Be careful with degradable materials
Be careful with the use of degradable materials or material choices that may cause the product to be perceived as degradable in nature. This increases the risk of the packaging ending up as litter.
How?
It can be challenging for consumers to understand what various environmental messages mean or to distinguish between different types of labeling on packaging. Do not give the impression or promote that the packaging can degrade in nature if this is not true. Use clear and visible labeling with sorting instructions—preferably using pictograms and text—to help consumers sort the packaging correctly and reduce the risk of it ending up in the wrong place.
Also, be cautious about using nature-inspired colors, patterns, or symbols that might suggest the packaging is degradable in nature. Design the packaging to feel and look like the material it is made from, making it intuitive for the consumer to understand how to sort it.
Why is it important?
New packaging is constantly being launched on the market, marketed as degradable or biodegradeable.
When packaging is presented as degradable, the risk of littering increases. Consumers may perceive it as less serious if such packaging ends up in nature, believing it will disappear on its own. Unfortunately, that is not true, and what is usually meant is industrial composting, something we do not have in Sweden today. If this type of packaging ends up in nature, it often takes a very long time to break down and can sometimes create microplastics.
There is ongoing work in the EU aimed at regulating environmental claims to protect consumers from misleading environmental claims (the Directive on Environmental Claims), as well as to protect legitimate businesses and reduce the variety of environmental labels.
