Switching to Biobased Products – The Brand Owner Perspective

Abstract

Brand owners can play a key role in enabling biobased products to penetrate mass markets and to influence consumer choices in relation to biobased products. The current paper explores the role that brand owners can play in supporting market uptake of biobased products and captures the perspectives of European brand owners in relation to biobased products. Based on the findings of this paper, brand owners have an overall positive outlook towards biobased products, with 85% of brands who don't currently use biobased ingredients or products within their branded products and 95% of brands who don't currently use biobased packaging interested in including these in future. However, brand owners still perceive some concerns surrounding biobased products including their high cost, functional performance and ease of integration, as well as their reliability of supply. Regional differences among brand owners have also been identified, with cost and uncertainty around customer demand appearing as a bigger issue in continental Europe, with functional performance concerns appearing as a more pressing issue for brands in northern Europe.

Bio-based Business Models: specific and general learnings from recent good practice cases in different business sectors

“…However, they consider climate challenges, sustainable production and consumption to an increasing extent 35 , and can play a key role in supporting market uptake of bio-based products and to influence consumer choices in relation to these products. 36 With a very few exceptions, only large companies have the financial means to develop the technology, invest in the necessary infrastructure and commercialize the product exclusively through internal financing, and without putting the entire company at risk. 19 Size of the company can be a determining factor when defining internal building blocks Key resources and Key partnerships: larger companies are usually able to finance the human and financial resources to do long-term development work in-house concerning their products and processes, while SMEs' ability to extend their knowledge and competence base is significantly more limited.…”

Single fiber coating of viscose filaments with cellulose acetate for partially hydrophobic hybrid fibers

“…Additionally, a growing awareness of sustainable and eco‐friendly products is expressed by consumers, 12,13 even though for consumers the term “bio‐based” partly seems unclear 14 . Brand owners also express their positive awareness of bio‐based products 15 . Finally, biodegradability would constrain global micro‐plastic accumulation.…”

“…14 Brand owners also express their positive awareness of bio-based products. 15 Finally, biodegradability would constrain global micro-plastic accumulation.…”

Social Perspectives towards Biobased Products and Textiles

“…Circular economy strategies and bioeconomy approaches have risen as an effective way to address current and future environmental issues [1,2,4]. Among the sectors with the greatest potential application for the biobased solutions, the textile and clothing sector stands out [5][6][7] due to the accelerated growth of the clothing market and the consequent disposal rate of waste clothing observed in the last decades [4][5][6]8]. In Europe, 5.8 million tons of textile waste is generated annually, but barely 25% is recycled [8][9][10].…”