Proof Is the New Plastic: SMX Turns Sustainability Into an $824 Billion Market Opportunity (NASDAQ:SMX)

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 14, 2025 / The global plastics industry isn't pocket change - it's an $824 billion arena, and it's long overdue for proof. Not about the polymers themselves, but about whether sustainability and recycling efforts are actually what companies say they are. The world's patience for pledges has expired. Investors, regulators, and consumers want data - verifiable, tamper-proof data.

That shift in expectation has exposed decades of empty promises and greenwashing gloss. Conferences and commitments didn't move the needle because talk doesn't build trust. The market has finally caught up to a single truth: proof is currency. And in the $50 billion global recycling market, that currency carries real purchasing power - something SMX (NASDAQ:SMX) is positioning itself to own.

And it can. That's because SMX doesn't sell slogans; it sells evidence. Its molecular marker technology embeds identity at the material level, turning plastics into self-verifying assets. Each marked polymer carries its own digital passport - a permanent fingerprint that can be tracked across its entire lifecycle, from collection to reprocessing and resale.

That might sound like chemistry, but it's actually economics. For decades, mistrust over recycled content has stalled capital and slowed adoption. SMX changes that equation by transforming recyclables from "probable" to provable. It's not just a scientific milestone - it's a financial one.

Markets Are Choosing Proof Over Promises
There's never been a better time for that shift. Global demand for recycled plastics is skyrocketing as governments impose quotas, consumer brands pledge net-zero packaging, and ESG investors insist on measurable impact. Yet, recycling rates remain frustratingly low - barely in the teens across the U.S. and not much better elsewhere. The weak link has always been verification. Without it, trust collapses, premiums vanish, and the circular economy stalls.

SMX's solution flips the script. By embedding proof directly into materials, it upgrades recycled plastic from a discounted commodity to a premium product with traceable value. The company has already validated its system at scale - first by marking and tracing 21 tons of natural rubber from tree to tire, and now applying that same methodology to plastics globally.

Across ASEAN, SMX is embedding markers through partnerships with Bio-Packaging, Skypac, and A*STAR, turning everyday packaging into blockchain-verifiable materials. In the U.S., its Tradepro partnership is deploying FDA-compliant molecular markers in food-grade plastics - bringing traceability to one of the most tightly regulated industries on the planet. SMX has also teamed with REDWAVE to successfully sort and verify black and flame-retardant plastics - materials that were once recycling dead-ends.