Why a self-made claim about plastics is no longer enough
Since the BBC aired Blue Planet 2 in 2017, the conversation around the use of plastics has continued to hit the headlines with increasing regularity and is of growing concern to consumers and governments alike. The UN Environment Programme estimates that plastics constitute “as much as 95 percent of the marine litter found on coastlines, the sea surface, and the ocean floor”. And when it comes to plastics it is packaging which is the biggest culprit, with the UK alone producing over 2 million tonnes of plastic packaging every year. Given the gravity of the global plastics crisis, businesses can no longer assume that unsubstantiated claims, pledges, or pacts around their use of plastic will be enough to secure the public’s trust in their brand. Now more than ever they need to prove the ways in which they are cutting the use of plastic and adopting alternative, compostable, materials through a robust certification process.