Many consumers are increasingly turning to organic products that promise environmentally friendly and fair production.
But that often does not apply to the packaging.
More and more customers are reaching for organic products * on the supermarket shelf.
Now even the discounter around the corner offers a large selection.
Not only the content, but also the
appearance of the packaging
suggests
to consumers that they are
purchasing
a thoroughly
sustainable
product
.
And that works: after all, you can apparently
enjoy
yogurt from the recyclable plastic cup
without a guilty conscience
.
Research by the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia showed that customers with a sustainable look also rate the product more positively.
All too often, however, the environmentally friendly appearance does not correspond to reality.
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"Green" packaging: be careful with milk cartons
According to a report by the consumer
advice center in North
Rhine-Westphalia, one type of
false “green” packaging should be viewed particularly critically
.
This is milk packaging that gives the impression that it has been made from waste paper.
The problem with this is that many consumers assume that they
can
dispose of
them
in
normal waste paper containers
and that they do not end up in the packaging
waste
as usual.
Like normal, coated cardboard boxes, they are not only made of paper, but also of a mixture of substances that also contains aluminum, for example.
Organic milk cartons therefore also belong in the
yellow sack
.
Other products in paper packaging are also less sustainable than they look.
Toothpaste, for example, which appears to be environmentally friendly, is
far from sustainable
due to the plastic tube inside
.
More on this:
Food labels are so brazenly tricked.
Recyclable packaging - a matter of course instead of a unique selling point
In the case of plastic bottles, for example, one increasingly discovers the imprint
“Recyclable” or “Made for Recycling”
.
According to the consumer advice center, however, this is just an
“effective marketing trick”
- “ecological added value”: Nothing!
After all, packaging should always be manufactured in such a way that it can be recycled again.
In this context, however, the
drugstores
represent
a small ray of hope
. The overwhelming
majority
of more than
90% of
their packaging is
actually made from recycled material
.
In some cases, plastic is even used, which is known as
"social plastic"
.
This was collected in the environment and recycled.
One thing is certain: Consumers should
n't be dazzled
by the
look of organic products
.
Too often this is just a PR method used by manufacturers who take advantage of the trend towards an environmentally friendly way of life - so-called
"greenwashing"
.
However, since there are
no uniform standards for bio-packaging
, as the consumer
advice center
found, it is difficult for customers to understand whether this has been produced sustainably.
Here you have to trust your feelings and maybe better to reach for the glass bottle instead of the milk carton.
(lw) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
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