Good Garbage with Ved Krishna

Is branding simply marketing, sales and manipulation, or can it go beyond the superficiality into value systems, transparency and even hope? According to this week's guest, branding, is "being". 

In this Good Garbage episode, Ved Krishna sits down with Raphael Bemporad, Founder of BBMG- a branding consultancy working with companies the world needs. Raphael believes in the ability to use business to create positive change for a more just, equitable and sustainable society. Having worked with huge brands like Nike, Target and PepsiCo (to name a few), Raphael brings to this conversation over two decades worth of expertise from the world of marketing! 📊

🎧 Full episode on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast

🧠 In this episode with Raphael Bemporad:
• Raphael's background in philosophy and family influence
• The origin story of BBMG and its mission
• The role of branding in social and environmental impact
• Case studies of brands like Just Salad and North Face
• Strategies for small startups to scale impact
• The New Story of Nature and the culture code
• Challenges and opportunities in sustainable packaging
• The importance of radical transparency and trust
• Cultural signals influencing environmental engagement
• The nature loop: reconnect, act, belong

🎙️ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Raphael's background
02:06 From family roots to social justice and business
03:46 Raphael's journey from philosophy to branding
06:47 Founding BBMG and early projects
12:03 The gelato business and entrepreneurial spirit
18:54 Core principles guiding impact-driven business
24:02 Working with mission-driven brands like Seventh Generation
29:05 Case study: Just Salad and sustainable impact
36:02 Challenges in scaling sustainable packaging
40:47 The new story of nature and culture signals
47:09 Influencing regulators and consumer activism
53:08 The importance of trust, transparency, and honesty
01:00:08 Building resilient brands and community impact
01:05:01 The role of mentorship and community in propagation
01:20:00 The new story of nature and the culture code
01:29:00 Closing thoughts and future outlooks

Good Garbage is a podcast about sustainable materials, packaging and regeneration, hosted by Ved Krishna — conversations with the innovators, scientists and founders building a cleaner planet. The question behind every episode: what is good garbage?

BBMG Website: https://bbmg.com
Raphael's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com

▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@GoodGarbage
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
🔗 More: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
💌 Contact us: sargam.krishna@goodgarbage.info

Hello, hello! It's Good Garbage News! 🗞️

Every month, in addition to our regular episodes with Ved's interviews, we post an industry update with the latest updates in both sustainable packaging and packaging regulations all across the world.

🎙️ Hosted by Sargam Krishna & Kumar Niketan 

🔬 Innovation:
• Zerocircle's heat-sealable coating as a potential replacement for PE coatings on paper cups
• The Starbucks Global Innovation Challenge to help the company look for a compostable material to replace their plastic cups and lids
• Researchers at Hassanuddin University have developed a biodegradable film for food packaging out of coconut cellulose
• Polymateria has created a technology that helps plastic degrade within 2 years
• Cirkla to open its first fiber food-tray manufacturing facility in Georgia, United States

🌐 Industry:
• The UN Global Plastic Treaty ensures production caps as binding and looks into financing the transition away from plastics
• Europe's packaging and packaging waste regulations (that apply to all 27 member states) have come into force starting this August
• The federal court in Oregon, United States has upheld the state's recycling modernization act in full
• Paper and paperboard packaging have been brought into the Extended Producer Responsibility Framework for the very first time in India
• FSSAI's Packaging Amendment Regulations now require small format packaging used for tobacco products to be made out of biodegradable materials
• The governments of Korea, Japan and Taiwan have mandated a minimum of 10% recycled content in all plastic products, which is set to rise to 30% by 2030

💌 Reach out to us at sargam.krishna@goodgarbage.info for feedback or questions!

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Did you know that the little packets of chips we consume everyday are the hardest to recycle? Meet the man who took this challenge and turned it into eyewear! 🕶️

This week, Ved Krishna sits down with Anish Malpani, Founder and CEO of Without- a brand "recycling the unrecyclable" and doing it ethically. Anish quit his dream job in New York to find his true purpose in this amazing Pune-based start-up that makes eyewear, packaging, yarn and more from MLP and textile waste that everyone else refuses to touch! 

