July 17, 2017

CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro - anna@unbendablemedia.com - 914-523-9145

SumOfUs Urges McDonald’s to Help Save Marine Life by Ending Use of Plastic Straws, Plastic Straw Pollution Heavily Damages Marine Wildlife

A new petition from SumOfUs, an international corporate watchdog organization, is calling on fast food giant McDonald’s to stop using plastic straws. The group argues that the straws are given to customers, discarded after minutes of use and with many ending up dumped into the ocean, heavily damaging marine wildlife, specifically turtles, baby seabirds, and fish, as a result.  The petition has been signed by more than 110,000 people.

VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/mcdonalds-is-polluting-our-oceans

“Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats to our oceans, and straws are one of the most common plastic items found in beach cleanups,” explained Sondhya Gupta, campaigner at SumOfUs.“McDonald’s gives millions of these straws to customers every day. Taking them out of use would be a major step towards cleaning up our seas and protecting wildlife. If McDonalds is actually serious about improving its impact on the environment, it has several options at its disposal, including instituting drink-through lids as the standard or even switching to sustainable and recyclable paper straws. 

“When we expose the darker side of corporate giants like McDonald's, they take action to protect their brand. And in doing so we score a massive victory for our planet. If we can get McDonalds to ditch its dirty habit, we can stop millions of plastic straws clogging up our oceans and killing the animals that live in them,” concluded Gupta.

This past year, SumOfUs also pressured McDonalds – along with companies like Starbucks, and KFC – to commit to sourcing 100% responsible palm oil.

VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/mcdonalds-palm-oil-deforestation

SumOfUs.org is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy._