A New Conversation About Plastics
Public conversations about plastics have become increasingly polarized. While many Canadians recognize concerns around waste and recycling, fewer understand the critical role plastics play in healthcare, food preservation, renewable energy, transportation, and Canada's path toward a lower-carbon future — provided they remain part of a circular system that keeps them out of landfills and the environment.
The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) partnered with Cinnamon Toast to develop and launch Save Plastic, a national awareness campaign designed to educate Canadians about the value of plastics, challenge misconceptions, and highlight the importance of a circular economy where materials are reused, recycled, and kept in use for as long as possible.
Understanding the Challenge
Cinnamon Toast began the project with stakeholder engagement, conducting interviews with industry leaders, communications professionals, researchers, and experts across Canada. Several themes emerged. Public understanding of plastics was often shaped by misinformation, and stakeholders emphasized that meaningful progress would require education and advocacy, alongside investment in recycling infrastructure and Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to support a circular economy.
Results:
1.5M+ Website Users Reached
2.4M+ Website Sessions Generated
500+ New Social Followers Across Campaign Channels
Closing the Loop Online
To support campaign activity, Cinnamon Toast designed and developed SavePlastic.ca as a central destination for education, resources, campaign content, and ongoing engagement. The website served as the foundation for all campaign channels, providing audiences with deeper information, articles, videos, and stories that expanded upon campaign themes. Built with accessibility, search visibility, and long-term scalability in mind, the platform allowed the campaign to evolve alongside new content and emerging conversations.
Goals:
Increase public awareness of the essential role plastics play in modern life, innovation, and Canada's net-zero future.
Reframe perceptions of plastics by promoting their value as a resource within a circular economy, rather than as waste.
Deliver an engaging, multi-channel education campaign that inspires informed conversations and supports long-term public understanding.
The Impact
Save Plastic turned a complex, often controversial topic into an accessible public education campaign grounded in optimism, storytelling, and credible expertise.
The campaign generated more than 1.5 million users and 2.4 million sessions, with sustained engagement across a growing digital ecosystem.
Building a Movement, Not Just a Message
Save Plastic was designed as a comprehensive communications platform rather than a traditional advertising campaign. The strategy combined social media, earned media, digital advertising, stakeholder engagement, influencer partnerships, video storytelling, and educational content into a coordinated national effort.
The campaign highlighted the innovations, infrastructure, and organizations working to keep plastics out of landfills and waterways. Through stories of recycling advancements, circular-economy solutions, and the need for expanded recycling infrastructure, the campaign encouraged Canadians to see plastics not as waste but as a resource with ongoing value when managed responsibly.
