Communicating with “Green Worriers”
Consumers are more concerned than ever about the environment, as evidenced by a 2014 internal Tetra Pak survey covering 25 countries. It found that 87% of consumers in the developed world had at least “somewhat serious” concerns about global climate change; 94% felt the same way about pollution; and a quarter of respondents felt guilty about doing something unfriendly to the environment. However, these consumers are passively green—they want companies that make the products they buy to do the heavy lifting.
Sustainable packaging is effective at alleviating consumer guilt when it communicates its benefits to consumers beyond the recycling symbol—an imperative that plays to the overarching trend of selling provenance along with the product. Are you selling a Georgia peach smoothie packaged in a carton made from FSC-certified sustainable paperboard? Tell consumers the whole story—the ones who care are increasingly taking time to read the labels.