FOOD & DRINK
and has vicariously provided a ‘responsible and forward- thinking retailer’ rubber-stamp. Precisely the gold dust results that the multiples are currently chasing, in fact.
Iceland, Aldi, Morrisons and Waitrose have all recognised the value of powerful eco-credentials, each committing to reduce the amount of plastic in their packaging. While Unilever has reported a 50% growth on their ‘sustainable living’ labels against others, LUSH are piling their energies into packaging-free, solid washing products; and a frenzy of corporates are aligning with a circling strata of environmental charities, agencies, kitemarks and pressure groups, including WRAP, the UK Plastics Pact, A Plastic Planet, Conservation Wise and Hubbub.
The snowball has been given a hefty push, then, and we need these blue-chip companies to pave the way and start bringing down the costs for smaller retailers and producers. Plastic hysteria has brought with it a wave of exciting packaging innovations – from seaweed based edible capsules to machines that will engrave information on fresh produce, plant derived water bottles and beech fibre netting for fresh produce.
But, as we discovered in researching eco-packaging for our ready-meal range, they are still significantly more expensive than the plastic options. There is some wiggle room: 28% of UK consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly packaging (Kantar Worldpanel) and, as demand for sustainable packaging grows, prices will drop, but until that time we are all beholden to do as much as we can.
Doing your bit, great or small If that is simply reducing plastic use in the workplace, separating recycling and providing a fridge and microwave for staff, to stop them buying pre-packed lunches, it’s a start. If you can introduce biodegradable cups in your café,
www.tomorrowsfm.com
incentivise customers to bring their own, ban plastic bags and repurpose your delivery boxes in place, so much the better. If you have joined the
refill.org initiative, offering free tap water bottle refills, however, are analysing the sustainability of the products that you stock, seeking out those with a Plastic Free Trust mark and offering packaging-free alternatives, you have my permission to start buffing your eco-halo.
But beware. Being a true eco-angel takes you through a waste off-setting minefield. Morrisons recently responded to customer demand by replacing plastic bags with paper ones. Yet paper bags take more than four times the energy to manufacture as a plastic one. Recyclable glass bottles require the same energy to produce as plastic, but use 40% more in transportation. The grease and moisture repellent properties of plastic packaging are hard to replicate, it protects soft fruits and triples the life of fresh produce, all reducing food waste.
It has to be accepted that plastic is a necessary evil on occasions. There will always be some need, but the future has to be in creating a circular economy of keeping packaging in the system and out of nature, through reuse and much more effective recycling by councils. Our ready meal CPET trays, for example, are not only made from recycled plastic, but can in turn be recycled again. But only, critically, if local authorities have the infrastructure to do so. They to need to step up to the plate.
The future will, however, be one of rejecting single- use plastics made from petro-chemicals entirely, and embracing alternative sources: ocean plastics, bioplastics or materials made from sustainable plant matter, such as plant starch. It has to be, in short, or our planet simply won’t have one.
www.field-fare.com TOMORROW’S FM | 43
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