From the Filiming Italy Festival in Sardinia, to the San Francisco Green Film Festival, eco-sustainability is a great topic of interest today, in both nations. 

In Sardinia, on June 13th, at the Forte Village, the Filming Italy Festival will take place and diverse producers, institutions and international personalities will participate to such beautiful event. The theme of the given Festival is that of giving support to eco-sustainable development, and in this combating the exploitation, often defined as unconditional, of the natural resources found our planet. This Festival promotes itself as having an impact for the environment, with a no- low - waste campaign, also. 

Meanwhile, in September, on the other side of the world, in San Francisco, the San Francisco Green Film Festival is preparing to take place, a great American event, apt to promote films dealing with subjects such as ideas, products and actions that are apt to eco-sustainability. The San Francisco Festival goes on to share stories from the eco - or - environmental point of view - which should not only inspire, but inform others, in terms of supporting green economic actions, everywhere. 

From Sardinia, to California, we can notice the commitment to the sharing of information, in eco- matters and information being share upon the subject of micro-plastic, for example, an element with a high impact on environmental pollution. Studies, such as those carried out in the US, for instance at the laboratory of the Terra Lamont-Doherty Observatory of Columbia University, New York, show reports that researches have foreseen, the impact of micro plastics, through the scrutiny of small marine organisms, so as to reveal that in diverse marine organisms, micro plastics are present and that the latter are actually found everywhere. Scientists have found microplastics in 112 distinct aquatic species, and many of these, they say, end up  being part of the human diet.

Several researchers are still looking for the direct impact on human life, but in the meantime, as a mean of precaution, various start-ups and companies, supporting the cause of eco-sustainability, both in the US and in Italy, have started to create interesting products designed to reduce, for example, the impact of microplastics in the oceans. An interesting product, sold in the USA, is called, The GuppyFriend Bag, distributed by companies such as Patagonia (a Californian company) etc. that, are like garment bags to put in the washing machine, which absorb microplastics from clothing, thus not releasing the latter into the oceans and thus reducing the pollution of micro plastics in the seas and in the water basins – many  are not aware of this, but our clothes release micro plastics when washed, therefor somewhat polluting the ocean.

Another important fact is that, every year from 5-14 million tons of plastics flow into our oceans, from coastal areas, and as a result of this, what happens is that, the sunlight, the wind, the waves and the heat breaks that material into smaller pieces that look like plankton, bivalves, fish and even whales, very similar to food, despite the fish that then ingest them, and we also ingest ourselves.

Recent experiments, conducted at different research centers in both countries, the US and Italy, show that microplastics actually hurt marine organisms, including birds, for example, and how you ask? This happens because, swallowed plastic, which can micro or macro – in the digestion tract will cause obstruction, thus reducing the health of the animal and the productive growth of the species, so altering  organisms and their fragile marine eco-system. So could plastic or micro-plastics impact humans or be  harmful? Microplastics have chemical impacts, and as pollutants, they nearly support preexisting heavy metals already found in the environment, therefore according to some researchers they could be harmful for us too. But there are great news, not only are there remedies, rather there are also several scientists, from all over the world who say that, fortunately a large number of the microplastics studied, appear to remain in the gut of the fish – or marine animal – and are not present in all the muscle tissue of the fish, which is what we human beings, eat.

Furthermore, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, in a report, relevant to the subject of plastic pollution and that of and micro-plastics, concluded that it is likely that the amount of microplastics ingested by fish and humans, is absolutely minimal, and that eating fish does indeed, in terms of diet, help human health, as it properties of fish, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disorders and other diseases, for example.

From a scientific point of view, but also from an entrepreneurial perspective, in Italy and in the USA, there are companies making great strides towards supporting healthy green living solutions. We see, for example, in Italy companies such as Cosmeteria Bio, which is committed to the spread of truly eco-friendly cosmetic products, and thus going against  the stereotype of the excessive cosmetics use of nano-plastics, a polluting agent, usually used in cosmetics. Along Cosmetria Bio, we also see Italian textile manufacturing taking place, even if not under the Made in Italy campaign, still supported by Swedish brands, for example, such as Blek, which is a clothing company that creates eco- friendly apparel, in Bergamo, in Italy, with 100% recycled polyamide, other element that could be harmful to the ecosystem if dispersed. Furthermore, in the US, and in California in particular, not only green products are being used and promoted, but also green services, ie companies such as NoWaste Company, which aims to organize events with no impact on the environment, with a real “waste-policy”.

From film festivals, in Italy and the USA, which promote eco-sustainable practices, from multinational scientists unstoppable in their research to reduce the pollution, to Italian and American companies, and  innovative ideas for the “no or low waste” campaign, the movement and green innovation, for a healthier, better future for us humans and for the other organisms living in our fragile ecosystem, is moving forward, let’s see what is next, for the Green revolution!