The Cap Is Not the Problem
Bottle claims, tethered caps and Germany’s proposed plastics tax raise a bigger question: are we reducing packaging waste or refining its rules?
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Independent editorial / Issue 001
Stories for a material planet.
We follow the materials, machines and hidden systems that connect everyday life to the ocean—and the planet beyond it.
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This view of the Earth's horizon looks across the Red Sea and the Nile River in Africa.NASA / JSC
Featured story
The Planet Is Not Facing Nine Separate Crises
The Planetary Health Check 2026 measures nine boundaries. Its deeper message is that climate, life, water, land, ocean chemistry and human-made substances are changing one another.
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The Long Afterlife of a Lost Shipping Container
Following shipping containers after they are lost at sea, with current loss estimates and new mandatory reporting rules.
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What Really Happens to Fishing Gear After Use?
A grounded guide to the routes retired, lost and recovered fishing gear can take—and why global totals remain uncertain.
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A Reality Check for the Material of the Future
A practical framework for evaluating future-material claims before lab promise becomes industrial fact.
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Five ways in.
01
Oceans
The infrastructures, industries and living systems that meet at sea.
↗02Materials
What things are made of—and why those choices shape what happens next.
↗03Where Things Go
Following products and infrastructure beyond the moment we stop seeing them.
↗04Planet Systems
How climate, biodiversity, land, water and oceans shape one connected Earth system.
↗05Future Materials
A clear-eyed look at what deserves to move from lab promise to real use.
↗Our premise
The planet is not an abstract backdrop. It is a network of materials, labour, infrastructure and consequence. We tell the stories that make those connections visible.
How we work ↗