Even if the craze for Bitcoin and Ethereum abates, the power of the "blockchain" tech behind those currencies is very real. Here's how businesses are trying to harness it - and why they can't afford to ignore it.

"Storied plastics" - or plastics that are collected by waste stream, sorted by material type and traced back to the original point of origin - are a good choice of material for use in packaging as companies attempt to improve their sustainability practices, research suggests.

Wal-Mart and a group of food giants are teaming up with IBM to explore how to apply blockchain technology, also known as distributed ledger tech, to their food supply chains.