Ethical Issues in Packaging Practices - Research Paper Example

? Ethical Issues in Packaging Practices I. Introduction Packaging of products can be regarded as one of the effective and exceptional marketing concepts, which plays an outstanding role for the organizations in terms of promoting their products. The concept of packaging significantly represents the character of the products and it plays a role of trendsetter in the current growing consumer based market. It tends to create or strengthen the brand identity as well as build strong brand image within the market which further helps the organizations to achieve competitive position (Kimmel, 2009). However, the notion of conspicuous packaging practices of the global marketers also tends to create significant ethical issue with regard to the environmental awareness. In accordance with the present trend of the global business environment, it is often observed that the organizations seek to invest on exceptional and creative packaging practices within the business process to draw a large number of potential users for their offerings. It has been observed from several decades that the global marketers are increasingly executing packaging practices to attract customers towards their range of offerings. Nevertheless, at times it is apparently recognized that the producers in the global business environment tend to mislead their consumers through practicing different types of conspicuous packaging of their products (Fan, 2005). Emphasizing upon the present environmental concern, the primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate an effective analysis on different ethical issues which are created by the modern business organizations in terms of utilizing their packaging practices. Moreover, the discussion of this paper will further focus on highlighting major impacts of packaging practices and their potential adverse impacts on the environment. At the end of this paper, prospective suggestive measures will also be represented in order to prevent the impact of packaging practices on the global environment. II. Ethical Issues in Packaging Practices Marketing activities of the organizations are often recognized by the customers as one of the most unethical elements of the business strategies. This statement can be identified as one of the major drawbacks of organizational marketing activities especially in terms of packaging practices. In relation to the present rapidly increasing competitive business environment, organizations often tend to involve various unethical practices concerning their packaging and labeling of products (Bone & Corey, 2000). Different studies concerning the notion of packaging practices have depicted diverse types of ethical issues that the marketers raise in terms of achieving competitive position. In this regard, it can be recognized from the study of Shimp (2003) that the notion of packaging significantly tends to involve four types of ethical issues. In this context, the marketers face the issues concerning the label information, safety, and label graphics along with environmental issues. II. a. Label Information The label information of the product packaging helps the customers to clearly identify the features, ingredients, price along with other important messages through which they can identify their exact expectations. Moreover, the labeling of products also ensures the customers in terms of availing appropriate products as per their needs and desires. However, marketers in the present business world are frequently involved on misleading their customers through presenting imaginary information concerning their product characteristics. For instance, the information concerning low fats/cholesterol or purity of contained ingredients within the products are frequently practiced by a few of the food processing organizations. In addition, the ethical issue relating to represent information differently in the similar category of products is also practiced by the marketers, which enables them to attract new customers segments for their products (Shimp, 2003). Therefore, it can be stated that misleading customers through representing untrue product information is a major ethical issue for the marketers which can adversely affect their long-term sustainability within the marketplace. Moreover, the notion of fraudulent practice concerning label information can also hinder the brand image and competitive position of the organization (Shimp, 2003). II. b. Packaging Safety Packaging safety is also a growing ethical issue faced by the organizations in the present business world. The producers in the competitive business environment always seek to improve their packaging practices through integrating different chemicals and simulated materials in order to attract products for the potential group of customers. Moreover, the marketers have also faced ethical issues or challenges in relation to practicing exceptional and creative packaging processes of their products which significantly create different risks for the consumers (Schlegelmilch & Oberseder, 2007). For instance, the usage of different chemicals or related materials may cause harmful effects to the customers especially the young children group. Moreover, the unsafe practice of using harmful chemicals in the packaging process can further lead to creating an impact on the organizations’ brand image. In keeping with the present growing awareness of the customers regarding product packaging, the incorporation of unsafe materials in the packaging process can hinder the overall business operations of the organization. The practice can also lead the organization towards facing different external challenges regarding its business performances. II. c. Packaging Graphics It can be observed from various cases that the marketers tend to use different types of attractive graphics in order to package their products. The practice can also create significant ethical issue for the organization in terms of concealing the actual type of the product regarding its characteristics. Organizations in the present business world are highly focused on developing their packaging activities through integrating different types of pictures and graphics which represent diverse images of the product characteristics and they at times also mislead customers regarding their perception. For instance, the integration of graphics in the packaging process changes the image of a product and it can mislead customers as per their expectation to the product. This type of issues can drastically hinder the organization’s reputation and brand image within the market. Moreover, it