Some 73% of consumers consider recyclable packaging to be an ‘essential’ (26%) or ‘nice to have’ (47%) factor in their purchasing decisions, GlobalData has said.
Just over one in five (21%) believe that recyclable packaging is ‘not necessary’, while 6% answered ‘don’t know/not sure’, the GlobalData Consumer Survey found.
Another finding of the survey is that 47% of consumers say that ‘ethical and environmentally friendly services’ impact their purchasing decisions ‘always’ or ‘often’.
Plastic Pollution Treaty
GlobalData revealed the figures as it reflected on the recent UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee On Plastic Pollution Treaty (INC-5) negotiations, which took place in Busan, South Korea, in December, and sought to reach a binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution.
The failure of countries such as Saudi Arabia and China to agree on several treaty amendments meant that a final decision on the Treaty was delayed, with negotiations set to pick up once again later this year.
As Jamie Cosaitis, packaging consumer insights consultant and analyst at GlobalData, commented, “Unlike other UN treaties, the UN INC-5 Plastic Pollution Treaty is set to be legally binding and consequently one of the most influential sustainability agreements in recent years.
“The Treaty’s implementation of caps and bans on virgin and single-use plastics is set to reduce the overall volume of plastic entering the market and force companies to adhere to mandatory design amendments, which should accelerate innovation.”
Support for the treaty is bolstered by leading consumer goods companies such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Danone, whose CEOs signed an open letter calling for the development of a legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution.
Sustainable pacakging
The treaty is expected to accelerate innovation in sustainable packaging, particularly in the use of paper-based materials, biodegradable coatings, and alternative plastic polymers.
However, ‘as promising as this kind of innovation is, many packaging experts remain to be convinced that paper-based packaging products have the functionality required to protect products throughout the entire supply chain,’ GlobalData noted.
A shift toward a circular economy is also central to its objectives, with proposals including designing plastic products for reuse and incorporating Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations to make companies accountable for waste throughout a product’s lifecycle. Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) are also set to be rolled out to more and more countries.
“Despite current objections from countries like Saudi Arabia and China, the overwhelming number of nations in agreement with the Treaty and the urgent need to reduce the global use of plastics should lead to the Treaty’s signature in 2025,” Cosaitis added.
“Packaging materials innovation will play an important role in reducing plastic waste and developing the circular economy; however, the costs of alternative materials will need to be reduced further before widespread adoption can be achieved. Despite the challenges, there is an urgent need for strong measures to reduce global plastic waste and pollution, which consumers and businesses support, and governments now need to implement.” Read more here.
