We all want to do our bit to help our planet. Part of that is being mindful of the packaging we buy, and how we dispose of it when we’re done.

And as more and more businesses come forward to announce new and exciting developments in biodegradable materials, there seems to be a genuine willingness to change for a more healthy planet.

However, with inflation raising the overall cost of living to an all-time high, everyday consumers are now having to consider buying cheaper brands in an attempt to watch their wallets.

This has left us wondering – is the current cost of living crisis impacting people’s willingness to commit to sustainability? And what impact is that having on the businesses trying to prioritise greener packaging options?

Are production costs a direct result of eco-friendly packaging?

It goes without saying that the cost of production for packaging has a profound effect on the supply chain – starting with the material producer, to the brand owner and retailer. With any luck, it’ll make its way back to raw materials again once it’s been recycled. 

On paper, this cyclical relationship between brands and suppliers should make production costs cheaper all round. However, this is entirely dependent on whether their packaging is even recyclable in the first place.  As of 2021, the amount of recyclable packaging only stands to about 44.2% of the 2.5 metric tons of plastic waste created by UK homes in the last year.

In 2018, Tracy Sutton, Lead Consultant and founder of Root noted that “Some brands are nervous about committing to a new material or to invest in developing a new piece of packaging when they don’t know how successful it is going to be.” 

This noncommittal attitude was, at the time, a product of unease held towards adopting a new, yet unproven approach to sustainable packaging. But now, with the pressure of inflation, biodegradable options for packaging may simply exceed the price brands are willing to pay during a time of such economic uncertainty.

Buying power

Ultimately, the decision to buy lies with the consumer. And if they’re unable to justify spending more money on a product that claims to be made with sustainable packaging, brands equally can’t justify forking out the money needed for materials, when they can’t guarantee a return on their investment.

There is a silver lining to this consumer dilemma, however.

According to Trivium

When industry expert Trivium Packaging released their annual global buying green report it noted that out of the 70% of consumers who identified themselves as environmentally conscious, 86% said they were happy to ‘pay more for products in sustainable packaging.’     

This percentage of consumers were categorised between 18 to 44 years old, indicating a drastic change in consumer ideals is sweeping through the younger generations. This willingness to purchase has risen by 3% over the last two years alone. 

This new wave of sustainability has seen consumers actively search for recycling information on the label. For 68% of shoppers, this is now a major factor in how they make their choice of product. 57% said they would be ‘unwilling to buy products in packaging they consider harmful to the environment.’

According to Eviosys

Eviosys, one of the world’s leading suppliers of metal packaging, conducted their own survey in light of the cost of living crisis, spanning across the UK and most of its European customers.

They found that while 77% of British consumers ranked the cost of living as their top concern, at least 72% ‘wouldn’t willingly drop sustainability options when shopping’. 

To combat this 28% of consumers think buying canned food is an effective way to save money and will attempt to buy more tinned food to help get through the cost-of-living crisis. 

With metal packaging being more commonly recycled than most plastics, consumers are now able to make conscious buying choices based on how long tinned food can be stored. This allows for more flexible meal preparation and ultimately avoids food waste on a larger scale.

Alongside this a plastic tax was imposed by the UK government as of April 2022, stating that brands will ‘need to pay Plastic Packaging Tax if [they] have manufactured or imported plastic packaging which contain less than 30% recycled content.’

All of this together suggests that brands choosing to pass on sustainability in favour of something cheaper, will most likely only end up spending much more down the line, if not immediately, before prices are back to normal.

What can brands and their suppliers do to help?

Are there ways to lessen the damage sustainable materials are doing to the collective bottom lines of both brands and their suppliers as we all barrel into a seemingly never-ending time of financial unease? 

Minimise space

Making sure packaging is designed effectively with sustainable materials means the design can be much more compact and efficient, allowing less storage space to be needed.

For one, it’s been suggested to reduce the amount of space you’re using. After all, space costs money.

Although we’re not just talking about unit costs, as it’s equally important to consider the cost of warehouse space as well. 

It isn’t so much the amount of cardboard you can use, since it’s recyclable. What counts is the amount of void filler needed to ensure the safety of the product inside. However, rather than using polystyrene to fill in the empty spaces of the product inside, this can be replaced with wood pulp for similar effect.  

Obviously this isn’t applicable for every product or package, but it’s just one of many alternative solutions that are available to reduce costs.

Use biodegradable materials 

Choosing packaging that is completely biodegradable is the very essence of sustainability, since it is made from natural sources, it can fully deteriorate after being binned.

One of the more beneficial uses for biodegradable materials is that they can be used as composting, which allows them to provide the nutrients necessary for plant life to grow. 

This approach can be used to help charities grow more trees in areas of the world that are in desperate need of them, helping the planet with every piece of packaging produced.

Reduce the amount of plastics

If you’re unable to justify a full switch to biodegradable packaging, opting for a supplier who has reduced the amount of plastics in their production is a step in the right direction. 

This can involve investing in materials made entirely of recyclables which have the added benefit of helping suppliers to recycle and reuse leftovers, vastly reducing the amount of production waste. Not to mention promoting a healthier relationship between you and your customer.   

Although the cost of living crisis continues to have a significant effect on the way we select our products, it holds little water when placed against our planet’s wellbeing. 

As time progresses it will only get harder for suppliers to deliberately manufacture non-renewable plastics into their packaging, leaving brands with little choice but to decide when to invest, rather than if they should invest while there’s still time.