Straws: Trend or Environmental Waste?

Having traveled quite a bit this year, one thing that I noticed is that environmental impact is important to both the consumer and the manufacturer (including restaurants). Have you been to a restaurant lately and asked for a straw? Was the straw from recycled material or plastic? Simple changes like this can have a huge impact on our environment.

Consumers typically now have smart phones and are well aware about a company that is doing something good for the environment versus one that is not. Remember those little beads in your body wash? Those beads don’t dissolve and end up in our lakes and rivers so a company that is able to find a way to break them down is likely going to get more money from everyday consumers who are environmentally conscious.

Would you be willing to pay more for something if it was environmentally friendly? That is a question that most food manufacturers have to answer when developing their product. The cost benefit analysis is often overwritten if the consumer is demanding change. If you like a product and feel that it can be modified to help the environment, reach out to that manufacturer and see what they can do about it.

Let’s face it, most of us use Amazon and often wonder is there no solution to avoiding so much packaging waste? What is Amazon doing about it? Lots of questions and few answers regarding Amazon’s packaging situation but there are several companies that are currently environmentally friendly and this trend will continue to impact a consumer’s purchasing decision.