Without drastic change, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

Taking hundreds of years to degrade, plastic trash amasses to form five plastic islands.Each with a surface area larger than France.

But not all the plastic stays in our oceans. When marine life ingests it, it enters our food chain. Causing us to eat, on average, a credit-card worth of plastic each week.

Yes, you read correctly. Each WEEK.

Yikes.

But plastic isn’t all bad, or we wouldn’t consume (as in use, not eat!) so much of it. Truth be told, it’s a durable product created to meet so many of our human demands.

Our short-term demands anyway…

In the long-term, our plastic consumption poses a grave threat to global ecosystems, thus life as we know it.

3 Plastic Facts, the 1st tells us to target the packaging industry

In most industries, plastic is used in every step of the supply chain.

So much so each year it costs $40 BILLION only for 8 MILLION TONS to end up in our oceans.

That’s a dump-truck full each MINUTE.

Before investing in alternatives, we look at where we can make the biggest impact. With nearly 40% of global plastic usage in the packaging design industry, it’s a natural first place to start.

Finding alternatives to plastic packaging is no longer a choice in China, but the law.

Recognizing the severity of plastic pollution, countries are enacting significant efforts into reducing plastic usage…forcing innovation on alternatives. Including China.

In fact, China is implementing a single-use plastic banthat is progressively stricter than other countries.

According to the announcement, most single-use plastics will be banned by the end of 2022.

The ban sends a clear message that companies need to be proactive.Acting now to be compliant.

Is your company ready?

77% of consumers said ‘plastic is the least environmentally responsible type of packaging’.

According to a recent survey from Accenture conducted with consumers in America, Europe, and Asia. Approximately 83% said it was ‘important or extremely important’ that companies design their products to be more environmentally friendly.

But yes, we know there is an omnipresent gap between claimed attitudes and purchasing behavior when it comes to green buying.

While we claim willing to adopt eco-friendly consumerism, our self-reported attitudes don’t always align with real-life practices.

How much does your spending align with your values?

But, behavioral economic studies show environmental consciousness DOES lead to sustainable purchasing preferences.

Some, arguably many, of us buy environmentally friendly products AND increasingly considering a brand’s environmental values when opening our wallets.

As awareness grows, so will our demand for sustainable packaging alternatives.

Companies taking too much time to switch to less plastic will lose an important competitive advantage.

As if legal compliance and meeting our demands wasn’t enough, the rise of E-Commerce haunts the planet.

COVID-19 may have sped it along, but China shows how e-commerce is our new retail experience.

The efforts brands put into e-commerce packaging and delivery will shape reputations.

E-commerce sales are expected to double in the next decade.NOT moving away from plastic packaging will result in an overwhelming amount of plastic waste that frankly, the planet can’t sustain.