What do puppy collars and battery fire prevention have in common? The answer is California businesses working towards a circular economy that eliminates waste. Six standout companies, organizations, and agencies were honored this year by the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) for their innovative strategies in addressing some of California鈥檚 most challenging waste stream issues. The prestigious 2025 Arrow Awards were unveiled with pride at the state鈥檚 largest and most influential gathering for waste and recycling professionals: the California Resource Recovery Association鈥檚 49thAnnual Conference and Tradeshow. CPSC has been recognizing business leaders in California for over 18 years, and this year, several winners are from the San Francisco greater Bay Area.听
鈥淭he San Francisco Environment Department runs a Green Business Certification program and we鈥檙e happy to see some of the local certified businesses getting global recognition for providing much needed jobs and waste diversion opportunities to our communities,鈥� said Kevin Kumataka, Green Business Coordinator for the San Francisco Environment Department. Continue reading to learn more about the awardees and how their local businesses are an integral part of the circular economy.
Crazy Puppy Company (crazypuppycompany.com) is the winner of the 2025 Green Arrow Award for system and design innovations. The Green Arrow Award is given to an organization demonstrating an innovative systems approach that removes or reduces toxic or other problematic attributes present in products. Crazy Puppy Company demonstrates these principles with their innovative approach of turning recycled ocean plastic into stylish, high-quality, handcrafted dog collars and leashes. Every stage of the product is focused on reducing waste and using sustainable materials as seen through their compostable and recycled packaging. Crazy Puppy Company is a determined business that stays committed in sustainability. With their vegetable-based inks and water-activated packaging tape, they are keeping toxics out of our oceans and waste streams.
Reuse Alliance (reusealliance.org) is the winner of the 2025 Bow & Arrow Award for coalition building and creative partnerships. Bow & Arrow Award recipients demonstrate synergistic relationships between producers, distributors, retailers, public agencies, and other stakeholders. Through their outreach, education, and advocacy work, Reuse Alliance draws attention to the benefits of reuse in preventing waste and recirculating resources. Reuse Alliance runs a Repair Fair program through Sonoma and Marin Counties and will be opening a Reuse Hub in September 2025. CPSC partnered with Reuse Alliance for a solar panel reuse pilot project in Marin County. Through this collaboration, we published a case study on how to create a small micro-grid using reused solar panels.
SCRAP (scrap-sf.org) is the winner of the 2025 Infinity Arrow Award for service and take-back. The Infinity Award is given to an organization to recognize efforts to initiate an outstanding Take Back program for one or more products as an additional convenience and service to their customers. SCRAP accomplishes this by collecting donated old arts and crafts supplies such as textiles, buttons, paper, and even wood and plastic, to reuse for educational art programs within the community. Through collection and reuse, SCRAP has been able to reduce waste by diverting over 200 tons of materials heading to landfill every year. This organization takes donated reusable materials, sorts them, and makes them available to teachers, parents, artists, and organizations in order to give back to the community and continue to foster creativity all while bolstering environmental awareness.
Last Chance Mercantile (lastchancemercantile.org) is the recipient of the 2025 Golden Arrow Award for overall excellence in product stewardship. The Golden Arrow Award is given to an organization that exemplifies all the characteristics of the Green, Bow & Arrow, and Infinity Awards. Last Chance Mercantile has established themselves as a resource to their community. By both educating on waste and reuse as well as providing jobs to veterans, Last Chance Mercantile emphasizes the importance of fostering relationships between public agencies and non-profits while protecting the environment. For instance, in 2024 alone, Last Chance Mercantile diverted over 1.1M pounds of goods away from the landfill 鈥� an incredible achievement.
In addition to our Arrow Awards, CPSC has recognized Joe LaMariana and Julia Au from RethinkWaste as our 2025 Associate of the Year. Through education and advocacy, RethinkWaste is working towards a sustainable, waste-free future that fosters collaboration, transparency, and resiliency within the community. CPSC is proud to have co-sponsored and passed two bills with RethinkWaste and one other organization. These bills were SB 1215 for battery embedded products and AB 2440: the Responsible Battery Recycling Act in 2022. In 2025, CPSC partnered with RethinkWaste and two other organizations once more to co-sponsor AB 762; a bill that aims to ban the sale of single use vape products.
CPSC also wants to express gratitude to Looptworks as the 2025 Sponsor of the Year. Looptworks offers both fiber-to-fiber textile recycling to promote circularity as well as downcycling when necessary, which extends the life of lower-quality materials to help companies avoid landfills and prevent further waste. For our Los Angeles Textile Pilot Project, CPSC has collaborated with Looptworks to create recycled cotton fabrics for the LA28 Olympics.