In the two months since my last editorial comment an enormous amount has happened concerning the glass industry.
In mid-December a nature programme called Blue Planet was broadcast on the UK’s main television station.
The show highlighted the impact plastic was having on the globe’s oceans and wildlife. It contained stark images of animals in distress after they had come into contact with the material.
The programme, viewed by more than 12 million people, had an immediate effect. Plastic was suddenly the new evil.
Plastic, and its lasting impact on the environment, was brought to the forefront of public consciousness and became a talking point for the nation’s social commentators.
While the issue had been discussed before it had never been on such a large scale before and to a mainstream audience.
The response to the subsequent public outcry was swift.
The UK Prime Minister promised to eradicate plastic waste by 2042, a supermarket said it would eliminate plastic packaging by 2023 and, in Scotland, the country’s Parliament banned plastic straws in its cafes, bars and canteen.
Importantly for glass, milkmen in the UK reported interest in traditional bottles was rising among consumers, who preferred glass instead of plastic.
The furore against plastic reminded me of a campaign in my youth against the use of CFCs in aerosol cans. CFCs were said to be damaging the ozone layer and, thanks to a public clamour, were removed from aerosols.
It was recently reported that, some 20 years after the campaign, the ozone layer was beginning to heal.
This shows how impactful a campaign can be and how change can occur.
How can the glass industry capitalise on this public feeling against plastic?
Now is the time for the sector to promote glass like no other, to highlight its environmental benefits and champion its endless recyclability.
Consumers want a realistic and healthy alternative to plastic, which glass can provide.
But this window of opportunity for the glass industry will not last long, probably only four or five months, before the agenda moves to other stories and public opinion focuses elsewhere.
The glass industry must react rapidly if it wants to make the most of this chance. It must seize the mainstream media landscape and offer accessible and interesting stories for the public to digest.
This is just one way of ensuring glass becomes the material of choice among consumers.
Pictured: Blue Planet highlighted the impact plastic is having on oceans's and wildlife.
