Humankind is not heading towards a future characterised by less consumption. Quite the opposite – natural resources are being depleted and nature is becoming polluted at an accelerating rate, because humankind’s needs and wants increase and grow in step with the population of the world. Efforts to slow down consumption growth amount to battling windmills. The ultimate solution is not to consume less, but to consume better. The more we buy environmentally friendly products, the more such products we will be offered. On the other hand, new options will not be developed without any demand.
One of the most high-profile environmental problems is plastics pollution, which today afflicts all corners of the world. Islands of plastic waste floating in the oceans were first found in the 1980s, yet for over thirty years the problem has been allowed to grow ever larger undisturbed. Plastics problems were only properly tackled when consumers began to demand change, wanting materials other than plastics as packaging for their purchases. Consumer voices have been heard and nowadays the demand for plastic packaging replacement materials runs higher than ever before. If consumers actually begin to buy ecologically packaged products, I believe that plastic packagings can be gradually phased out altogether.
Woodly® is an entirely new type of packaging material that helps us consume better. What any ecological package is like, will ultimately be determined by each product that requires packaging. Our goal is to create conditions for consumers, where they do not need to know a whole jungle of terminology to be able to pick an ecologically packaged product – simply recognising the Woodly® logo will be enough. Our consumption habits have the power to change the world.
Jaakko Kaminen, CEO
Woodly Ltd
