A report by DS Smith, a sustainable packaging firm, has revealed that the UK based online fashion retailers are likely to distribute around 7 billion plastic delivery bags by 2030. Among these, 91 per cent are bound to end up in landfills or will be incinerated
The report iterates the growing rate of plastic consumption for packaging despite the consumer’s growing demand for sustainable alternatives. Another research by Development Economics has found that the retailers had distributed as many as 941 million plastic carriers last year, roughly equating to 2.6 million bags per day.
This online retailers’ plastic carrier consumption, especially for online apparel purchases, comes as a stark contrast to the offline consumption by brick-and-mortar retailers. The offline stores have seen a 98 per cent drop in the usage of plastic bag usage since the 2015 levy.
With the surge of online shopping, the studies have projected a 40 per cent increase in the plastic bag usage by 2030, potentially resulting in 1.3 billion plastic delivery bags being sent to UK households annually. Among these, only 9 per cent will be recycled or reused, the remaining 91 per cent will contribute to environmental pollution.
The CEO of DS Smith’s packaging group, Stefano Rossi, drew attention to the differences in sustainable practices between high-street and online stores, stressing that although some brands have made the switch to paper alternatives with success, there aren’t enough of them.
With 60 per cent of British consumers choosing cardboard or paper packaging and 67 per cent supporting the phase-out of plastic bags where alternatives are available, the poll also revealed substantial consumer support for recyclable packaging. Nearly half of the surveyed consumers indicated they would be more likely to shop with retailers using recyclable packaging.
Customer satisfaction with packaging has increased dramatically, according to retailers like Zalando, which made the move to paper shipping bags in 2020. David Fischer, head of packaging and logistics sustainability at Zalando, attested to the paper bags’ favorable reception.
Rossi advocated for the phase-out of specific plastics to level the playing field and asked for more regulation to support innovation and investment in sustainable packaging.
According to the survey, half of UK consumers feel guilty about using plastic and think that the government, package manufacturers, and retailers should be in charge of cutting down on plastic waste. Dissolvable packaging was first launched by UK online retailer N Brown in November of last year, leading the way for other shops.
