Brand purpose is the trendy new term at the heart of doing business in 2021 and beyond. It's about your product or company's reason for being besides just making a profit.

Many companies are picking up on the shift customers are making to conscious consumerism and have made that their brand purpose. It's no secret that shoppers are more willing to spend their money on products and businesses that have their eye on environmental sustainability. In a survey by U.S. shipping service Sendle, 57% of responders said climate change had caused them to reassess their purchasing habits, and nearly 71% said they set goals to purchase more sustainable products.

In Part One of this series, we wrote about the Shop Local Movement and how companies can contribute to the environment by encouraging their customers to shop their products locally.

Read Part One of the Conscious Consumerism series

In this blog post, we're talking about biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging and how by making the switch, you can positively affect the planet and gain new customers and build loyalty in your existing ones.

Conscious consumerism

The retail industry is experiencing a shift in how consumers buy products. Price and quality still primarily affect purchasing decisions, but products' environmental impacts and disposal influence decisions significantly, with more people practicing conscious consumerism.

Technology is bringing more transparency to the retail space, and customers are doing their research before making purchasing decisions. The overwhelming majority of retail consumers start their journey with online research; 81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying (Source: GE Capital Retail Bank).). Considered in that research are the packaging materials used now that more people are mentioning the packaging materials when writing online reviews. According to McKinsey & Company, customers would buy additional sustainably packaged products if more of them were available and were better labelled.

Why use biodegradable packaging?

We've all seen the video of the helpless turtle with a plastic straw up its nose, which seemed to be a catalyst for more public awareness and concern about packaging materials. That sparked a lot of companies to make commitments to eco-friendly packaging materials because now, more than 50% of consumers in the US are highly concerned about the environmental impact of packaging and want to see eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging.

With eyes on companies' environmental initiatives, CPG brands have an opportunity to stand out from shelf competitors with biodegradable packaging since 71% of US consumers have goals to purchase more sustainable products. Instead of relying on stores and retailers to provide eco-friendly packaging, you have control to make the move to better packaging. A big item consumers want to see replaced is Styrofoam, which is not only toxic to the environment but can harm people's health, too. When heat is added to a petrochemical product like Styrofoam, it releases toxic chemicals into food and takes 500 years to decompose.

PROS OF ECO-FRIENDLY AND BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING

• Reduces carbon footprint

• Non-toxic and allergy-free materials

• Improves brand image

• Reduces cost: cut down on shipping because it's less weight, and cut down on overhead costs because it takes up less space

• It helps attract new customers

SOME CONS TO BE HONEST ABOUT

Eco-friendly packaging can be expensive for smaller businesses

Corn is a renewable and cost-effective crop that can be used in packaging, but the argument can be made that it should instead go to alleviating poverty and hunger.

Some materials can break down only if disposed of correctly: many biodegradable plastics can be biologically broken down but can leave behind toxins if broken down in the soil.

Tools and strategies for eco-friendly packaging

• Use less packaging in general

• Offer reusable and refillable containers for your consumer packaged goods

• Use recyclable, fibre-sourced, and/or biodegradable materials like paper takeout boxes and cornstarch packing peanuts.

• Ship items in smaller packages

• Plantable packaging like seed-paper boxes.

• Use manufacturing partners with sustainable practices

• Source biodegradable plastic

SHARE YOUR BEST PRACTICES

You can get new customers, and foster loyalty in your existing ones by sharing your best practices for eco-friendly packaging. As mentioned above from McKinsey & Co., customers would buy additional sustainably packaged products if more of them were available and better labelled.

A great way to let your customers know is through locator apps. Using locators will boost your SEO online and give you a way to locate your products and provide pertinent information like the type of packaging you use. There are many locator apps available like Storepoint, Storemapper, and ZenLocator. Using one like ZenLocator will help your customers find both your products and your store's locations while giving you tools like filtering, markers, and search by product.

Need a reliable locator to share your eco-friendly best practices and help customers find your products?

Prioritizing the planet

Eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging is becoming increasingly important to customers. It's your job as a regional retail brand, CPG company, or independent business to include environmental practices in your business model and educate customers on the impact they're making by buying your products. Educating is essential to create a genuine, efficient, and eco-friendly shopping experience both online and offline. There is so much room to make a difference with eco-friendly products