Customers Hate Plastic Packaging, So Why Do Companies Keep Using It?

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*Article first published on forbes.com

In honor of Earth Day 2021 which takes place on April 22, we’re posting a short series devoted to issues of business and the environment.

A typical trip to the store ends with multiple plastic bags and items in plastic packaging. Ordering online isn’t any better, as many items come with additional plastic packaging. No matter where they shop—the grocery store, the clothing store, the restaurant or even online retailers—customers end up with huge amounts of plastic packaging, most of which ends up in the landfill. 

It’s not what customers want. 

Most customers want to do their part to help the environment and are aware of the impact of their purchases. 88% of U.S. and U.K. consumers want brands to help them be more environmentally friendly in their daily lives. Consumers increasingly prefer sustainable brands, with the majority of shoppers willing to pay a premium for recycled products. That means brands that continue to push plastic risk alienating the vast majority of their customers. 

So why are companies still packaging items in plastic? Why is it so hard to find plastic-free packaging? 

It often comes down to one thing: money. Packaging items in plastic, including for e-commerce shipping, is often the cheapest option for brands. 

The push for plastic isn’t empathetic. It shows how disconnected companies truly are from the desires of their customers and the demands of the planet. Not to mention that it puts customers in a bad mood when they have to sort through plastic packaging, no matter how hard they’ve tried to find eco-friendly alternatives. A survey by Oceana found that 87% of consumers think major online retailers should curb the amount of plastic packaging they use. 

Amazon alone generated an estimated 465 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2019. If all of that trash took the form of inflatable air pillows, it would create a plastic trail long enough to go around the world 500 times. 

Finding plastic-free alternatives often feels like it requires a full-time job because it is so difficult and time-consuming. Although many innovative, eco-friendly companies have grown in popularity in recent years, most mainstream retailers across all industries are still holding strong on plastic. But that doesn’t match consumer trends. Of global consumers, 72% are actively buying more environmentally friendly products than they did five years ago, and 81% expect to buy even more over the next five years. 

Some brands make the excuse that they use plastic packaging that can be recycled. But just because some plastic packaging can be reused or recycled doesn’t mean it actually is. It often isn’t worth the cost to recycle plastic, and many consumers are confused by where they can take plastic recycling. Less than 2% of plastic waste produced since the 1950s has been recycled, meaning more than 90% has been landfilled or disposed of in the natural environment. 

With the technology and resources available today, companies have more eco-friendly packaging options available than ever before. They need to get rid of the notion that plastic is the best choice and move in a more responsible direction. 

Companies need to do a better job cutting down on plastic. They owe it to their customers—and the environment.

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Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future. 

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