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BLOND:ISH & Gigwell Launch Eco-Rider 2.0 to Supercharge Sustainable Touring
DJ-producer BLOND:ISH and her nonprofit, the Bye Bye Plastic Foundation, are taking sustainable touring to the next level with the launch of Eco-Rider 2.0, in partnership with booking platform Gigwell. The initiative aims to provide artist-friendly tools to minimize single-use plastics and embed greener hospitality standards across live music.
Since its original version in 2019, the Eco-Rider toolkit has already been adopted by over 1,500 performers and is credited with preventing more than 325,000 single-use plastic bottles from entering landfills. With version 2.0, the reach expands: Gigwell’s network of 100,000+ artists, managers and booking agents will now have direct access, enabling venues and touring crews around the world to plug into sustainable practices more easily.
Key components of the Eco-Rider 2.0 include:
- A streamlined rider template that artists can include in contracts to enforce plastic-free hospitality.
- Educational resources and networking hubs for artists, agencies and promoters.
- Data and reporting features via gig and tour platforms to track sustainability metrics.
- Support from major agencies and labels such as EMPIRE, Dirtybird and Protocol, all helping to roll out the system at scale.
For BLOND:ISH, the effort is deeply personal. “When I started using the Eco-Rider, 100 % of my events were using plastic. Now I’m down to 20 %,” she says, pointing to how quickly the change can happen when the right tools are in place.
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In a live-music industry that’s increasingly examined for its environmental impact—from travel carbon emissions to backstage waste—the Eco-Rider 2.0 signals a shift: touring artists are no longer just performers; they can also be agents of change. With this rollout, the push for a more sustainable dance-floor may finally be building the infrastructure to match the ambition.
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