August 15, 2008
‘Precycler’ Nation
A newly identified group of eco-conscious consumers doesn’t believe that recycling goes far enough to protect the planet. No, for “precyclers”, a segment of consumers identified by The Intelligence Group, the goals are straightforward: 1) to reduce what you use by limiting purchases to necessary items with minimal packaging and; 2) reuse what you use (think plastic water bottles or shopping bags) before you recycle.
“It’s not just about how you dispose of [products and packaging] anymore,” Melissa Lavigne, director of marketing for The Intelligence Group, told Brandweek. “It’s about being conscious about products you buy in the first place. That’s the idea behind precycling.”
The Intelligence Group identified precycling activity in the firm’s Cassandra Report back in May. According to its research, 45 percent of trendsetters and 14 percent of mainstream consumers had “cut down on bottled water purchases” in the previous six months. Similar numbers of trendsetting and mainstream consumers had “cut down on use of plastic bags” during the same timeframe.
Discussion Questions: How common do you see precycling behavior becoming in the next 10 years? Does precycling have a generational aspect to it, i.e. younger consumers are more likely to precycle, suggesting that this behavior will become more commonplace in the future? What are the implications for brand manufacturers and retailers?
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Ah me, can you hear my sigh of relief? I am now part of a group with a name. I am a pre-cycler. Welcome to my world. Before, I was accused of being a tree-hugging Luddite flaming liberal amongst other things. I cut down on my purchases of all things packaged years ago, reducing my own tiny little bundle of waste as much as I could. But now, now I am part of an acceptable, even growing, movement. Oh happy day.
British manufacturers recently announced that they have reached their targets on reducing packaging materials even before the deadline they had set themselves. (Industry halts packaging growth) Although their targets may have been easily achievable, the combination of efforts between manufacturers and consumers may one day in the not too far distant future have some kind of positive impact. We must, I suppose, continue to do the best we can and to live in hope.
The fact that someone who probably lives near a coast added a clever name to an already existing behavior does not make it a new trend. My great grandmother re-used bread bags by braiding them into rugs and washed and re-used aluminum foil. My sister has the same habits but with more modern materials, she washes and re-uses zip top bags. In both cases the motivation was simply waste-not-want-not, a common theme here in flyover land.
I think this behavior will accelerate among consumers across the board, with some of the motivation being economic as well as environmental. Why buy more or even recycle plastic food storage bags? I just rinse in soapy water, dry and reuse, unless they contained meat. These kinds of examples are doubly satisfying to most stressed out shoppers. At our house, we challenge each other to come up with new ideas to reduce consumption all the time, it’s our new kitchen conversation, and it’s working to really change the behaviour of previously oblivious kids who are now really committed to making permanent changes.
The number of consumers who care about the way packaging is used is increasing. There are a lot of numbers out there, but recently P&G Global Marketing Director Dina Howell was quoted as saying “1 in 3 shoppers factor sustainability in purchase decisions – they will not consider trade-offs,” underscoring their approach to development of products based on sustainable practices. As well, other manufacturers and retailers are understanding this shift in consumer attitude.
Shoppers are making product choices that reflect a responsible use of limited resources and consider where the packaging winds up at end of life – recycled, reused or landfill. They are buying smaller format packages of detergent, cleaners, diapers, cereal and more. The consumers who are thinking this way include boomers as well as younger shoppers concerned about the environment and the health of the planet. The numbers are growing as it becomes easier to find “greener” options.
During the great recession consumers conserved and re-used whatever they could. After World War II consumers conserved and re-used whatever they could in light of shortages. Now, with the popularity of global warming, with the increased concern for the environment by millenials, with the current economic challenges, conservation and re-cycling is important again. The convergence of several trends is making all kinds of conservation and re-use a focus of attention.
We’re just at the beginning of this. It’s a no-brainer, and increasingly driven by economics. Someone (from Walmart I think) said awhile ago that the real (and best) route to change is going to be not legislation but the order blank. I agree. As for the generational factor, I’ve seen directly conflicting research on this. Anecdotally, it seems educated and upscale folk are more involved than anybody else, with age not being a real factor. At least up here in the wilds of Vermont (with an occasional foray into the big bad NYC).
Eventually, I see this as an opportunity for forward thinking retailers and manufacturers. But, I think this is a teeny niche of the population at the moment. Mainstream consumers will have to be led by the hand on this.
Watching consumer habits in two states over the last so many years, I’m amazed at how many well-off consumers can’t figure out what goes in bins marked “plastic and glass” and what goes in bins marked “paper and cardboard.” And, just take a look at the amount of stuff that people DON’T recycle in areas where it is ‘required’.
We’ll eventually get to precycling but only as landfills fill to the brim and mainstream consumers are pushed, pulled, prodded, and incented to do the right thing.
“Precycling” is two-thirds of the “reduce, re-use, recyle” mantra and many people are already making choices based on these criteria. People are starting to make choices based on how much extra packaging is involved in a product. It is only going to become more prevalent as people become more cognizant of making green choices.