can also be observed that in the present business market the small brands or companies tend to imitate the graphical features while packaging their products which may lead to create various perplexities within the customers’ mind in terms of making their buying decisions (LeClair & Ferrell, 2000). II. d. Environmental Concern The practice of packaging is one of the major affecting factors which potentially impacts upon the environment. According to the present day context, packaging has become one of the major factors for creating extensive wastes within the environment. It represents a higher rate of total wastes that are produced within the environment. The amount of wastes produced by the manufacturers or packaging institutions has been identified to increase at a significant level that can adversely impact upon the environment (Business Insights, n.d.). The higher use of degradable materials and chemicals within the packaging practices has become a growing concern for the present global business organizations. Moreover, the higher usage of degradable plastics and chemicals can also cause major affects on the aspect of global warming. Moreover, the organizations can frequently get affected by environmental concerning issues due to their extensive use of natural resources during the packaging activities. In this regard, the packaging consumption of global retail industry is depicted below: Fig: Global Packaging Consumption By Pack Type (Reportlinker, 2013) With this concern, it can be stated that the business operations of the organizations can also have an effect on the environment due to the production of a substantial amount of wastes which is one of the major environmental concerns for the organization (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2007). Suggestive Measures The notion of packaging practice tends to produce different ethical issues which further impact on the organizational performance in any business market. In relation to the fiercely competitive marketplace, organizations seek to develop their products and especially the packaging processes to attract a large group of customers in the global environment. An effective packaging system represents the characteristics of the products, concerning their price, quality, ingredients along with other important characteristics which can facilitate the customers to easily discover their desires and expectations. Moreover, the packaging practice of products should also aim to do away with integrating harmful chemicals or materials and degradable plastics which can severely impact on both consumers and the surrounding environment as well (Ackerman, 1997). In order to effectively deal with the potential issues regarding the adverse impact of packaging practices, various strategies can be recommended. A few of the major strategies which ensure to reduce potential impact of packaging practices have been demonstrated in the following discussion: Addressing Issues Concerning Label Information Labe information in the packaging practices can be regarded as one of the major ethical issues, which significantly tends to mislead the customers. In accordance with the rapidly growing competitive business scenario, the organizations should highly focus on taking measures upon the information which are provided through the packaging of their products. In this regard, the marketers should focus on providing adequate information of the products concerning their price, quantity, ingredient used along with expiration date of the product. Moreover, providing statutory warning or potential impact of the products during its usage could also empower the organization to mitigate different issues related to label information during packaging practices. In relation to the present packaging practices of the global producers, it can be observed the organizations seek to provide detailed information of the products concerning their ingredients, quantity, price along with statutory warning information (Food Ethics Council, 2009). Addressing Issues Relating to Packaging Safety Packaging safety is also a growing ethical concern for the manufacturers which can create significant challenges for the organizations to attain their goals. In order to improve the packaging practice of the products, the organizations should aim to eliminate the use of applying hazardous chemicals or materials in the packaging processes. In this context, the production strategy of the packaging firms or the producers should highly focus on integrating adequate safety standards of the packaging materials ensuring to reduce possible impact on their consumers. An effective and well-built set of safety standards can significantly reduce the issue and improve the process to recognize which materials and elements are to be used in the packaging practices. In the context of present packaging process of the food processing companies, it can be observed that the organizations have started to highly comply with adequate guiding principles ensuring towards the usage of quality based materials while packaging their range of food products (Shimp, 2003). Dealing with Label Graphics Concerning Issues Packaging graphics can become a major ethical issue for any manufacturing organization in scenarios when the picture or graphical design on a package is similar to the features or contents of the product that already exists. This type of unethical practice in the packaging process can mislead the potential customers of the organization which further can cause switching of the consumers to the products offered by other manufacturing companies. In this regard, it can be suggested that the organizations should intend to precisely communicate the ingredient and features on the packages which can help the customers to identify their desired products. It can also increase convenience for the customers in order to make their buying decisions while purchasing products (Shimp, 2003). In addition, the label graphics of packaging practices further causes ethical issues when a manufacturer packages a product in a similar label graphics that is already used by any well-known brand or company. This type of label graphic can also cause major ethical issue for the organization in terms of misleading its customers. Moreover, it can also confuse the potential customers while making decisions of purchasing products. With this concern, the organizations should highly focus on labeling their products with the use of exceptional graphical pictures that would ensure to ascertain the difference from the offerings of other competitors in the market (Lonergan, Gosevski, Pedri & Loli, 