Australia recently unveiled a national campaign ‘ReMade in Australia’ to encourage residents to recycle more, and purchase products with more recycled content, and thereby contribute to ‘green economy’ jobs. The new initiative is timed right to prioritize recyclable packaging during the festive season, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Q3 2021 consumer survey sheds light on how much of a priority recyclable packaging is for Australian consumers across all age groups when purchasing products^*. In the survey, 38% of respondents affirmed that their product purchases are often or always influenced by information printed on the product labels about the recyclability of packaging^*.

Bobby Verghese, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “To ensure positive tangible outcomes, the government has to tie in the ‘ReMade in Australia’ initiative with the emerging ‘localism’ trend among consumers. This trend is evident from the shopping habits of consumers, with 29% of the respondents in GlobalData’s Q4 consumer survey claiming that supporting local businesses is a key factor that influences where they shop for their groceries^**.

To ensure that domestic post-consumer waste is recycled in Australia instead of being shipped abroad, the government has made recycling a national manufacturing priority. Accordingly, authorities are investing into recycling infrastructure through the Recycling Modernisation Fund. In this way, Australians will be incentivized to recycle more to conserve their environment, as well as create more jobs in the local manufacturing and services industries.

Verghese concludes: “The ReMade in Australia campaign could not have come at a better time, as the country is heading into the Christmas and New Year holiday. The initiative will prompt shoppers to consider the environmental impact of packaging waste generated by their gift purchases during the holiday season. ReMade may be the key to sensitize Australians to forego or rationalize gift wrapping, and thereby prevent tons of packaging waste from ending up in landfills or the ocean in the new year.”

*Data taken from GlobalData’s Q3 2021 Consumer Survey – Australia with 569 respondents, published in September 2021

**Data taken from GlobalData’s Q4 2021 Consumer Survey – Australia with 508 respondents, published in December 2021