Plastic Promises Are Dead: Proof Is the New Flex

Fashion Week puts contradictions on display: thrifted luxury jackets paired with fast-fashion jeans, TikToks about climate paired with overnight Prime deliveries. It’s messy, but it signals a demand for authenticity over slogans. Younger consumers are not satisfied with broad ESG promises; they want evidence they can see and check for themselves.

This shift in expectation has created an opening for companies like SMX, which is developing tools designed to move sustainability from marketing into measurable proof. At the centre is its Plastic Cycle Token (PCT), a system that links every verified kilogram of recycled plastic to a digital record. Rather than another abstract credit or certificate, the model ties verifiable data to physical material at each stage of reuse.

Why Proof Matters

CEO Haggai Alon describes the current recycling model as fragmented and opaque, with many stakeholders unsure where materials go once they leave the factory floor. Without visibility, consumers and regulators alike are left to rely on trust, a commodity in short supply. SMX’s approach is to mark plastics at the molecular level, log each transfer, and attach that record to a digital token.

For recyclers, the system is designed to provide liquidity and traceability. For brands, it creates a structured record that supports compliance and strengthens claims around recycled content. For governments, it enables enforcement based on auditable data. And for consumers, it offers a way to separate verified sustainability efforts from empty marketing campaigns.

Fashion as a Test Case

Fashion may become the proving ground for this idea. Fast fashion dominates the market in scale, while luxury retains cultural influence, but both face scrutiny from consumers who are quick to recognise greenwashing. As SMX sustainability chief Tom Enger puts it: “The recycled plastics market no longer runs on trust. It runs on proof.”

Imagine a sneaker release where scanning the tag reveals the verified supply chain, or a handbag that carries a digital passport of origin as confidently as its logo. The concept is that transparency itself becomes part of the product’s appeal, a new form of value that buyers can engage with directly.

Singapore’s Model

The concept is already being tested at scale. In Singapore, SMX has partnered with A*STAR to launch a national plastics passport system. Each resin is marked, each handoff logged, and each verified kilo linked to a token. Alon calls it a “blueprint” for moving from pilot projects to broad industry adoption.

Singapore currently recycles only a small portion of its plastics, but analysts suggest that diverting more material from incineration could both reduce disposal costs and generate additional market value. In this context, transparency isn’t just an environmental aspiration; it’s a business opportunity.

From Promises to Practice

Traditional plastic credits have often emphasised optics over outcomes, with little clarity on how or whether material was reused. Plastic Cycle Tokens are intended to address that gap by embedding verification directly into the recycling process. “They’re compliance-native, not just another token model. PCTs are grounded in science, you can audit,” Alon says.

For brands seeking credibility, for consumers seeking reassurance, and for regulators seeking accountability, this kind of proof may represent a more durable standard than marketing language.

The Open Question

The real test will be whether industries built on image (fashion, luxury, lifestyle) adopt this model of transparency. Will the next sneaker drop come with a digital passport as easily as it once came with a logo? Will luxury bags carry blockchain-backed receipts alongside hangtags?

What is clear is that promises alone are no longer enough. As expectations shift, proof itself is becoming the new flex. For companies willing to provide it, that shift could reshape not only how recycling is measured but also how products are valued.

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