Page 3 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

September-October 2020 | www.packagingnews.com.au
COMMENT | PUBLISHER 3
Message on the plastic bottle is changing
IN recent months, two agents for social change have publicly turned their backs on single-use plastic water bot- tles. While the volumes we’re speak- ing of are a drop in the ocean com- pared with those generated by big brand end-users of plastic for bottled water, it’s a notable turning of the tide.
Single-use plastic packaging poses a problem for brands whose values align with creating a better world; the perceived negative impact of such plastic on the environment cre- ates a moral dilemma that makes it difficult to condone its use.
This was the case for social enter- prise Thankyou, which made the sur- prise announcement in August it was stopping production of Thankyou Water. As an organisation that exists to help change the world, it said it could no longer justify selling bottled water in single-use plastic.
With social change as its corner- stone, it begs the question why Than- kyou opted to sell water packaged in plastic in the first place. The answer at the time was quite straightforward. The organisation’s founding idea 12 years ago was to tap into consumer spending and channel it to help end extreme poverty. The global bottled water market then was worth $50bn (today it’s more than $140bn). Thankyou targeted Australia’s $600m
bottled water market, selling Than- kyou branded water packed in plastic on the ‘better choice’ platform to sup- port its mission of solving the world’s water crisis: 900 million without access to safe water, with 4500 chil- dren dying each day from waterborne disease. And it has made a difference. Thankyou says sales of bottled water (along with its personal care and baby ranges) has seen it deliver $6.9m to its impact partners who support the world’s poorest on their journey out of extreme poverty.
But now it has reached a tipping point. Thankyou says it had hoped to find a solution that’s a “win-win for humanity and the planet” but alterna- tive packaging options explored so far have fallen short. To reduce the impact that single-use bottled water has on the planet, Thankyou believes it has no other option but to leave it behind. For now.
Shortly after Thankyou’s decision was made public, another rejection of single-use plastic was announced. Cotton On Foundation – which directs 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sales of its bottled water in Cotton On stores to youth empowerment projects – has switched to an aluminium bot- tle, comprising 70 per cent recycled aluminium, and claimed to be the first of its kind in Australia. The shiny new packaging pushes the “infinitely recyclable” message hard, and invites the purchaser to “leave your mark on the world not the planet”. But, at the moment the bottle is not manufac- tured locally, and is imported as a filled product. For this ultimately to be a better solution, it’s clear that onshoring production of the packag- ing must be an imperative, which the organisation assures me is the plan.
As any packaging technologist will tell you, switching materials is a com- plex endeavour, and the whole life cycle of a package needs to be consid- ered in making the decision. But for some brands, the factor carrying the heaviest weight is negative consumer sentiment around single-use plastics, and this is a message that’s difficult to ignore. ■
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Lindy Hughson – Publisher
Single-use plastic packaging poses a problem for brands whose values align with creating a better world. ”