Food & Beverage Reporter August 2018

HOT TOPIC
ACKERMAN TRASHES BAG LEVY
In July, Pick n Pay became the first SA
retailer to trial compostable bags as
an environmentally-friendly alternative
to plastic.
The “not made from plastic” carrier
bags were given free to customers at the
V&A Waterfront store. Made from maize
and potato starch, the compostable bags
are designed to collect organic waste
such as kitchen scraps and then added
to a home compost environment. They
break down after three to six months,
compared to the reported 500 to 1 000
years it takes for plastic.
Compostable bags have already been
rolled out across Europe, North America
and Australia, as well as with retailers
in Italy.
Speaking at the trial, Pick n Pay
chairman Gareth Ackerman said although
much had been done to reduce plastic
use, it was clear that more effort was
needed to make an impact.
“Sustainable solutions require all
parties involved – retailers, government,
plastic manufacturers, consumers
and recyclers – to work together
collaboratively – and well beyond plastic
bags to all forms of waste.”
Ackerman hit out at the the plastic
bag levy, introduced in 2003 in an effort
to make consumers think more carefully
about their plastic bag usage, saying
funds generated from the levy have not
improved the environment and created
jobs, as was promised at the time.
“These funds need to be put to
proper use – not as a tax collection
mechanism but as a fully-funded
programme to make a real environmental
impact and create much needed jobs.
We look forward to the completion of
“Stop making consumers feel
guilty and target the real
culprits ... the food industry!”
By Alan Todd
All Told’s director of research
Inspect the contents of an average bag of groceries and
you will find that there is way more plastic around the
products inside the bag than there is in the carrier bag
itself. The plastic milk bottle, the plastic honey jar, the
plastic bag of rice, the plastic-wrapped chicken and the
plastic-wrapped cheese all add up to far more plastic than
the plastic used to make the carrier bag.
Why then is there such an uproar about plastic carrier
bags? In order to solve the plastic pollution problem, it
seems obvious to anyone who thinks about it that, in
addition to making consumers feel guilty about using
plastic bags, the product manufacturers need to be forced
into using far less plastic in their product packaging.
This would really go a long way to solving the plastic
pollution problem.
In the big picture, the pollution from plastic carrier
bags is negligible compared to the pollution caused by
the plastic in product packaging itself. If we’re honest,
going after consumers to get them to stop using plastic
carrier bags is nothing more than token gesture and
blatant virtue signalling by retailers. If they were genuinely
concerned about the plastic pollution problem, they would
be going after the product manufacturers to force them to
find alternatives to plastic packaging.
Although it is vitally important for brands to
demonstrate good moral principles, they need to do so
in ways that are perceived not only to be admirable, but
in ways which actually work. Being seen to be doing good
things is not the same as doing good things. It does not
take too long for consumers to realise when a brand is
making shallow, sycophantic attempts to ingratiate itself
to them rather than to make a real change. Ultimately, this
kind of virtue signalling does much more harm than good
to a brand’s reputation.
Climbing onto bandwagons, echoing popular beliefs,
groupthink and following the herd is not the stuff of real
brand differentiation. This is because most brands are
doing and saying these same things. Brands are only
noticed and admired by consumers when they do and say
meaningful, unique and different things. The ones who do
this are the leaders and the rest are the followers.
Undoubtedly, plastic pollution is a major problem,
but cajoling consumers to stop using plastic bags will
only solve a small part of the problem. For this reason,
it is a useless way for any brand to try to differentiate
itself. When all things are considered, tackling the plastic
pollution problem in a big and meaningful way is the only
way for a brand to achieve differentiation at the same
time as actually helping solve a serious problem facing
the planet.
For consumers, it’s a case of “stop telling us how
noble you are and start impressing us with some
decisive action.”
www.alltold.co.za
28 AUGUST 2018 | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za