Consumer concerns about environmental issues, especially plastic waste, have increased in recent years. Research shows that consumers value more sustainable characteristics of products such as biodegradability, recyclability and composability. Mainly because of the growth in social media use that has given rise to concerns about the aspects of each product on health and the environment. Scientists have recently discovered that plastics dumped in the oceans are more important than other environmental challenges in the world. Consumers also showed a greater tendency to reduce the use of unnecessary plastics.
Consumers may also be concerned about the environmental impact of the progress of disposable container production, the source of corn and cellulose. For example, some of the disposable tableware is now produced from agricultural by-products such as bagasse cellulose from sugarcane or wheat straw cellulose from wheat grains and corn starch. In other cases, cellulose is obtained from fast-growing plants such as bamboo, which are grown to produce alternative bio-fibre products like disposable containers. In several cases, the USDA has approved bio-based products. According to the US Department of Agriculture, bio-based products are “… derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials.” These products are an alternative to conventional petroleum-derived products and include a variety of applications such as lubricants, detergents, inks, fertilizers and bioplastics.
In this regard, the consumer’s desire and decision to buy biodegradable tableware play a very important role in the success of the food packaging industry. This decision depends on many exchange features such as the design, colour and shape of such products. There are various barriers that a customer reluctant to buy sustainable products. Those can be reasons such as high energy consumption in the production process, low quality of a product and limited access to the product.
