In recent years, we have seen a rapid increase in sustainable-packaging regulations well beyond a focus on plastic bags and fast-food packaging. It is critical for companies across the packaging value chain to be aware of the accelerating pace of regulatory development, as noncompliance could lead to the imposition of tax increases or penalties.

This is a great opportunity for the forest industry as retailers initiate projects to eliminate plastic. One example being Iceland Foods, a UK food retailer with over 1000 shops in UK, that made headlines 2019 when announcing that they would eliminate plastic from its own label packaging by the end of 2023. Iceland Foods is now halfway through the journey to keep a plastic free promise. But as Iceland Foods Head of Packaging, Stuart Lendrum explains in an interview in Svensk Papperstidning, a more proactive and collaborative approach from the paper and pulp industry is needed to replace plastic. Not least to fund work on independent life cycle analyses.

The industry must build trust throughout the value chain, all the way to consumers. The forest industry can´t rely on others to do the job! And eco-labelling is good, but it won´t do the job for you, at least not alone. In a recent Opticom study covering consumers in Europe, the US and China, more than half of the respondents wanted to see more detailed information on the background/origin of packaging, not just an eco-label.

There is a need to understand the communication chain and where you are positioned in relation to the final end-user. Your immediate customer might already know a thing or two about working forests.

Tell the story to both your customers and your customers’ customers. This brings value to you both. Be clear in your message and remember who it’s for.

At Opticom we have a solid experience of understanding consumers globally and simplify our client’s communication to cut through and build trust throughout the value chain, all the way to the consumer!