Last week, NPR food blog The Salt published a story on low-sodium claims with a familiar theme: clear and meaningful on-package claims.
On-package sustainability claims are an exciting way to share our work with consumers. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition explores claims through education in the Essentials of Sustainable Packaging course, the Meaningful Marketing Claims Industry Leadership Committee, and the How2Recycle on package recycling label. However, getting the correct message across to consumers can be a challenge.
A study by the University of Toronto showed that on-package claims for low sodium, disease prevention, or lowering blood pressure improved overall consumer perception of a product. The study polled 506 Canadians, one third of which had high blood pressure.
The How2Recycle label is seeing some of the same trends. According to the How2Recycle web survey, 80% of respondents think more positively of companies that participate in How2Recycle. Consumers note appreciation of transparency, use of recyclable materials, and belief that the participating company has broader sustainability motivations.
What I found interesting about this study is that these claims created a halo effect of other health benefits of the product. Not only did consumers have a more positive perception of the product, but some consumers also (incorrectly) equated the claims with improving weight loss, constipation, and diabetes. The article’s final observation is that although companies are reducing sodium, they are weary of advertising for fear of negative consumer perception.
Read more from The Salt, including an article on coffee certification labels.
Month: April 2013
It’s pretty likely that your company’s sustainability goals do not include a commitment to reducing the amount of eutrophication associated with its activities. In fact, I’m willing to wager that most readers might not even know what eutrophication is. That’s okay. It’s a bit science-y, and it doesn’t elicit half as much response from consumers as, say, carbon footprints and waste generation. For the purposes here, let’s just say that it’s a water quality problem caused by an overabundance of algae, which is caused by excess nutrients introduced by certain emissions. Maintaining good water quality is an important part of sustainability, so in short, eutrophication is a pollution problem that we ought to address.
The typical mentality used to address pollution is to think that it should be prevented at the source. Usually it is advocated that companies should try their very hardest to drive those emissions down to zero, and that usually means awaiting new cleaner technologies. The newer mentality, however, applies the idea that any output, wanted or unwanted, is a resource. This mentality was made famous by the recycling industry and the problem of solid waste generation, but it certainly also rings true for the problem of eutrophication. After all, eutrophication is caused by an overabundance of nutrients, and nutrients are certainly a resource.
To put this mentality into practice, a startup company called Algix is partnering with the University of Georgia and SPC member Kimberly-Clark. Their plan: capture the nutrient-rich water emissions from industry and agriculture, let nature take its course in a controlled environment, and then harvest the algae before releasing the water. Then instead of causing eutrophication problems in our freshwater resources, the algae is used as a feedstock for bioplastic conversion. Pretty neat, huh?
Along with Novomer’s efforts to create plastics from carbon dioxide emissions, it goes to show that “pollution” is an unwanted problem only until we can figure out how to make something out of it. Once the value of eutrophication-causing emissions are understood, your company’s commitment to reducing eutrophication might be a bit easier – and possibly even profitable.
Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.
1. The 2012 Urban Mobility Report found that traffic congestion costs Americans over $120 billion in delay time and wasted fuel. The report highlights that congestion caused urban Americans to travel an additional 5.5 billion hours and purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel over the course of the year. Washington DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco experienced the longest delays.
2. Exposure to Radon in the home is responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. Check your detectors!
3. According to the Global Language Monitor, Global Warming/Climate Change was the top phrase of the first decade of the 21st century. For the year 2012, Climate Change/Global Warming claimed the number 2 spot behind Gangnam Style.
4. March 31st marked the opening day for Major League Baseball. Over the course of the 2013 season, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates baseball fans will consume over 20 million hot dogs. Estimates for the top selling ball parks include:
Hot Dog
- LA Dodgers (2.4 million)
- Boston Red Sox (1.5 m)
- Texas Rangers (1.3 m)
- Detroit Tigers (1.3)
- NY Yankees (1 m)
Sausage
- Boston Red Sox (421k)
- NY Mets (405k)
- Giants (400k)
- Nationals (400k)
- Brewers (400k)
5. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. The success of that day helped increase awareness of environmental issues and helped gain support for the development of organizations like the US EPA. The Earth Day Network is a good resource to help you plan and contribute to Earth Day events
Check out this tremendous idea to clean up the ocean’s garbage patches from Dutch teen Boyan Slat. This is a great opportunity to take action and test an innovative idea to solve a problem long plaguing the plastic industry.
