Fashion Executives Plan to Eliminate Plastic Packaging: Aquapak Survey
A just-released survey of fashion brand and retail executives revealed that a whopping 88 percent of those polled said their companies want to eliminate all plastic in packaging. The study, released by Aquapak Polymers Ltd. and conducted by PureProfile, was based on 100 executives in the U.K., U.S. and Australia.
Aquapak offers polymer-based material technologies designed for performance and environmental responsibility. Researchers at the company said 8 percent of respondents plan to remove plastic from packaging within the next 12 months, while 14 percent said they would do the same within one to two years. Nineteen percent said they would abolish plastic within two to three years, while 30 percent said they would do so within three to four years. Twenty-eight percent of those polled said they would remove plastic within four to five years.
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“Almost half (48 percent) said that they are extremely concerned about their business’ use of polybags such as carrier and garment bags, the majority of which are used for merchandise bought online, and the damage they cause to the environment,” the company said in a statement, adding that the fashion industry uses around 180 billion polybags every year, according to Fashion for Good.
Aquapark said the research showed that of the steps taken to reduce the amount of plastic packaging used, 77 percent have folded items differently while 59 percent have removed unnecessary types of packaging, and 46 percent of respondents have changed the packaging type.
“Our study shows that there is a commitment at the highest level in the fashion industry to stop using plastic,” said Mark Lapping, chief executive officer of Aquapak. “Brands and retailers are already taking steps to reduce their dependency on plastic packaging, but the pace of change could be much faster. New materials exist which perform in exactly the same way as plastic, providing garment and merchandise protection but do not have any of the environmental problems associated with it.”
To address concerns about plastic packaging in the industry, Aquapak offers Hydropol, which the company describes as “a unique new polymer which is soluble and nontoxic to marine life.” Hydropol is designed as an alternative to conventional plastic “in a wide variety of applications as it provides the same functionality and performance but without the associated environmental problems,” the company said, adding that Hydropol is used in garment bags, and offers “all the necessary features of traditional polybags: strength and puncture resistance; clarity of film; and protection from leakages and dirt.”
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