Bioplastic Manufacturing, Research & Development Initiative

Develop and design 3D printed half pans for watercolours, using ethically sourced compostable bioplastics, that can be reasonably produced for Stoneground Paint Company’s manufacturing volume to excess

Semi-industrial quality 3D printers, filaments, and resins cost approximately a combined $30,000 to begin, with supplementary restocks required at an estimated $4,000 per month in materials

By producing our own half pans, we can negate thousands of dollars in external purchasing that is required for our products (bulk half pans in 1000pc quantities are just under $200 CAD) (FClub Art, n.d.).
Increased supply chain resilience as this integral part of our product will be made in-house, allowing us to determine supply and demand for our bioplastic half pans.
Additionally, switching to bioplastic half pans, we will be removing that much plastic from the waste chain. Only 9% of plastic gets recycled and over 50% of the world’s plastic ends up in landfills (Ritchie, Samborska, Roser, 2023).

Research and select a 3D printer model and purchase location by the end of month 1
Purchase will be subsequently made as soon as the 3D printer decision is approved by project managers o Research and select bioplastic resins and filaments and purchase locations by the end of month 1
Resin and filament purchases will be made at the production employees’ discretion with financial approval by project managers required

Create a cohesive customer interaction and information system to introduce consumers to the Bioplastic Manufacturing, Research and Development Initiative, including in-depth information and resources about sustainability, the waste cycle, and Stoneground’s environmental commitments.
Brand ambassador sponsored posts made by Brittney Tough and The Mint Gardner, who have both collaborated with us in the past, to introduce their audiences to the Initiative and to our new bioplastic half pans
Long-form video podcast with the bioplastic production employees to discuss the specifics of the process and to be more transparent about the sourcing, actual environmental impact, and any other information about the research and development of this new product.

We have allocated $20,000 to marketing and communication. The bulk of that allotment will be going to an external marketing firm for a sustainability rebrand to aid us in visually communicating our environmental commitments through our branding and marketing activities.

The marketing objectives for this initiative are primarily aiming for awareness and to provoke further sustainability considerations and conversations in our customer base.
We will also likely see relationships between engagement on social media posts regarding the bioplastic pans and corollary with increased sales of the pans upon release.

Weekly Instagram posts about sustainability and safe painting practices to break the ice on the sustainability conversation, beginning by the end of month 1
Customer survey to gauge price point to aim for in determining raw material suppliers and ongoing/post-Initiative grant labour costs, the survey will go out by the end of month 3 to ensure that we have performed enough research and product development to have a decent idea at the cost of goods