Beware, UK retailers and brands aren’t doing enough to reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging, and consumers will vote with their purses if this goes on.

New research shows 65% of UK consumers felt retail is falling short when it comes to cutting harmful plastic, with just 18% saying they are doing enough, according to sustainable packaging producer Aquapak.

The findings show that British shoppers want to see retailers take positive steps to reduce the impact of the packaging they use on the environment. Some 59% said they wanted to see the conventional plastic used in packaging replaced with an alternative material which can be recycled and doesn’t harm the environment.

Meanwhile, 57% said they should use more paper-based packaging which can go into kerbside recycling collections and 49% said that they should stop using traditional single-use plastic completely.
 
If such changes are not made, the findings suggest that consumers are happy to vote with their feet and purses. 

Over the next 12 months, 56% of those surveyed said they will try and buy more products that do not use single-use plastic packaging, such as polyethylene bags.  They are prepared to take even more extreme steps over the next three years, with 46% saying they will stop buying products that use single-use packaging and hard to recycle packaging altogether.  

For retailers and brands facing environmental challenges throughout the supply chain, they should take heart from the fact that 32% of consumers said that they would be prepared to pay more for packaging which is 100% recyclable. Of these, 43% said they would pay 5% more.

Some 30% said they would pay more for clothing and accessories packaged in recyclable material, with 41% of these saying that would also be happy to pay 5% more.

Mark Lapping, chief executive of Aquapak, said: “We recognise that businesses have many challenges to deal with when it comes sustainability, whether it is carbon, water or biodiversity but it is important that they don’t just pay lip service to new technologies but opt for real change.

“The good news is that there is a commercially proven solution that will make their plastic packaging problems disappear. We have developed Hydropol which can be incorporated into paper to create planet-friendly wrappers for dry foods, snacks and confectionery, or used as film to make garment bags, providing an alternative to current packaging which is hard to recycle and inconvenient for consumers.”