Who are the real plastic-free pioneers?

Plastic-free living is rising up the agenda as the human race gets to grips with the threat of the climate crisis. But who’s really leading the charge for change - consumers or business?

In a bid to answer this critical question we decided to put people’s attitudes under the microscope. What we discovered reveals much about where the clamour for plastic reduction is coming from but also how much remains to be done.

In three separate surveys of more than 500 UK-based consumers, polled over an 18-month period, we found almost two thirds of people (60%) are concerned about their consumption of plastic, and would go plastic free if given the choice by manufacturers and retailers.

Furthermore, 37% told us they’d opt for plastic-free products even if it meant spending more money than normal. Meanwhile, some 77% of them say reducing their plastic consumption makes them happier. It’s an emotional choice.

The stark takeaway from these stats is that people aren’t going plastic free because they can’t. 

Clearly, there is a case for brands to put the sustainability agenda front and centre of their planning; primarily because we all have a role to play in protecting the world’s natural resources.

But we believe there are also big economic opportunities for those that lead the way. Plastic-free living is no longer a fringe idea, it’s a mainstream driver of consumer choice. 

So how are brands doing?

Looking at supermarkets, shoppers began to complain about levels of plastic usage some time ago yet the grocers were initially quite slow to adapt. While most of the major chains have now made moves to cut packaging, such as in their fruit and veg aisles, the outcomes are so far unclear.

Next, we wanted consumers to try to shop plastic free and share their experiences. We asked a single consumer, a couple and a family to participate in the study. 

In week one, we asked them to buy products as normal, and in week two they were asked to purchase the same items - but plastic free. 

We tracked their consumption of nine selected products, recording money and time spent on finding each item using the participants’ chosen store or online. 

The results showed that consumers have to work hard to go genuinely plastic free. In some cases, they would have to spend up to four times the price, with as little as half of their usual items available plastic free:

• In the cases of all three households, looking for plastic-free products was more time consuming

• Buying plastic-free products was also more expensive in all cases

• All households didn’t buy some plastic-free alternative products because they were too expensive, time consuming or too difficult to source

Overall, eight in 10 people agree that supermarkets should do more to offer plastic-free alternatives. And the grocers would be well advised to. Four in 10 people claim they have recently started to shop at other places because their local supermarket doesn’t offer access to plastic-free products. 

There is a huge opportunity for growth, and there are multiple case studies of brands that have recognised this. 

In 2017, Unilever reported that out of hundreds of its brands, those that had integrated sustainability delivered half the company’s growth in 2015. 

People’s environmental concerns go beyond plastic consumption and are an all-encompassing aspiration. The more informed consumers are, and the more plastic-free 

options start to pop up, the more businesses will succeed or fail depending on their willingness and ability to adapt. 

Consumers are turning to each other as they struggle for information from brands. With governments, institutions and companies perceived as slow to act, people are taking matters into their own hands and sharing ideas via social media.

On Facebook, Journey to Zero-Waste has well over 100,000 members. On Instagram, influencers like Kathryn Kellogg (@going.zero.waste) are adopting a plastic-free life and portraying this aspirational existence in a compelling way to growing follower bases. 

Online, Plastic-free July challenges people to avoid plastic for the whole month, then continue for the rest of the year, or even throughout their lives. The website claims that 120 million people across 177 countries joined the challenge in summer 2019.

People want answers, and they want options. But that will mean extensive changes to the entire supply chain, from production to packaging and promotion. And it feels like we’re still on the start line of that race.