We are all starting to see huge companies implement more sustainability initiatives, even at the smallest scale. Sustainability has been a trending topic for the past few years, and many companies are catching in on its importance and impact it has on its consumers. Topics on sustainability have been all over social media and many people of all ages love anything that is sustainable. They lean toward companies and products that are going greener and use recycled materials and products.
A great example I like referring to is a viral video I saw on social media. It was a brand that used thrifted clothes and created new clothing pieces from it. The items cost more money than the thrifted costs of course, but that was because people had to spend hours creating the new sustainable pieces to sell to people. This made people sell out every product on their website within a week. People were willing to spend the money on this company because of their sustainable vision, goals, and products. Their values coincided with the public’s and it led to them selling out their products in no time.
Companies should lean toward creating environmentally friendly packaging now more than ever. The public is very supportive of industries that are going green and becoming more sustainable. This is an overall win-win scenario. The public feels like they are empowering and helping the world by supporting green companies, they companies themselves are selling much quicker and gaining a greater audience, and everyone is being more environmentally friendly overall. There is no scenario in which a company incorporating more environmentally packaging can be unsuccessful. This only benefits every party involved, and it will keep going this way until every company jumps along on all of the sustainable initiatives going on in the world right now.
The topic of cost is inevitably going to arise within these companies that are encouraged to move toward more sustainable packaging. However, I think the benefits are greater than the initial costs the company has to go through. When companies are showing their steps toward being greener with their products and packaging, more people are going to want to support them and be a part of their initiatives. They are only going to do better, and cost will no longer be an issue. They need to focus on the consumer, since they are the ones keeping them aflow. The consumer is very pleased nowadays when supporting a company or corporation, big or small, with their drive to move forward by being environmentally friendly.
Although maybe being more sustainable is a trend right now, it is the greatest trend there can possibly be. There is only good that comes out of this being seen everywhere now. Companies should start noticing how big of an impact even changing one thing can do for everyone. They should follow each other’s footsteps and encourage everyone to move toward environmentally friendly packaging. At the end of the day, we all share this Earth and moving forward with sustainability initiatives is the best thing we can do for it.
Essay by: Nancy De La Torre Lopez
Arizona State University