2001). Addressing Environmental Related Issues Packaging practice can be regarded as one of the major affecting factors, which can impact on the environment in different ways. In accordance with the recent environmental changes that are taking place, it can apparently be observed that the packaging activities of the global marketers have become a major affecting factor in terms of producing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission at a significant level. Moreover, the manufacturers and other packaging organizations are criticized for their practices of using degradable plastics and other harmful chemicals in the packaging processes of different products (Lonergan, Gosevski, Pedri & Loli, 2001). The present phenomenon of the global packaging and manufacturing organizations is highly focused on reducing their operational impact on the environment. In this context, it has been observed that the companies tend to use environmental friendly packaging elements that ensure to protect the possible impact of packaging on the global environment. In order to effectively deal with the environmental related issues of packaging, a few essential measures can be recommended such as recycling of organizational products, using renewable packaging material, minimizing the use of chemicals in the packaging element along with reducing the usage of degradable plastic materials in the product packaging practices (Pongracz, 1998). Promoting Sustainable and Ethical Packaging Practice An ethical and sustainable practice of packaging is one of the growing trends amid the present global producers and packaging industry. Reuse of packaging materials, recycling products as well as taking adequate measures regarding waste management have been practiced by the global organizations since past few decades. The notion of ethical and sustainable packaging process is also becoming a widely used approach for the global organizations which enables them to attain competitive position within the growing business market. However, the ethical issue in packaging practices is still a major challenge for the marketers in the recent business phenomenon that transpires significant concerns relating to label information, safety packaging and label graphic or any environmental implications. In this regard, the integration of biodegradable materials in the packaging practices is one of the advantageous processes, which ensures to reduce the potential impact of packaging within the environment. Moreover, the concept of using biodegradable materials in packaging is also an effective and supportive process in terms of minimizing potential ethical issues (Business Insights Ltd., n.d.). Conclusion It can be observed from the above discussion that the notion of packaging practice is an important decision for the marketers in terms of accomplishing their desired business goals. It plays a crucial role for an organization in relation to maintaining and protecting products from external threats and it also facilitates the customers to make convenient choices relating to their buying decisions. Moreover, an effective practice of packaging can further enable the organizations to efficiently communicate the important information to the consumers to enhance their value of purchasing. However, in various scenarios, the packaging practices also tend to generate certain ethical concerns which can radically hinder the overall performance as well as position of the marketers in the business environment. In this regard, the marketers in the global business environment should consider the notion of ethical and sustainable packaging practices as a strategic priority which enables the organizations to mitigate different ethical related concerns. In relation to the present day context, the marketers should focus on strengthening their packaging practices through incorporating adequate ethical principles concerning packaging practices within their business strategies. The process can enable the marketers to effectively handle different ethical concerning issues and also emphasize to strengthen the performance and position of the organization in the fiercely developing competitive business environment. In addition, the integration of ethical and sustainable packaging practices within the organizational process can also enhance the value of the products and ensure to protect organizations from different ethical constraints. Moreover, the notion of ethical and sustainable packaging can further play a significant role for the organizations to achieve sustainability within the global business market. References Ackerman, F. (1997). Environmental impacts of packaging in the U.S. and Mexico. Phil & Tech, 2(2), pp. 1-7. Bone, P. F. & Corey, R. J. (2000). Packaging ethics: Perceptual difference among packaging professionals, brand managers and ethically-interested consumers. Journal of business ethics, 24, pp. 199-213. Business Insights Ltd. (n.d.). Trends in ethical and sustainable packaging. Retrieved from http://www.globalbusinessinsights.com/content/rbcg0189m.pdf Fan, Y. (2005). Ethical branding and corporate reputation. Corporate communications: An international journal, 10(4), pp. 341-350. Food Ethics Council. (2009). Food packaging beyond reduction. Retrieved from http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/system/files/businessforum200509-final.pdf Kimmel, A. J. (2009). Ethical issues in behavioral research: Basic and applied perspectives. Australia: John Wiley & Sons. LeClair, D. T. & Ferrell, L. (2000). Innovation in experiential business ethics training. Journal of Business Ethics, 23, pp. 313-322. Lonergan, K. C., Gosevski, B., Pedri, G. P. & Loli, B. (2001). Socially conscious packaging and its influence on brand image. Retrieved from http://anzmac.info/conference/2001/anzmac/AUTHORS/pdfs/Lonergan.pdf Pongracz, E. (1998). The effects of packaging on the environment. Retrieved from http://cc.oulu.fi/~pongracz/Licthes/ch4.htm Reportlinker. (2013). Packaging industry: Market research reports, statistics and analysis. Retrieved from http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02319/Packaging.html Schlegelmilch, B. B. & Oberseder, M. (2007). Ethical issues in global supply chains. SYMPHONYA Emerging Issues in Management, (2), pp. 12-23. Shimp, T. A. (2003). Advertising, Promotion & Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. Stamford: Thomson South-Western. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2007). Guide for addressing environmental problems: using an integrated strategic approach. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/assistance/strategicguide.pdf Read More