PopSockets Launches Introductory Plant-Based Phone Grip

BOULDER, Colo., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PopSockets, maker of expandable phone grips and lifestyle accessories, today announced a step toward more environmentally sustainable products with PopGrip Plant. Made with corn starch, castor beans, and canola oil, PopGrip Plant is an eco-friendlier phone grip solution retailing for $15. It is available exclusively at PopSockets.com in two colors, Ice Blue and Light Jade, with additional styles coming to global markets this fall. To celebrate the launch of PopGrip Plant, PopSockets is challenging employees and customers to take the #smallstepsbigimpact challenge and adjust small daily activities to be more environmentally friendly.

In 2019, PopSockets developed a plan to reduce the company's carbon footprint and began sourcing and testing recycled and compostable materials, as well as ocean-bound and plant-based materials. After research revealed that a compostable product would break down to produce methane gases and emissions--a result worse than the original PopGrip, it was determined that a plant-based plastic most effectively lowered product lifecycle emissions while preserving durability and functionality. This first iteration of PopGrip Plant is 35% plant-based--the top is 56% corn starch from Europe, the accordion is 52% canola oil from Europe, and the connector hub is 70% castor beans from India. Materials are sustainably sourced and do not draw from food supply.

"At PopSockets we are committed to a sustainable future." said David Barnett, PopSockets CEO. "We're focused on not only product innovation but also partnerships that offer short- and long-term solutions for carbon reduction. We expect to continually improve over time, and a key part of our efforts will be an increase in the use of plant-based materials throughout the entire PopSockets product line."

As PopSockets continues to take steps forward in environmental sustainability, consumers and employees are also asked to join during Earth month and beyond. Beginning today, PopSockets will share planet-friendly activities via social media channels and the PopSockets website as part of the #SmallStepsBigImpact campaign. Participants are encouraged to engage in and capture their small but impactful daily efforts to reduce energy and emissions for opportunities to win a PopGrip Plant.

"PopSockets is proud to be meeting and exceeding our three-year sustainability goals, and supporting our customers, employees and environmental nonprofit partners on their journey toward creating a healthier planet." said Jennifer Forman, Director of Corporate Citizenship at PopSockets. "This is just the beginning for PopSockets--we are continually raising the bar on our operational sustainability objectives to achieve a dramatic reduction in our carbon footprint over the next few years and facilitating activism as a lifestyle."

PopSockets has committed to continuing the research and testing necessary to increase the plant-based percentage with each new product development. Additionally, in 2020, PopSockets:

• Increased the use of recycled and sustainably forested paperboard in packaging to 99%
• Recycled more than 55,000 lbs. of product, packaging and phone cases
• Reduced Shipping Emissions by 66%
• Diverted 75% of Headquarters Waste (pre-COVID closure)
• Donated more than $150,000 to environmental charity partners
• Expanded TerraCycle partnership from the US into the United Kingdom and Germany

For more information on PopSockets commitments to people and planet, please visit: Popsockets.com/pages/corporate-responsibility.

About PopSockets
PopSockets was founded in 2010 by former philosophy professor David Barnett. Barnett was looking for a way to prevent his earbud cord from getting tangled when he glued two buttons to the back of his phone and wrapped his cord around them. In 2014, PopSockets launched out of his garage in Boulder, CO., and today it has offices globally. PopSockets exists to change the world for the better with innovative, magical products and community empowered activism. Core products include the PopGrip, PopTop, PopWallet+, PopMounts and PopGrip Slide Stretch, all designed to increase ease and functionality with devices used daily. To-date more than 196 million PopSockets grips have been sold around the world. In 2018, PopSockets premiered the Poptivism program—a charitable giving platform where customers create their own PopGrip designs and PopSockets donates 50% of the sale price to the customer's charity of choice. The brand has donated over $4 million dollars in cash and product to 400 nonprofit partners and philanthropic efforts have since expanded to include wellness and sustainability. In 2021, PopSockets was honored as one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies.

SOURCE PopSockets