Earlier this month, Proctor & Gamble announced plans to use renewable, sustainable, sugarcane-based plastic for packaging on its Pantene Pro-V, Covergirl and Max Factor brands.

I’m happy to see that P&G did its research and chose not to use corn-based plastic. Corn-based plastic has been all the rage lately and can be found in everything from “compostable” silverware to paper coffee cups. Plastic made from corn is not as sustainable as it may appear. GMO corn is typically used and taking corn out of the world’s food supply is elitist at best. So good thing P&G went a different route.

P&G will source the sugarcane-based plastic from Braskem SA, who manufactures the material using ethanol made from sustainably-grown Brazilian sugarcane. The process transforms sugarcane into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, a type commonly used for product packaging. It remains 100% recyclable in existing municipal recycling facilities.

The beauty products will be rolled out globally over the next two years and are expected to be on shelves in 2011.

Now, P&G needs to work on the sustainability of the shampoo, conditioner and make-up inside the packaging as well.

Follow Cindy on Twitter @ethicalbiz

Indeed, sustainable business makes for strange bedfellows. Just this week, Seventh Generation announced it will soon offer its environmentally-friendly products in more than 1500 Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com. And according to Treehugger, this is a complete about-face for the “esteemed nontoxic, enviro-friendly household product maker”.

Not so long ago, Seventh Generation refused to play nice with the big retailer, because it believed Walmart’s practices were “unsustainable and worker-unfriendly”. So why the change of heart? Did Seventh Generation sell out? Say it isn’t so Jeffrey Hollender! Or is Walmart trying to boost its green cred with a little greenwashing? The questions keep piling up and the debate continues…

Whenever Walmart and sustainability are used in the same sentence, two distinct camps of opinion emerge – corporate greenwashing and corporate social responsibility. I tend to join the happy campers in corporate social responsibility.

Panera Bread sets an example with its non-profit cafe and challenges other corporations to push their philanthropy beyond writing checks.

Last month, I blogged about Panera Bread’s new non-profit cafe in St. Louis dubbed the St. Louis Bread Company Cares Cafe. The idea was simple… take whatever you want to eat or drink and instead of paying a cashier, drop whatever you can afford into a donation box.

Ron Shaich, who stepped down as Panera’s CEO last month, opened the non-profit cafe “to find out what human nature is all about”. He said he’s dreamed about doing something like this for years. Now, the cafe has been open over a month, and we want to know… what’s the verdict?

Did Panera’s social experiment prove that people are basically good at heart?

The cafe took in $100,000 in revenue its first month, and Shaich said in a recent interview with USA Today,

“I guess I would say it’s performing better than we even might have hoped in our cynical moments, and it’s living up to our best sense of humanity.”

Score a point for humanity.

But what I really admire about Ron Shaich is his interpretation of corporate responsibility. It’s much more than traditional philanthropy and cause marketing. True corporate responsibility is how a business operates in a community. What are its social and environmental impacts – good and bad.

As I watch the news, I’m hearing both sides of debate regarding the deepwater, offshore drilling moratorium, which was sparked by the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Obama Administration believes it is critical to “push the pause button” for six months until a full investigation is completed. The president wants to hear a national panel’s recommendations to improve worker safety and environmental protections on oil rigs before the he lifts the moratorium.

However, Federal District Court Judge Martin Feldman has lifted the temporary moratorium on new offshore exploration and deepwater drilling. The judge points out that some 150,000 jobs are directly related to offshore operations and is obviously concerned about the welfare of the laid-off oil rig workers. Riiight.

After reading the coverage surrounding the judge’s decision, I can’t help but wonder… “Who really benefits from lifting the ban on deepwater, offshore drilling?”

Judge Feldman and the companies who challenged the moratorium would like us to believe that the laid-off oil rig workers “would suffer irreparable harm under the moratorium”. In actuality, BP has agreed to contribute $100 million to a fund for rig workers, and President Obama has asked Congress for legislation for a program to provide unemployment assistance.

What are Hooters Girls famous for? Their shiny pantyhose, of course. And now, the girls are shedding their said pantyhose for a good cause… to help clean up the Gulf Coast. I guess, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

It’s true. This isn’t fodder for Late Night TV (may be it should be) or a skit from the Daily Show with John Stewart. The lovely ladies of Hooters plan to donate over 100,000 pairs of pantyhose through an effort dubbed… wait for it… Project Pantyhose.

Once laundered, the pantyhose will be stuffed with hair, fur and fleece in order to make the oil-absorbent booms. And if the panty-booms are reused 8 times, which is expected, they could ultimately absorb 1 million gallons of oil in the Gulf. Who knew?

Well, apparently, Hooters knew. The company has teamed up with environmental non-profits Indigo Oceanic and Matter of Trust, two organizations creating the panty-booms. The booms will be grouped together and sent out into the Gulf to block the oil from reaching the coast.

According to the company, the life expectancy of a pair of pantyhose worn by Hooters Girls at work is about 2-3 shifts. And with 380 Hooters locations across the U.S. collecting pantyhose for the next four weeks, the goal is to create 15 miles of booms. Mike McNeil, Vice President of Marketing, Hooters of America, said it so eloquently…

“Who would have thought our Hooters Girls’ pantyhose would have a use other than making the girls’ legs look great.”

Yes, who would have thought.

Another nail in BP’s coffin. The oil company responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) effective May 31, 2010.

The DJSI are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Socially responsible investors use the DJSI to help them determine where their investing dollars should go. Many of us have 401(k) or IRA accounts, and we can choose to align our investments with our values.

Corporations pay very close attention to Wall Street, and socially responsible investing is a great way to get your point across. BP is learning that the hard way.

In a press release, Dow Jones and SAM (Sustainable Asset Management) Group stated…

“The extent of the oil-spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and its foreseeable long-term effects on the environment and the local population – in addition to the economic effects and the long- term damage to the reputation of the company – were included in the analysis leading up to BP’s removal.”

The sustainability index components are monitored daily for any new critical issues, and the analysis assesses a company’s involvement in economic, environmental or social crisis situations. To be eligible for the DJSI, a company’s crisis management should reflect its stated principles and policies. And BP’s actions clearly do not.

I was surprised to read about Panera Bread’s new cafe in St. Louis dubbed the St. Louis Bread Company Cares Cafe. The concept is simple yet groundbreaking… take whatever you want to eat or drink and instead of paying a cashier, drop whatever you can afford into a donation box. And if you don’t have any money, you can donate your time. Crazy concept, I know.

According to a great article in USA Today, Ron Shaich, who stepped down as Panera’s CEO last week, is “trying to find out what human nature is all about” and is banking on our humanity. He said he’s dreamed about doing something like this for years. So the question is will Panera’s social experiment prove that goodness does exist in the human condition or that we are fundamentally selfish creatures at heart?

The new St. Louis Bread Company Cares Cafe looks and feels just like its for-profit sister, Panera Bread, even the menu is the same. The only difference is the baked goods are one day old. They are unsold items from other St. Louis Bread Company restaurants in the area. The exception is the bread used to make sandwiches.

I love this idea! I know for a fact that many bakeries and cafes such as Starbucks discard their unsold pastries at the end of every day. Yep, right in the trash. We waste so much food in this country, and Panera has established a creative way to eliminate unnecessary food waste while feeding the hungry.