Bamboo straws, paper bags and biodegradable plastic are all popular sustainable products that many people attempt to integrate into their daily routines. While these products seem like a key way to fight against environmental issues, they are actually not as beneficial as many believe them to be. Sustainability has reached a point where the perceived benefits are eclipsed by the negative consequences that can result from its implementation.
According to a 2023 survey by TheRoundup, a company that promotes sustainability, 62% of United States adults seek more environmentally friendly products, compared to just 27% in 2021. With this increasingly environmentally conscious mindset, sustainability has become a popular trend. Oftentimes, the alternatives are simply replacements for their plastic counterparts, but are made using more sustainable materials such as paper or bamboo.
However, while these replacements are biodegradable, they bring their own issues and act as a band-aid solution for the deeper environmental issues they are trying to combat. According to National Geographic, paper is a resource-dependent material to produce. For example, manufacturing a single paper bag takes about four times the amount of energy used to produce a plastic bag. In the process of creating paper bags, additional chemicals and fertilizers are used, which also has a negative impact on the environment. Paper straws also often have additional plastic coatings that make them unrecyclable. Additionally, when they get soggy, they often can’t be recycled. While eco-friendly alternatives may seem more beneficial than their plastic counterparts, the energy and resources required to produce them can unintentionally lead to greater environmental harm than the original products they were meant to replace. Without considering the full impacts of sustainability, there is the major risk of swapping one harmful process for another.
Many “sustainable” alternatives also sacrifice convenience for sustainability. Consumers can become frustrated at products that lack functionality and deteriorate faster than the plastic version, sullying the user’s experience with that product. This phenomenon shows a need for implementing sustainable options that do not solely prioritize the environmental impact, but also maintain the quality that consumers have come to expect.
Sustainability is also costly. According to research in 2024 conducted by the Dutch consulting company, Kearny, sustainable products have an average markup of 75% to 80% compared to the traditional plastic versions. As a result, this price increase will start to take a notable toll on buyers. As companies lean into more sustainable practices, basic products, such as household items and groceries, will become costly and less accessible to the average consumer. This means that not all environmentally-conscious individuals can consistently afford to buy sustainable products.
Some may argue that implementing sustainability is more beneficial than not because it encourages consumers to make an effort to fight against prominent environmental issues. However, the way many are practicing sustainability is unsustainable in the long run.
Implementing sustainability is an important step toward fixing current environmental issues. However, the current approach to sustainability often focuses on surface-level changes, instead of addressing the root causes of environmental issues. Rather than entirely relying on products, sustainability efforts should target deeper problems like deforestation or industrial pollution by spreading awareness about the larger problems. This would ensure people take meaningful actions to fight against the cause, rather than creating superficial solutions that have little impact.
