ongoing commitment to become plastic-free by 2025, Grove Collaborative is committed to ensuring it is not alone in this fight – calling on investors, businesses and consumers to work together collectively to create lasting change.

“Consumers are looking for brands to lead the way and make it easier for them to live a plastic free life,” said Stuart Landesberg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grove Collaborative. “Our industry needs to change, and while we understand it is an ambitious challenge to be plastic zero in the next three years, we know it’s possible, and we’re calling on all companies across the globe to join us in this commitment."

Drew Barrymore, an investor and Global Sustainability Advocate for Grove, adds: "It's astonishing to learn how much plastic we consume. The truth is, we are in the midst of a plastic crisis. And while it's easy to feel powerless, more and more people and brands are stepping up to face the challenge. I'm proud to play a part in supporting Grove's mission to become plastic-free by 2025 and to help households across America to do the same.”

​​Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, adds: “I sat down with Drew Barrymore to talk about how frightening it is that people will consume on average 44lbs (20kgs) of plastic over the course of their lives. Microplastics are everywhere – in the ocean, in our food and as a result, in our bodies. At Virgin, we���re proud to invest in companies that are having a positive impact on the planet, from renewable energy to companies tackling the world’s plastic problem such as Grove Collaborative. Grove is leading the way in showing how brands can diversify and innovate to help consumers with their plastic consumption. Plus, Virgin Red members in the US will soon be able to earn Virgin Points on Grove products – meaning they’re rewarded for doing the right thing in the fight against the plastic crisis.”

To learn more about Grove's fight against the plastic crisis, please visit grove.com/beyondplastic.

About Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc.

Launched in 2016 as a Certified B Corp, Grove Collaborative Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GROV) (“Grove”) is transforming consumer products into a positive force for human and environmental good. Driven by the belief that sustainability is the only future, Grove creates and curates more than 150 high-performing eco-friendly brands of household cleaning, personal care, laundry, clean beauty, baby and pet care products serving millions of households across the U.S. each year. With a flexible monthly delivery model and access to knowledgeable Grove Guides, Grove makes it easy for everyone to build sustainable routines.

Every product Grove offers — from its flagship brand of sustainable home care essentials, Grove Co., plastic-free, vegan personal care line, Peach Not Plastic, and zero-waste pet care brand, Good Fur, to its exceptional third-party brands — has been vetted against Grove’s strict standards to be beautifully effective, supportive of healthy habits, ethically produced and cruelty-free. Grove Collaborative is a public benefit corporation on a mission to move Beyond Plastic™ and in 2021, entered physical retail for the first time at Target stores nationwide. Grove is the first plastic neutral retailer in the world and is committed to being 100% plastic-free by 2025.

For more information, visit www.grove.com.

About Virgin Group

The Virgin Group is a leading international investment group and one of the world’s most recognised and respected brands. Created in 1970 with the birth of Virgin Records, the Virgin Group has gone on to invest in, incubate, and grow a number of successful businesses in the private and public markets. The Virgin Group has expanded into many sectors since its inception, driven by Sir Richard’s ambition to create the world’s most irresistible brand. These sectors include travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, technology & internet-enabled, music & entertainment, media & mobile, space, and renewable energy. Avoiding the impacts of climate change is a key priority for the Virgin branded businesses and we believe that all Virgin branded companies should achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, further details on this will be published in the Virgin Group sustainability report later this year. Find out more at www.virgin.com.

¹https://graphics.reuters.com/ENVIRONMENT-PLASTIC/0100B4TF2MQ/index.html

²https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf

³https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/

⁴Nanjing University, the authors of Magnitude and impact of pandemic-associated plastic waste published in the online journal PNAS.

⁵https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/06/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-government-should-do-more-on-climate/

*The sample size of those surveyed was 2,000 respondents across the UK in April 2022, conducted by Censuswide. The same research was also conducted in the USA and Australia with 2,000 respondents respectively.

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