"Research from The Nielsen Co. here shows that more than half of U.S. consumers would give up all forms of convenience packaging if doing so would benefit the environment," according to a new article in Progressive Grocer. Nielsen's PanelViews study surveyed 65,000 U.S. households.


Some of the findings:
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58% of consumers surveyed would give up packaging designed for easy storing or stacking if beneficial for the environment.
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55% of consumers surveyed would give up packaging used for cooking or re-sealable containers.
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53% of consumers surveyed would give up on packaging designed for easy transport.
There were some areas of packaging that consumers surveyed were loath to give up, however, and understandably so:
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Only 26% of consumers surveyed would be willing to give up packaging that keeps products clean and impervious to shoppers' hands.
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31% of consumers surveyed would be willing to give up packaging that is designed to maintain products in good condition.
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31% of consumers surveyed would be willing to give up packaging that keeps fresher and preserves them longer.
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33% of consumers surveyed would be willing to give up packaging information, including food labeling and cooking instructions.
One in 10 U.S. consumers said they were not inclined to give up any aspect of packaging–even if it did benefit the environment.
Nielsen also reported on additional environmental findings in its surveys and I think Daily Fix readers will find these interesting:
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More than half of U.S. consumers are recycling containers and newspapers all the time. 20% reported recycling "most of the time".
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Almost 40% of respondents said that it occurred to them to consciously seek out products with less packaging.
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Almost 80% of respondents combine shopping trips to save gas most, if not all of the time.
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60% of respondents said that they purchase used or refurbished products to reduce waste and consumption of new materials, at least some of the time.
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About 2/3 of respondents turn down their thermostats to conserve home heating fuel most or all of the time.
Questions:
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Would you, as a consumer, be willing to give up certain aspects of packaging to save our material and energy resources? If so, what would you be willing to give up?
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Do the findings surprise you in any way? Are we doing better than you thought we were, or worse?
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What else do you think we can do to conserve and recycle besides the initiatives illustrated in the Nielsen findings?
I'd love to hear from you.