Without has created the world's first sunglasses made from 100% recycled chip packets using its patented technology. And this innovation goes hand-in-hand with employing, upskilling and educating India's waste pickers. Anish and his team are proof that it is possible to run ethical businesses at scale for a world without waste and poverty. 🌱
🎧 Full episode on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast

🧠 In this episode with Anish Malpani:
• How Anish quit his dream job in New York and found his way back to India
• India's waste-pickers and everything that's wrong with the system
• Building a business out of the most rejected material
• Developing cutting-edge technology to solve the hardest problem first
• Scaling manufacturing and impact
• Balancing profitability with social good

🎙️ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Anish Malpani and Without
01:49 Anish's childhood in Aurangabad and early memories
05:59 Career at iHeart Media and move to New York
08:09 Reflections on privilege and purpose
10:04 Journey to Guatemala and impact learning
12:02 Starting Without and the focus on waste and poverty
14:47 Innovations in plastic recycling technology
20:11 Building a social enterprise with impact at the core
24:55 The significance of the name 'Without'
29:48 Challenges with waste pickers and informal workers
35:03 The science behind multi-layer plastic recycling
40:11 Scaling technology and manufacturing processes
44:57 Future vision for Without and impact goals
49:53 Building a culture of fairness and dignity
59:54 Funding journey and investor relations
01:09:54 The importance of social impact and B Corp certification
01:15:09 The role of storytelling and marketing
01:19:59 Scaling plans and long-term vision
01:23:02 Closing thoughts and appreciation

Good Garbage is a podcast about sustainable materials, packaging and regeneration, hosted by Ved Krishna — conversations with the innovators, scientists and founders building a cleaner planet. The question behind every episode: what is good garbage?

Without's Website: https://without.live/about-us/
Without's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmadewithout/

▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@GoodGarbage
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
🔗 More: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
💌 Contact us: sargam.krishna@goodgarbage.info

Biodegradable and compostable are not the same word — and the man who put PLA into packaging explains exactly where the difference lives.

In this Good Garbage episode, Ved Krishna talks with Dr. Ramani Narayan, Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and the scientist behind PLA as we know it, about how the legacy polymer was created in his lab, what polymerization really means, and who is responsible for compostability and end of life. Part 2 of 2.
🎧 Full episode on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast

🧠 In this episode with Dr. Ramani Narayan:
• History and science of PLA
• Biodegradability in biomedical vs. environmental contexts
• Feedstock sources for lactic acid
• Polymerization processes and properties
• Blending and compounding of bioplastics
• End-of-life management and composting standards
• Scaling production of bioplastics
• Future directions in microbial and bio-based polymers

🎙️ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and overview of the discussion
00:26 History of PLA and its medical uses
02:24 PLA's biodegradability in the human body vs. environment
05:20 Environmental challenges and misconceptions about PLA
07:30 Cargill's entry into the PLA market and legacy polymer
14:23 Feedstock sources and economics of lactic acid production
31:01 Polymerization process and properties of bioplastics
42:02 Fossil vs. biomass feedstocks and their implications
53:43 End-of-life management: industrial vs. home composting
01:20:19 Future scale and capacity of bioplastics production
01:34:48 The concept of Good Garbage and waste management

Good Garbage is a podcast about sustainable materials, packaging and regeneration, hosted by Ved Krishna — conversations with the innovators, scientists and founders building a cleaner planet. The question behind every episode: what is Good Garbage? 🌱

▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@GoodGarbage
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
🔗 More: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
💌 Contact us: sargam.krishna@goodgarbage.info

Hello, hello!

This week, we sit down with the OG of biopolymers and the man behind PLA as we know it today-- the one and only Dr. Ramani Narayan, Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. In this masterclass episode, he teaches us everything to know about biodegradability: from the science to the myths. 
🎧 Full episode on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast

🌱 In this episode:
• Biodegradability as a property, not a magic solution
• Standards for biodegradation and compostability
• The role of microbial activity and environmental factors
• Misconceptions about plastic breakdown times
• The importance of proper waste management and composting
• The science of microplastics and environmental impact
• The difference between natural and synthetic biodegradable materials

🎙️ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and guest background
01:08 Ramni Narayan's journey from basketball to biopolymers
03:19 How did Dr. Narayan get into organic chemistry and biopolymers?
08:44 The evolution of biopolymers and their market potential
15:25 Understanding biodegradability vs. compostability
22:18 Standards and testing for biodegradation
36:45 Environmental conditions affecting biodegradation rates
44:44 The role of waste management and composting
01:00:09 The science of polymer breakdown and microbial activity
01:12:20 Impact of temperature and environment on degradation
01:22:51 Clarifying misconceptions about biodegradable plastics

Good Garbage is a podcast about sustainable materials, packaging and regeneration, hosted by Ved Krishna — conversations with the innovators, scientists and founders building a cleaner planet. The question behind every episode: What is Good Garbage?

▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@GoodGarbage
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
🔗 More: https://linktr.ee/goodgarbagepodcast
💌 Contact us: sargam.krishna@goodgarbage.info