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COPE takes environmental pulse

In one of its final tasks before disbanding at the end of 1996, the Council on Packaging in the Environment (COPE) released a Retrospective entitled "Taking the Environmental Pulse of the Consumer: A 4-Year Look." The COPE-funded study, conducted by the Environmental Research Associates (ERA), surveyed consumer opinions between 1993 and '96.

In this illustration, consumers rate how specific environmentally related packaging changes could influence their purchasing dec
In this illustration, consumers rate how specific environmentally related packaging changes could influence their purchasing dec

ERA, an international research and consulting operation, has conducted twice-a-year environmental surveys for COPE since '92. ERA is a division of Integrated Marketing Services (Princeton, NJ).

According to the report, consumers believe companies should prioritize package recyclability and use increased amounts of recycled-content materials. Improvements in degradability, reductions in packaging and increased use of refills and concentrates are also important, though lower on the priority list.

"Consumers generally feel that positive strides have been made on environmentally sensitive packaging options," the study says. "This suggests that consumers' expectations continue to increase. In order to retain fairly positive ratings on packaging performance, companies need to continue to make environmentally positive changes to packaging."

Women show concern

Environmental concern remains particularly significant among women, young adults and minorities. "Women, overall, are more likely to be primary household shoppers," says the report. Thus, "women are more likely to look for environmentally related information on consumer product labels and packaging," the study notes. Not surprisingly, then, "environmentally related packaging changes are more likely to influence women's purchasing habits."

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