IKEA Assembles a Future Without Plastic Packaging

Good News Notes: “Thanks to tiny pieces and convoluted instructions, putting together a bookshelf from IKEA can be a maddening experience. But there’s a payoff: What’s stressful is stylish—and also sustainable. The Swedish retailer has been a champion of the environment for years. In 2018, for instance, it announced plans to use only renewable and recycled materials…

Mayor Wu Signs Ordinance To Divest City Funds From the Fossil Fuel Industry

Good News Notes: “At her first bill signing, Mayor Michelle Wu today signed an ordinance requiring the City of Boston to divest from fossil fuel, tobacco, and private prison industries by the end of 2025. The ordinance, co-sponsored by then-Councilor Wu, Councilor Edwards and Councilor O’Malley, was unanimously approved by the Boston City Council last…

These entrepreneurs want consumers to reuse wine bottles

Good News Notes: “Americans aren’t the biggest wine sippers in the world — imbibing a mere 3.2 gallons per person in 2020 versus the 16 gallons guzzled by Portuguese residents, according to estimates from the industry’s primary source of stats.  But the habit still translates into a whole lot of single-use bottles: About 4.3 billion of…

Inspired by the outdoors, 3 Maine girls launch nonprofit to send kids to camp

Good News Notes: “When summer camp options were limited last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic, middle-schoolers Elle Foley, Sophia Turker and Emma Bowden, all of Falmouth, attended a six-week photography camp hosted by a friend’s parent. There, they learned the basics of photography, meeting a couple of times a week and taking excursions to…

Holden PD kicks off 25 Days of Kindness

Good News Notes: “Torrential rains and high winds couldn’t wash out the giving spirit in Holden Tuesday. It was also Giving Tuesday and marks the start of 25 Days of Kindness for the Holden Police Department. Over the next few weeks, officers will surprise community members with gifts hoping to brighten their days and give…