Changing Attitudes And Behaviours
Aside from its very high recycling rate, there’s another key advantage to cardboard packaging: people like it. The 2021 Two Sides Trend Tracker survey found that 55% of Europeans prefer paper packaging as it’s better for the environment. When asked to choose their favourite packaging material based on a range of environmental, visual and physical attributes, respondents named paper/cardboard as favourite for 10 out of a possible 15. Key figures include 79% preferring it for being home compostable, 55% saying it’s better for the environment, and 51% saying it’s easier to recycle.
People are also becoming more aware of the sustainability values of the companies they use, with packaging being one of the clearest indicators of eco-friendliness. According to a recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, 78% of consumers want more to be done by larger companies in order to promote sustainable packaging. As well as pressuring businesses to take more responsibility, consumers have also started changing their own behaviour, with the number of people reusing packaging doubling from 12% to 25%.
Governments and businesses would do well to follow the example of their own customers. “We need to see waste for what it really is – a wasted resource,” says Erik Solheim, Former Head of UN Environment. “There is no place on our planet anymore for products that are used only briefly and thrown away. We need to ensure planned obsolescence is a thing of the past. It’s time for countries in the world to dramatically step up recycling rates if we are to save this planet.”
