1. Social impact of mica
Illegal Child Labor: Crippling poverty forces many families and their children to mine the highly prized mineral, with as many as 20,000 children believed to be working in mica mines, about 90% of which are illegal.
Opportunity: How can we reduce social impact on mica used in FoodSaver?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BCe3MtO1Oo
https://www.somo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NL180313_GLOBAL-MICA-MINING-.pdf
2. Environmental impact of plastic
Fact: After purchasing the FOOD SAVER, users still need to buy a lot of plastic bags when the accessory ones are finished. These plastic bags are usually used for only one time before they are thrown away. And it takes hundreds of years for them to be degraded in the wild.
Opportunity: Can we make it reusable or make it easier to be degraded?
https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/the-lifecycle-of-plastics
3. Disposal of circuit board
Fact: Electronic devices are toxic yet still ending up in landfill. FoodSaver Vacuum Machine is facing the same situation. Among all the components, circuit board has the highest IFP(Impact Factor Point), 190.4, takes up to 63% of the entire IFP.
More and more states in the US are banning electronics from being thrown in the trash and going to the landfill.
Opportunity: How can we reduce the environmental impact of disposing the vacuum sealer, especially the circuit board?
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-happens-to-electronic-waste.html
https://www.ewaste1.com/is-it-illegal-to-throw-away-electronics/