Fruit, vegetables and meat are often prepackaged in plastic. Pre-packing offers many advantages for the retailer. It is easier to transport and store the products; it speeds up the check out process because the products don’t have to be weight and priced anymore. However consumers would like to refrain from unnecessary packaging and reduce the waste production. This is shown in a representative survey commissioned by the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union in Germany (NABU) with approximately 1,000 respondents.
The majority of respondents (76%) preferred their fruit and vegetables, not packaged. Only 4% prefers the fruit and vegetables packed. 85% of the consumers are prepared to bring their own bag to save waste. And 62% complains that prepackaged products rarely offer the desire amount of product.
75% of the customers welcome regional fruit and vegetable varieties, and curved cucumbers. More than 90% would buy food that hasn’t been sold yet. 49% would buy fruit and vegetables with visible flaws for a discount. 42% would buy them for the standard price. Almost 80% wouldn’t buy certain products if that meant less waste.
The NABU invites retailers to offer customers a package free possibility. Even now consumers can do several things to reduce the amount of waste. By choosing the supermarket or street market that sells a lot of unpackaged products and bringing bags from home for fruit, vegetables and bakery products. Ask supermarkets to offer more unpackaged products. And leave the packaging behind at the supermarket to set an example.