Global consumer will pay more for renewable packaging as plastic worry intensifies, Kemira study finds

23 Aug 2019 --- According to an international consumer survey commissioned by global chemicals company Kemira, over half of the 4,000 respondents in the US, China, Germany and Finland said they would be willing to pay more for renewable food packaging. The international survey, conducted in April 2019 by a third-party research partner, investigated consumers’ views on food packaging materials, food shopping and food waste. Findings of the survey reveal that the majority of respondents are hoping to reduce the use of plastic in their lives, while many feel that it is the responsibility of brands to manage the reduction.

“Plastics reduction is a multi-dimensional challenge that requires action from all of us,” a spokesperson of Kemira tells PackagingInsights. “Our habits as consumers need to change, so that we demand and buy products with their sustainability in mind. Brands need to work to optimize their sustainability performance. Furthermore, the regulatory landscape needs to be harmonized, as now the national measures vary greatly and cause silo effects, complexity and cost, especially for global brands.”

“And while plastic reduction is also important, we should pay even more attention to efficient recycling – a lot can be done here to improve,” the Kemira representative highlights.

Which consumers will pay more for renewable packaging?
In the survey, 56 percent of US respondents said that the food brands have the main responsibility for reducing plastic waste in food packaging. Meanwhile, 46 percent of respondents claimed they are willing to pay more for renewable packaging.

The majority of consumers want to use less plastic packaging, according to the international survey.According to the survey, when it comes to the features of food packaging, the key consumer priorities across all markets relate to the hygiene and leak-proof properties of the container, but packaging material itself is also considered important. Especially in the US, the size of the food package and ease of use are also viewed as important. The results revealed that 46 percent of the US respondents, 85 percent of the Chinese, 55 percent of the Germans, and 44 percent of the Finns respond positively to statement “I’m willing to pay more for renewable packaging in food (such as carton or other bio-based materials).”

The survey found that many of the respondents are actively recycling their packaging: in the US and China about 40 percent said they always recycle cartons and cardboard; around 80 percent of the Finnish and German respondents said the same. In all other countries apart from the US (52 percent), plastic is much less frequently recycled.

“Food packaging plays an often-overlooked role in the total environmental footprint of food items, affecting both product shelf-life and waste recyclability. For example, with appropriate packaging, food stays fresher for longer. We are actively following food packaging trends, as we are part of the value-chain for fiber-based packaging solutions,” says Lee Sampson, Director of Product Lines at Kemira.

Survey reflects global concern over plastic pollution
The global discussion on plastic is also reflected in the survey, as most respondents indicated they were trying to reduce the amount of plastics in their lives. In the US 58 percent, in Germany 83 percent, in Finland 67 percent and in China a “staggering” 93 percent of respondents agreed with this view.

Conversely, the future of plastic packaging divides opinions: 35 percent of the US citizens say they would feel negatively about increased plastics use in food packaging, while the corresponding number for the Chinese is 38 percent, Germans 51 percent and Finnish 76 percent.

The survey indicates that many consumers believe that it is the responsibility of brands to shoulder the challenge of reducing plastic and finding alternatives.“It was interesting to see that 56 percent of the US respondents feel that the food brands have the main responsibility for reducing plastic waste associated with food packaging,” explains Sampson. “This is something that the food brands are actively addressing, and one alternative is to use renewable and recyclable fiber-based packaging materials. However, it’s a complex matter as brands are often global but regulations are local. We hope to see the big, global challenges taken into consideration in local legislation, and expect some predictability into the regulatory future.”

The threat plastic poses to the global ecosystem and societal health has never been more ubiquitous. This month, microscopic plastic fibers were identified by researchers in rainwater samples from the rural Rocky Mountain National Park, further highlighting the proliferated nature of plastic fibers and particles – commonly referred to as microplastics. Gregory Wetherbee, the study author, notes that the findings show that the pollution of plastic fibers is not just an urban condition and that they are everywhere – in our air, water and soil. Moving forward, the author calls for better methods for sampling, identification, and quantification of plastic deposition along with the assessment of potential ecological effects.

Pressingly, microplastics were identified in bottled water from 11 leading brands by New Orb Media in March last year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the findings from its formal investigation into the potential impacts of microplastics on humans, indicating that it finds no serious threat while calling for further and more methodologically-sound scientific studies.

By Benjamin Ferrer