The Future Is Green: Peter Murray Of Stardust Sustainables On Their Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet
An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Support Sustainable Products: Choosing products that are sustainably produced and are biodegradable have a lasting effect on the environment. For example, switching to reusable bags, like Stardust Sustainables bags, can eliminate the need for thousands of plastic bags and return to the earth at the end of their lifecycle.
As we face an unprecedented environmental crisis, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. This series seeks to spotlight the innovative minds and passionate advocates who are leading the charge in environmental conservation and sustainable practices. We aim to explore the most effective strategies, breakthrough technologies, and transformative policies that are shaping a more sustainable future for our planet. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Peter Murray.
(Peter Murray is the president and partner of Stardust Sustainables, a brand dedicated to creating eco-friendly, biodegradable jute-fiber tote bags to replace single-use plastic shopping bags. With a degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech, Peter’s passion for sustainability was sparked during his college summers where he worked on a tree farm and witnessed the power of biodegradable materials like burlap and jute in combating plastic waste.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
As a kid growing up in Arlington, VA, I spent almost all my free time roaming the woods, playing in the streams and mowing lawns. By age 10 I had grown my first vegetable garden, which led to the Corn Farming merit badge in Boy Scouts. That led to a roomful of tropical plants and eventually a degree in Horticulture/Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech. Each summer during college, I worked on tree farms, where we would dig trees and burlap the root balls. I was surprised that burlap was not used for anything else, because it was so strong, but would biodegrade when the tree was replanted in someone’s yard.
Cut to 35 years later, when I retired from the landscape firm I owned, I decided I wanted to do something more significant with my time. Around this time, I came across a shocking statistic: 275 million single-use plastic bags are produced daily in the U.S.! That’s when I remembered how I spent my college summers and the idea struck me: why not create reusable shopping bags out of burlap, a sustainable and biodegradable material made from jute fiber?
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
When I placed my very first order, I purchased 20,000 bags with our original logo printed on them. I love our logo, I failed to realize that we hadn’t built the brand yet, so the logo didn’t mean anything to anyone. It took almost 2 years to sell through those first bags.
That experience taught me a valuable lesson. Instead of relying on just a logo, we began adding colorful designs and meaningful messages to the bags. We started small, printing only about 100 of each new design to see which ones customers liked best. This approach allowed us to test the market and redefine our offerings. The takeaway? Always test what resonates with your customers before going all in.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Be curious. Don’t ever be embarrassed to ask questions about how things work. Seven years ago, I didn’t know anything about bag manufacturing, screen printing, distribution networks or international shipping. Now I’m an expert because I wasn’t afraid to ask stupid questions.
- Be Persistent. Don’t give up too soon. When barriers pop up, don’t think of them as failures, instead, think of them as detours that may lead you to the unexpected. Early on, my screen printer told me they wouldn’t work with me anymore because our designs were getting too complex and they couldn’t make money from working with us.I was so discouraged and thought I should quit, but a friend encouraged me to find another printer. Not only did I find another printer, but they were higher quality than the first one, and less expensive.
- Be Generous with employees, customers, suppliers, store employees and distributors. Customer service is horrid today, so being kind is appreciated. We recently got an email from a customer who had bought a Stardust bag in Utah when she was on a trip. When she returned home, she saw that it had an imperfection in the stitching and wondered if she could get a replacement bag. We said absolutely, even though she lived in London.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Jute is a fantastic fiber to work with– it’s not only durable but also the most sustainable crop grown. That said, we’re exploring other fibers with similar properties. Currently, we’re looking into eucalyptus and bamboo, both of which are invasive species. If we can find ways to utilize these materials while helping to control their spread, it’s a win-win. Another promising fiber is pineapple leaf, which has been used by Pacific Islanders for centuries to make textiles. We plan to start testing it this year.
We’re also diving into the world of eco-friendly inks, and we are getting ready to print with a brand new ink made from Algae. Beyond that, we’re exploring natural pigments made from everyday household items– think grape juice, wine, coffee, chocolate, ketchup, mud, rust and oil. We are also looking into products that can be found in every household. These are things people dread getting on their clothes, but they might hold the key to sustainable dyeing solutions.Native Americans had highly colored fabrics that were pigmented from bark, roots, fruit and flowers of Sumac, Oak, Birch. Yarrow, Coreopsis, Flax, Mulberry, Cherry, Walnut and Indigo. The possibilities for natural dyes are exciting and endless, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the journey.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What pivotal moment led you to dedicate your career to sustainability, and how has that shaped your approach to environmental challenges?
As a very young person, I recall seeing for the first time the Earthrise photo, taken on the Apollo 8 mission. Seeing that beautiful blue marble floating alone in infinite blackness made me realize what a gift the Earth is. I saw the Earth as a fragile, nurturing spaceship, for all of humanity to share and protect. This moment instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility toward our environment, shaping my commitment to sustainability ever since. I often encourage others to display the Earthrise photo on their refrigerator or in a prominent place as a daily reminder of our shared duty to care for the planet.
Could you describe a groundbreaking project or initiative you’ve been involved in that significantly contributed to sustainability?
