Time for FMCG brands to stand up in the plastics debate | WARC | The Feed
The Feed
Read daily effectiveness insights and the latest marketing news, curated by WARC’s editors.
You didn’t return any results. Please clear your filters.
Time for FMCG brands to stand up in the plastics debate
Some of the world’s biggest FMCG manufacturers have been making encouraging noises about how they are addressing the problem of plastic pollution but more radical change is needed than keeping screw tops attached to drinks bottles.
Context
- The UN is aiming to conclude a global plastics treaty by the end of this year which would manage plastics over their lifecycle.
- The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution has this week advanced discussion from ideas to treaty language, including limiting the total amount of plastic produced.
- Nearly 400 million tonnes of new plastic is produced every year, according to UNEP estimates, and that total could double by 2040; plastic also accounts for 5% of global emissions currently but that could rise too.
- The UN estimates that less than 10% of plastic generated globally gets recycled. And recent research from The 5 Gyres Institute concludes that for every percentage increase in plastic produced, there is an equivalent increase in plastic pollution in the environment.
Takeaways
- The Institute also found that 56 FCMG multinationals were responsible for at least half of the world’s plastic litter (the half of the 1.87 million items collected over a five-year period across 84 countries that had discernible branding); Coca-Cola alone was responsible for 11%.
- Most of the rubbish collected was single-use packaging for food, beverage, and tobacco products.
- In a recent earnings call, Unilever claimed to have reduced virgin plastic use by 18% over the past year, while increasing use of recycled plastic by 23%.
- Tradeable plastic credits, which would allow companies to balance the plastic waste they collect against the waste they produce, are seen as an answer by some companies.
Why plastic pollution matters
Virgin plastic is being produced faster than old plastic is being recycled and the world is awash – literally – with the results. FMCG brands and their single-use plastics are a major contributor to the problem and will play a crucial role in solving it. But as Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher noted, brands can’t do it alone: “You need the cooperation of retailers [on refill and reuse], you need the cooperation of governments in terms of law change.”
Sourced from Guardian, Financial Times, Globe & Mail, Seeking Alpha, AP
Email this content