The Small Business Sessions (S5E6): The eco-founder behind a thriving plastic-free marketplace

It's time for episode six in series five of the Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast sponsored by Starling Bank.

The statistics are shocking:

• One million birds and 100,000 marine animals a year die from plastic pollution.

• Eight million pieces of plastic end up in the oceans every day.

• For every mile of UK beaches, there are 5,000 pieces of plastic.

• Plastic production is predicted to grow by 60% by 2030.

It was figures like that which drove Beth Noy to launch Plastic Freedom. What started as a £300 investment to sell some of her favourite plastic-free products is now a booming online store with over 3,000 brands. She's also built an Instagram community of 200,000 followers.

Beth joins journalist Dan Martin to share her hugely inspiring story of turning a side hobby into a successful full-time business that tackles one of the great problems of our age.

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On this week's Small Business Sessions podcast

In this week's must-listen show, Beth discusses many subjects, including:

• her motivation to launch the business and tackle the problem of plastic waste

• growing from a spare room start-up to a business with staff and a warehouse

• why she decided to move from Stockport to Newquay in Cornwall

• how she's organically grown an Instagram following of over 200,000 people

• how she selects the plastic-free brands to sell in her shop

• what the government should be doing to help businesses be more sustainable

• her tips for entrepreneurial success

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You can also listen on other platforms and Enterprise Nation.