The environmental threat posed by plastic packaging is well known. The popular press and environmental groups alike have long stressed the dangers of plastic products, from their impact on marine wildlife to their buildup in landfills. In contrast, paper is often seen as the sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative — despite the reality that more than six million tons of paper packaging end up in U.S. landfills every year.
How Unnecessary Paper Packaging Creates the Illusion of Sustainability
New research finds that despite being demonstrably worse for the environment, overpackaging increases consumers’ perceptions of environmental friendliness.
April 21, 2023
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Summary.
As global consumers grow increasingly conscious of the environmental toll of plastic packaging, many brands have taken steps to reduce their use of plastic. But at the same time, some brands have adopted a much less productive approach to the anti-plastic movement: They’ve begun adding superfluous paper packaging on top of plastic packaging in order to make their products look more environmentally friendly without actually reducing plastic waste. The authors’ research demonstrates that this sort of overpackaging can indeed be effective in boosting consumers’ perceptions of sustainability, despite the fact that it is demonstrably worse for the environment (not to mention more expensive for manufacturers). However, they also found that simply adding a “minimal packaging” label to plastic packages can reduce the misperception that overpackaged products are more sustainable, enabling brands to attract environmentally-conscious consumers without creating unnecessary paper waste.