News Sustainability
Sustainable packaging is more important for consumers
Consumers increasingly value sustainable packaging when purchasing fruit and vegetables, a new study by ABN Amro shows. This also shows that a third of all respondents are even willing to pay extra for prepacked fruit and vegetables in sustainable packaging. Nevertheless, the bank states that consumers are still insufficiently aware of the environmental impact of the various forms of packaging.
The new ABN Amro survey shows that 66% of the more than 1.000 respondents consider it important that all prepackaged fruit and vegetables are packed in sustainable packaging. About 35% even indicate that they are willing to pay extra for this. It is striking, however, that a majority of 68% thinks it is nonsense that the cucumbers or peppers are packed in plastic. This is striking, because many consumers at the same time indicate that they consider it important that products are hygienic and remain fresh for a long time. "Something that is actually promoted with packaging", reports the bank.
Circularity as aspiration
Both the Netherlands and Europe strive for circularity. "Supermarkets and food suppliers are therefore paying more attention to packaging, but it is not easy," ABN Amro reports. According to the bank, in addition to sustainability, parties must take various functional characteristics of the packaging into account. You can think of shelf life, safety, costs, transportability and attractiveness. This is endorsed by Rik Hennink (Hordijk Verpakkingen). "The consumer wants to be able to see the product in the packaging. An example: in the case of strawberries, a consumer prefers a transparent tray made of plastic, rather than cardboard packaging. This is to make sure that there are no rotten ones. "
Of all the links in the production chain, the food industry has the most concrete ambitions in the field of sustainable packaging. Both the trade association of the supermarkets, the Central Bureau for Food Trade (CBL), and the Federation of the Dutch Food Industry (FNLI) have drawn up concrete plans. For example, supermarkets will have to use 5% less packaging material in 20 years' time and all remaining packaging must be 95% recyclable.
What is still a challenge is the fact that the life cycle of a particular packaging cannot be separated from the product that is packaged in it. "For example, a plastic bottle containing motor oil will be incinerated as chemical waste, while the same bottle containing ketchup can be recycled," the researchers said. "Supermarkets are also a bit reluctant to use biodegradable plastics, because their raw materials often use scarce agricultural land that is needed for growing food."
Insufficient knowledge of environmental impact
The research report also shows that consumers are not sufficiently aware of the above and are therefore not sufficiently aware of the environmental impact of the various packaging forms. 'When choosing packaging, for example, it is also important to consider CO2 emissions during production and transport, as well as the shelf life of a product in order to prevent food waste,' the bank writes.
For example, a large proportion of consumers think that glass or cans are more sustainable, but the production of these materials releases more CO2. According to ABN Amro, it is therefore essential for supermarkets, food and packaging producers to properly substantiate in the future which packaging has the least environmental impact during the life cycle.
Kimberly Baker
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