Consumers struggle to prioritise sustainable packaging
While four-in-five consumers in the UK and US believe in the need to reduce plastic use, almost the same number do not rule out buying products which do not prioritise sustainability. According to a new poll from PA Consulting, shoppers struggling with the cost of living might be more motivated to do so, if savings were offered to shop sustainably.
The past four decades of the neo-liberal consensus have seen a continued importance placed on the actions of individual consumers, in lieu of concerted collective actions – or consolidated political will. With the world now regularly experiencing the impacts of climate change, the limitations of this way of life have been writ large when responding to an existential crisis.
In the last 20 years in particular, individuals have been encouraged to be the change they wanted to see in the world, by ‘voting with their wallets’. The suggestion driving such calls for conscientious consumerism was that customers could push businesses to adopt sustainable and ethical practices more effectively than government regulations, by hitting firms’ profitability. While some reports still wax lyrical on this line, insisting that shoppers are finally reaching a ‘tipping point’ when it comes to sustainable consumption, however, the material reality is that thanks to a number of other economic and political factors at play, this is still a minority behaviour.
With the UK in the grips of a cost-of-living crisis, and the average household being thousands of pounds worse off thanks to the rampant inflation and stagnant wages of the past two years, the idea most consumers can be expected to pressure billion-dollar companies into being more sustainable seems less realistic than ever before. At the same time, consumers are aware that businesses and governments are not pulling their weight when it comes to sustainability.
Even when companies claim to be selling ‘sustainable’ goods, many are being shown as fudging the numbers to mislead mindful customers into buying unethical products. Meanwhile an Eden McCallum poll previously found that 79% of consumers thought government actions were more important than their individual choices when it came to boosting the country’s sustainability.
In that context, a new study from PA Consulting might not come as a particular shock to many consumers, or sustainability commentators. A survey of 4,000 consumers in the UK and US has found that amid declining spending power, a frustration with corporate dishonesty about sustainability credentials, and governments sending clear signals that the climate is not a spending priority, 78% of shoppers do not make the effort to choose products with reusable and refillable packaging.
PA Consulting also noted that 80% of consumers they polled agreed “we must all play a part in reducing plastics” – highlighting the point that this is not so much an ideological choice to do ‘nothing’, as it is a financial burden consumers cannot take on, or feel they cannot place their trust in. Further exploring those dynamics, the researchers broke down the demographics at play in ‘sustainability champions’ within the UK and US public.
Matt Millington, PA’s design strategy lead for the UK, said, “Reusable and refillable packaging is at a critical juncture. We need to lead with a human-centered approach to design: understanding how to motivate consumers and remove barriers to engagement; designing packaging systems that enable convenient returns; and regular nudges at the most valuable points of influence in the customer and pack journey. Only in doing so will businesses be able to tip the balance towards planet-positive consumer behaviour and leverage the full opportunities of sustainable packaging to build a positive human future.”
Of the roughly one-in-four people who would actively avoid restaurants that didn’t offer sustainable packaging, 43% were from households which earned over £75,000 per year. In the UK, that would be the top 5% of earners – showing that higher income consumers are disproportionately able to make sustainable choices. This was also reflected in the use of reusable cups and containers – 71% in high income earners, compared with 60% in middle income earners, and 55% for low income respondents, who are less capable of meeting the upfront costs that come with buying such items.
The factor of costs were clearly seen as top motivators for changing behaviours, meanwhile. PA Consulting asked shoppers of multiple generations what would see them reconsider their spending habits. Gen X and Millennials – the ages most likely to have children and dependents still in their household – said if sustainable shopping helped save them money they would be more motivated to do it – 56% of Gen X saying reward points would help, and 50% of Millennials suggesting a small monetary fee for reusing packaging.
