The trade magazine for the packaging industry
The trade magazine for the packaging industry
According to a study conducted by Civey opinion researchers on behalf of the Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V., consumer acceptance of plastic and plastic packaging is currently on the rise. Hygiene remains the most important aspect of product packaging.
The reasons for the increasing acceptance are presumably that the majority of consumers consider plastics to be indispensable in the areas of medicine/health (60.7 %), computers/electronics (59.4 %) and vehicle construction (53.6 %) - followed by household and hygiene products (41 %). For 38.7 per cent of all participants remains hygiene in the 2022 follow-up survey of Civey the most important aspect of product packaging (in 2021, the value was 40.5 %).
"The coronavirus pandemic has not only influenced consumer behaviour, but has also changed the perception of packaging. The public has become much more aware of a safe supply of food and medicines. This appreciation is a welcome development away from plastic bashing, but of course does not release us from our responsibility to keep plastics out of the environment and recycle much more."
Mara HanckerIK Managing Director
This was also confirmed by the survey results: Just under two thirds (64%) of all respondents are aware, that incorrectly disposed plastic can become a problem. To tackle this problem, the circular economy of plastic should lead to greater sustainability. 68.5 per cent of all students believe in this solution, but only 41.7 per cent of the population as a whole.
Significantly more than half of all Germans (55.9%) use plastic packaging, to keep food fresh for longer. Protection during transport and storage is also an important reason for 41.5% to use plastic packaging.
This study also proves, that the proportion of those who state in the survey that they do not use plastic packaging at all has fallen. This figure will fall from 20 per cent in 2021 to 15.1 per cent.
Sustainability is the big buzzword - and this also applies to plastic packaging. Supporters of the mainstream parties support such concepts for the future.t, as the latest survey shows. 81 per cent of Green voters want to use less packaging in future. SPD supporters favour better recyclable materials (61.5 %). FDP voters are also in favour of this (69.1 %).
65.3 per cent of CDU/CSU voters are in favour of reusability. Opinion within the population is similar: 62.3 per cent want more recyclable materials (62.3%), 59.5 per cent believe that plastic can be reused several times and 55.1 per cent are in favour of more recycling.
This sustainable approach supports the Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V., whose Managing Director Mara Hancker explains: "We are working flat out on a sustainable circular economy. The results of the Civey survey show that we are on the right track here. Plastic packaging is sustainable and climate-friendly. Sweeping criticism is wrong. Plastic is not the problem, it's how we use it."
Source: IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V. (Industrial Association for Plastic Packaging)
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