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Green Success Requires Sustainable Consumers

By Neil Merrett and Guy Montague-Jones

14-May-2008 - Bio-based plastics are making their mark on the packaging industry but many commentators say consumers are as important as renewable materials on the road to sustainability.

The European Aluminum Foil Association’s (EAFA) spokesperson Guido Winsel told CosmeticsDesign.com at this year’s Interpack trade show that consumers needed to be encouraged to look at reducing their own environmental impact.

Helping consumers go green
The EAFA said that it was now considering possible ways it may work with industry to better engage and directly inform consumers of areas that they can help make a difference.

“Raising awareness of the role of the consumer is vital for improving sustainability,” said Winsel. “People should not be inhibited in living their lives, but there is a need for consumers to be resource efficient along with packagers and processors.”

Often this may mean that consumers will have to sacrifice convenience and adopt different buying habits.

Refillable perfume
For instance in the perfume industry, Givenchy has introduced a refillable container to encourage consumers to reduce their packaging use.

Alcan Packaging has designed the pyramid-shaped sachet for Givenchy so perfume users can refill their 50ml glass bottle rather than buying another.

The resulting reduction in packaging weight and transportation will help reduce the environmental damage done by packaging.

The packaging industry has come under fire recently because of its allegedly poor green credentials.

Pressure group attacks
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told CosmeticsDesign.com that consumers, processors and packagers could all do more to help the environment.

“Industry and consumers have a joint responsibility to drive for sustainable production and consumption using the least amount of packaging, energy, water and other resources while creating the least amount of waste,” a spokesperson stated.

Friends of the Earth (FoE) also joined the debate recently claiming that packaging was a significant contributor to climate pollution, and that a focus on generating less overall waste products should be encouraged.

Although FoE accepted that there has been a significant shift in recent years in the amount of recycling in consumer packaging products, it called for more work to reduce unnecessary packaging and increase recycling.

Facing up to these criticisms the EAFA said packaging is not necessarily bad or wasteful.

“Packaging is vital to consumer products, both as a means of attracting consumers and protecting the goods in side,” said Winsel.

Courtesy CosmeticsDesign.com

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