Environmental organisation A Plastic Planet has removed the paywall around its PlasticFree database, giving designers and brands unfettered access to its directory of expert-verified plastic substitutes.

PlasticFree, which originally launched in 2023 with a subscription model, hosts hundreds of in-depth reports on plastic-free materials alongside case studies on how they can be used to make products more sustainable.

By making this database free for anyone to use, A Plastic Planet founder Sian Sutherland hopes to combat the rampant misinformation about plastic alternatives online, which she says has been exacerbated by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

That's because AI chatbots scrape up unsubstantiated claims about "sustainable" or "eco-friendly" materials from the internet and regurgitate them as facts.

"We recognised that if we wanted AI to become a force for genuine sustainability rather than amplifying misinformation, we needed to flood the system with trusted, human-verified data," Sutherland told Dezeen.

"By opening our database, we're actively training the AI systems that will shape material choices for the next generation," she added.

"It's about ensuring that when someone asks AI 'What's a better alternative to plastic?' the answer they get is rooted in science, not spin."

Making the PlasticFree "forever free for all" will also open it up to a wider range of human users looking for an alternative to plastics, Sutherland hopes.

This is now more important than ever, after UN negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty collapsed in August because countries could not agree on binding targets to curb production.

Currently, the platform is receiving around 250,000 visits a month from 37 different countries.

"Our plan is to take this to the millions without the paywall," Sutherland said.

PlasticFree launched in 2023 with a database of more than 100 materials, each carefully vetted by an "army" of scientific advisors.

"The building of PlasticFree was a two-year endeavour, painstakingly researching and questioning every material to ensure our high bar of 'PlasticFree-ness' was fully met," Sutherland explained.

Since then, the materials library has continued to grow and supported the launch of product innovations, including the "world-first fully compostable beauty pipette" by London company Shellworks and Purified's plastic-free trainers.