Creating Stardust Sustainables has exceeded all my initial expectations. When I started, I thought I’d be selling a few thousand bags a year if things went well. Just a few years later, we’ve sold 150,000 Stardust bags. What makes this especially significant is the durability and longevity of our bags. Designed to last about 10 years with heavy usage, each Stardust bag can carry 3 plastic bags worth of groceries. If used a few times a week over its lifespan, a single bag can eliminate the need for roughly 6,000 plastic bags. Multiply that by the 150,000 bags we’ve sold, and we’ve already eliminated the need for 900 million plastic bags.
A concept central to Stardust Sustainables is circularity, a term that is being used more as we search for ways to eliminate the massive amount of garbage we create. It means creating products that have a long useful life and can be composted in your own backyard. Stardust bags epitomize this principle, being Earth-friendly throughout their entire lifecycle. While the Jute fiber is growing, it gives off oxygen and absorbs CO2 more efficiently than trees. It grows without fertilizer or pesticides and only relies on natural rainfall. Jute, from the Corchorus plant, is one of the few nitrogen fixing plants that put nitrogen back into the soil, so it is used in crop rotation when rice is grown. All of the Carbon in the plant fiber is sequestered for the life of the bag, then when it wears out, you can bury it in the backyard and it will biodegrade in 9 weeks.
Stardust bags have a long purposeful life, then return to the earth. No natural resources are depleted, no garbage is created and no recycling is needed. We’ve mimicked Earth’s natural cycle, like a blossom that falls from a tree and returns to the soil to nourish the tree.
How do you navigate the balance between economic growth and environmental preservation in your sustainability strategies?
For Stardust Sustainables, economic growth and environmental preservation are not competing goals– in fact, they compliment each other. The more we grow, the more the environment benefits. The term “sustainable” is used so often that its meaning can sometimes get lost, but at its core, it’s about meeting today’s needs without compromising future generations from meeting theirs. This is a big concept that is beyond my direct control. So, I’ve adopted a more personal definition of sustainability: “What if everybody does what I do?”
For example, I used to carry a small water bottle in my jacket when I went skiing. Each season, I would buy 1 bottle and keep refilling it, thinking it was a sustainable practice. But when I applied my definition, the perspective changed. If every person in the U.S. bought 1 water bottle a year, that’s over 335 million water bottles in 1 year, and over 1 billion water bottles in 3 years. When I looked at it from that perspective, I started drinking from the water fountain.
This mindset shift– considering the collective impact of individual actions– has the power to drive meaningful change. By building Stardust Sustainables around this, we create solutions that not only drive economic growth but also help protect the planet, proving the two could go hand in hand.
What emerging technologies or innovations do you believe hold the most promise for advancing sustainability and why?
Plastic has a number of desirable properties, it can be rigid or flexible, it can protect our food from contamination and it’s lightweight. Fortunately, scientists are now looking at natural materials that have all the same qualities. From spirulina and alginate to chitin, leading institutions like the University of Maine, Virginia Tech and the University of Connecticut are developing tech to convert these naturally found substances into plastic-like material. These bio-products could eliminate most single use plastics and revolutionize the packaging industry.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet”?
1 . Support Sustainable Products: Choosing products that are sustainably produced and are biodegradable have a lasting effect on the environment. For example, switching to reusable bags, like Stardust Sustainables bags, can eliminate the need for thousands of plastic bags and return to the earth at the end of their lifecycle.
3 . Embrace a Circular Economy: Shifting from a linear “take, make, dispose” model to a circular economy, where products are designed to be reused or biodegrade, can drastically reduce waste.
2 . Advocate for Government Accountability: Governments play a crucial role in environmental protection by implementing regulations that benefit the public good. For example the ban on lead in gasoline and paint, as well as the increase in fuel efficiency for cars, has led to environmental improvements. Advocating for policies that encourage recycling, truth labeling and more can get us closer to a greener planet.
4 . Combat Overconsumption: By focusing on mindful consumption– buying only what is necessary and choosing high-quality, durable products– individuals can reduce their impact. This shift from fast fashion, disposable goods and excess packaging curbs waste and pollution associated with overconsumption.
5 . Educate & Inspire Others: Sharing knowledge and leading by example can create a ripple effect. One small act of sustainability can inspire others– the key is to show others how easy and impactful small changes can be.
In your view, what are the key steps individuals, communities, and governments need to take to achieve a more sustainable future?
To achieve a more sustainable future, individuals, communities and governments all need to play essential roles. Individuals can make a difference by reducing consumerism, embracing second hand stores and using biodegradable, reusable bags like ours. Communities can support sustainability by banning single-use plastics, diverting yard waste and kitchen scraps from landfills and promoting composting. Governments should educate the public through awareness campaigns, hold manufacturers accountable for the end-of-life disposal of their products and enforce truthful labeling for environmentally friendly products. Businesses can lead by reengineering products to eliminate single-use plastics and adopting sustainable practices as seen with companies like ours, Rossignol in Park City and REI. Together, these steps could create a collective movement toward a greener future.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could start a movement, it would be called “You ARE making a difference”. This movement would focus on reminding people that even the little things they do to help the planet are significant, and more importantly, they could inspire others.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
To learn more about Stardust Sustainables, check out our website at stardust.earth and follow us on Instagram and TikTiok @stardustsustainables.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
The Future Is Green: Peter Murray Of Stardust Sustainables On Their Top Strategies for a Cleaner… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.