The Teeter-Totter Trap

Plastic-free. But also locally sourced. And 100% reusable and recyclable - with lower water usage and climate-friendly. Did I mention at least 30% post-consumer content? Don’t forget zero waste!

It is admirable when brands aspire to aggressive targets to reduce packaging waste and make their businesses more environmentally friendly. The problem is that I’m noticing a trend of corporate goals that cause a teeter-totter effect.

When you adjust your packaging for one target (say climate friendly) you may end up using more plastic, not less. Or if you require your reusables to also be “100% recyclable”, it can make them more expensive, less durable, and therefore not economically viable. The end result could be progress on climate and backsliding on plastic use, or progress on recyclability and backsliding on the percentage of reusables.

It is causing too many companies to chase their “packaging target tail”, making headway on one metric while falling further behind on another.

Take single-use plastic shopping bags and ecommerce mailer bags compared to fiber bags:

• Typically better on greenhouse gas emissions - good!

• Less recycled, if local recycling infrastructure even exists - bad! 

• Contributes to microplastic generation - bad!

• Often requires less water use for their total lifecycle - good!

What is the “right choice” here? Both! Neither! 

Progress on sustainability targets for packaging is possible - and necessary. The best companies use systems thinking to optimize across a spectrum of variables, rather than just defaulting to sound-bite friendly targets without appreciating how those variables interact.

Need help developing a set of appropriately balanced goals for your organization - and a process for implementation? Contact me now to get started!