I recently spoke with a consultant at IGD in London on the packaging issue and he told me about some recent research which found that 28% of consumers stop purchasing products if there is too much packaging. This is not what they might do–they have done it!
It may not be at this level yet in the U.S. but it’s coming and every marketer knows it. There are economic issues like manufacturing and transportation costs. But consumer awareness is a big part of what’s driving packaging manufacturers to ‘downgauge” everything from cardboard boxes to aluminum cans. It’s one reason Walmart downsized 300 toy boxes in its Kid Connection line, a move that will save an estimated 3,400 tons of corrugated materials,
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Ah me, can you hear my sigh of relief? I am now part of a group with a name. I am a pre-cycler. Welcome to my world. Before, I was accused of being a tree-hugging Luddite flaming liberal amongst other things. I cut down on my purchases of all things packaged years ago, reducing my own tiny little bundle of waste as much as I could. But now, now I am part of an acceptable, even growing, movement. Oh happy day.
British manufacturers recently announced that they have reached their targets on reducing packaging materials even before the deadline they had set themselves. (Industry halts packaging growth) Although their targets may have been easily achievable, the combination of efforts between manufacturers and consumers may one day in the not too far distant future have some kind of positive impact. We must, I suppose, continue to do the best we can and to live in hope.
The fact that someone who probably lives near a coast added a clever name to an already existing behavior does not make it a new trend. My great grandmother re-used bread bags by braiding them into rugs and washed and re-used aluminum foil. My sister has the same habits but with more modern materials, she washes and re-uses zip top bags. In both cases the motivation was simply waste-not-want-not, a common theme here in flyover land.
I think this behavior will accelerate among consumers across the board, with some of the motivation being economic as well as environmental. Why buy more or even recycle plastic food storage bags? I just rinse in soapy water, dry and reuse, unless they contained meat. These kinds of examples are doubly satisfying to most stressed out shoppers. At our house, we challenge each other to come up with new ideas to reduce consumption all the time, it’s our new kitchen conversation, and it’s working to really change the behaviour of previously oblivious kids who are now really committed to making permanent changes.
The number of consumers who care about the way packaging is used is increasing. There are a lot of numbers out there, but recently P&G Global Marketing Director Dina Howell was quoted as saying “1 in 3 shoppers factor sustainability in purchase decisions – they will not consider trade-offs,” underscoring their approach to development of products based on sustainable practices. As well, other manufacturers and retailers are understanding this shift in consumer attitude.
Shoppers are making product choices that reflect a responsible use of limited resources and consider where the packaging winds up at end of life – recycled, reused or landfill. They are buying smaller format packages of detergent, cleaners, diapers, cereal and more. The consumers who are thinking this way include boomers as well as younger shoppers concerned about the environment and the health of the planet. The numbers are growing as it becomes easier to find “greener” options.
During the great recession consumers conserved and re-used whatever they could. After World War II consumers conserved and re-used whatever they could in light of shortages. Now, with the popularity of global warming, with the increased concern for the environment by millenials, with the current economic challenges, conservation and re-cycling is important again. The convergence of several trends is making all kinds of conservation and re-use a focus of attention.
We’re just at the beginning of this. It’s a no-brainer, and increasingly driven by economics. Someone (from Walmart I think) said awhile ago that the real (and best) route to change is going to be not legislation but the order blank. I agree. As for the generational factor, I’ve seen directly conflicting research on this. Anecdotally, it seems educated and upscale folk are more involved than anybody else, with age not being a real factor. At least up here in the wilds of Vermont (with an occasional foray into the big bad NYC).
Eventually, I see this as an opportunity for forward thinking retailers and manufacturers. But, I think this is a teeny niche of the population at the moment. Mainstream consumers will have to be led by the hand on this.
Watching consumer habits in two states over the last so many years, I’m amazed at how many well-off consumers can’t figure out what goes in bins marked “plastic and glass” and what goes in bins marked “paper and cardboard.” And, just take a look at the amount of stuff that people DON’T recycle in areas where it is ‘required’.
We’ll eventually get to precycling but only as landfills fill to the brim and mainstream consumers are pushed, pulled, prodded, and incented to do the right thing.
“Precycling” is two-thirds of the “reduce, re-use, recyle” mantra and many people are already making choices based on these criteria. People are starting to make choices based on how much extra packaging is involved in a product. It is only going to become more prevalent as people become more cognizant of making green choices.
I recently spoke with a consultant at IGD in London on the packaging issue and he told me about some recent research which found that 28% of consumers stop purchasing products if there is too much packaging. This is not what they might do–they have done it!
It may not be at this level yet in the U.S. but it’s coming and every marketer knows it. There are economic issues like manufacturing and transportation costs. But consumer awareness is a big part of what’s driving packaging manufacturers to ‘downgauge” everything from cardboard boxes to aluminum cans. It’s one reason Walmart downsized 300 toy boxes in its Kid Connection line, a move that will save an estimated 3,400 tons of corrugated materials,