Increasing Responsibility in Food and Beverage Packaging

Many consumer product companies have received criticism over the environmental impact and waste production resulting from the packaging materials used and the perceived excess of packaging for their products. Think of the packaging materials used in a box of cookies that can be bought at the grocery store, or the amount of trash thrown away after a take-out dinner, and it’s evident why many people believe that there is an opportunity to reduce waste, especially for packaged food and beverage companies. In fact, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), packaging accounts for more than 50% of total household waste in the United States.

Food packaging is not only a means of brand marketing, it is essential for the physical safety of those who consume the product. Because of these purposes, it’s often a challenge for food and beverage companies to find a compromise between environmental concern and economic need in their packaging considerations. It’s also expensive to research and develop alternatives, and with potentially little pay-off in terms of increased sales for more environmentally friendly packaging.

A recent report by a beverage industry research company states that 94% of Americans are concerned about the long-termenvironmental effects of their beverage packaging purchases. While it’s clear that most people want to buy products that don’t impact the environment negatively, the impact of packaging may not be foremost on the mind when making purchases. Given that packaging for food and beverage products is also relatively similar for products across the industry, even if a person is conscious of the packaging before making a purchase there may not be much of an environmentally better choice available between products.

Complex issues like increasing responsibility in packaging require solutions that are customized, creative, and responsible. Some brands (for example, SunChips and Propel fitness water) are finding ways specific to their own products to reduce waste in packaging materials while still maintaining product safety and convenience, while enhancing their brand. These examples are proving to other companies in the industry that better packaging is not only possible, but is becoming a necessity in terms of demonstrating responsibility and sustainability.

Companies absolutely have a role to play in changing the standard of packaging for products, yet the people whopurchase those products ultimately make the active decision to cut back on their own waste by learning about and choosing the brands that use better packaging practices. In the end, a widespread change to packaging will come down to the responsible decision-making of both people in company boardrooms and people in grocery stores.

Healthy Living Marketing helps brands to shape, communicate and share their commitments to acting responsibly. For further information on how your brand can act more responsibly and position itself well with the ever-increasing Conscious Public segment of shoppers, please call us at (301) 378-0384.

Tags: environmental impact, environmentally friendly packaging, responsibility, responsible decision-making, waste reduction