Committing to plastic neutrality, Marqeta launches recycled card product
- Modern card issuer Marqeta is working towards plastic neutrality.
- It's now offering cards made of recycled plastic and has formed a partnership to offset its plastic footprint.
Marqeta announced a new initiative today to offer its customers the choice to issue physical cards made from recycled plastic.
What's happening: Marqeta works with brands like Uber, Instacart, and DoorDash to issue cards to employees, partners, and customers. Many of those cards are virtual, but Marqeta still issues physical cards. Now, the firm's customers can choose to order physical cards made from 43 percent recycled material.
In context: This new product is part of a focus on plastic neutrality for Marqeta. The company also entered into a partnership with rePurpose Global to reduce its plastic footprint. Marqeta has committed to work with rePurpose Global to remove 380,000 pounds of nature-bound plastic from the environment in 2021 and channel it towards sustainable reuse.
rePurpose Global believes its work with Marqeta will offset the creation of roughly 34 million cards.
“This is a key step for Marqeta toward our eventual goal of plastic neutrality. It’s crucial that as a company we take it upon ourselves to be positive stewards of the environment, and by helping our customers reduce their plastic footprint, we also reduce our own,” said Jason Gardner, founder and CEO of Marqeta.
First customer: Latin American grocery delivery platform Cornershop will be the first customer to issue recycled cards through Marqeta to new Cornershop delivery shoppers globally. Cornershop was acquired by Uber in June.
“When we saw that the quality and durability of the cards used by Cornershop delivery shoppers was not sacrificed when using recycled plastic cards, it felt like a no-brainer to use this new offering through Marqeta,” said Oskar Hjertonsson, founder and CEO of Cornershop by Uber.
Green finance: As an industry, finance is getting more sensitive to environmental concerns. Major institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Citi have committed to going carbon neutral within the next few years. This frequently means using carbon offsets to neutralize the adverse impact of climate change, but it also means working with other forms of environmentally-conscious fintechs. For others, like CIT Bank, it means incorporating renewable energy in their lending portfolios.