Consumers Drive Demand for Green Packaging

Following up on Friday's piece on American consumers willingness to  reduce packaging JoAnn Hines The Packaging Diva, recently gave a speech touching on the the same topic.  Hines' speech entitled "From Green to Great," was presented at a Retailing Today sponsored forum, “Best Practices in Sustainability: Top Trends, Tips and Takeaways from Thought Leaders in Green Retailing.”

U.S. Consumers Driving Greener Packaging

Hines says in the U.S. only about 10% of the population is willing to pay more for eco-friendly products and their corresponding packaging.

According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment, which includes packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home (49%); packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container (48%); and packaging designed for easy transport (47%). "That sounds good on paper and in theory but what will it cost us," asks Hines.

"There is no country in the world that has as much convenience packaging as we do in the U.S.," she said.  "Think about what would you be willing to give up?"

Hines said the important message here is that we are a convenience and disposable society.  "We are way behind other countries on the issue of sustainability and other environmentally friendly practices," she said.

Comments

[R Parton]

Maybe I'm confused but WHY is this titled "U.S. consumers driving greener packaging"? To me, this article reads as though, globally, U.S. consumers are still in the passenger seat (or, more like, in the back of the limo) while everyone else is in the font seat with the GPS pointed toward Eco-friendlyville. We'll be stepping out of the door a bit dazed and confused but happy, because we finally got there - or did I misinterpret the 10 percent stat?