economic growth. Industrial sectors look set to go through transformation on an unprecedented scale and, if not already, need to start now.
That means every business market needs to take responsibility and ownership of more than its own ship, and that includes being prepared to embrace the commercial implications of change.
“By 2050, it is estimated there will
be more plastic in the ocean than fish.”
The use of plastic across the world is now under major scrutiny, with growing awareness of what we are doing to the environment and to our oceans with more than eight million tonnes of plastic being dumped there each year. By 2050, it is estimated there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
What is less commonly known is that only 5 to 7% of virgin plastic is recycled, which means that at least 93% goes to landfill, gets burned or ends up in the sea, where it takes over 450 years to biodegrade.
If we take our own business, we have spent six years pioneering the UK’s first 100% post-use recycled plastic bottle (made from recycled milk cartons) for our all- natural cleaning chemicals range. Yes, this was a massive challenge, but ‘if not us, then who?’
Not only did this move ensure that our products are packaged in a responsible way, but it has also saved thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions from being released into the environment by doing so. UK households use an estimated 13bn plastic bottles a year and around 3bn of those are milk bottles. To put this into context, with circa 3bn milk bottles used each year, there is an estimated CO2e saving of 140,000 tonnes per annum if all those bottles were recycled.
For us, whilst there was a small cost implication in driving towards 100% recycled packaging, we chose to not to pass this back to our customers: instead, preferring to guarantee the use of products which are both packaged responsibly and are not environmentally toxic. Plus, it gave us additional marketing opportunity for upsell and growth.
Voting with their feet
Increasingly, business behaviour and success are driven by consumer need and demand. And, consumer demands have been changing fast when it comes to using products that have been produced sustainably, aren’t transported thousands of miles, and are not harmful to the ecosystem.
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
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