Packaging is a double-edged sword. It makes single serve food, beverages, and meals-to-go more practical and convenient. It facilitates safe and speedy transportation from producer to buyer. It helps shoppers quickly identify the products they need and want. At the same time, however, it creates a massive amount of waste, much of which sits in landfills or swims in our precious oceans for centuries.
Consumers are finally realizing that by supporting and buying products that aren’t recyclable, reusable, or environmentally responsible, they are the problem. Now, they’re fighting this battle with their wallets. Accenture has shown that people are attracted to buy certain brands over others based on a brand’s beliefs and actions, and environmentalism is high on the list of reasons why.
- 62% are attracted to companies that believe in reducing plastics and improving the environment.
- 50% are attracted to companies that stands up for society and cultural issues they believe in.
- 50% are attracted to brands that support and act upon causes they have in common.
So what are companies doing?
Putting More Conscious Efforts into Recycling
- Procter & Gamble is taking innovation to the next level by developing recyclable versions of diapers, sanitary products and other absorbent products.
- H&M is working towards more sustainable practices by producing clothes out of recycled materials.
Changing the Concept of Packaging
- Does everything really need a package? Various companies are creating straws, food wrap, bags, and utensils out of edible materials.
- Asda removed 6,500 tons of plastic from its packaging since February 2018 by switching from plastic to foil, from polystyrene to cardboard, and removing all that unnecessary plastic wrap from greeting cards.
Innovating Concepts of Use and Reuse
- Of course, we love Fido and Fluffy. However, we know that the methods used to grow people food can be very hard on the planet. With this in mind, Purina is developing pet food made of crickets and carp, and asking people to save the beef for themselves.
- After decades of abandonment, milk delivery services are coming back in fashion. Along with other companies, Loop is delivering global brands of shampoo and laundry detergent in reusable containers that are washed, sanitized, and refilled for every customer.
Consumer demand is causing companies to change their ways and put the environment before profit. Naturally, consumers need to confirm that any changes to packaging still serve their needs, that straws still work with milkshakes, that pets still love their meals, that food is still safe and sanitary. Once consumers have given their formal stamp of approval, we’ll all be much better off.
You might like to read these:
- Canadian Viewpoint IHUTS, Package, and Product Tests
- What are the key features of a perfect package test?
- Product Packaging Trends for 2018: 6 ways to be truly authentic
- From field to lab to virtual research methods: How to choose the right degree of external validity for your product shelf-test
With nearly 40 years of experience, Canadian Viewpoint is a field and data collection company that specializes in English and French offline and online services. We offer sample, programming, hosting, mall intercepts, pre-recruits, central location recruitment, mystery shopping, site interviews, IHUTs, sensory testing, discussion boards, CATI, facial coding, and other innovative technologies. Learn more about our services on our website. Canadian Viewpoint is a founding board member of CRIC (Canadian Research Insights Council) and named on both the 2019 GRIT Top 50 list of Emerging Players and Women in Research shortlist for Best Places to Work.
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