This adorable terracotta jar made me switch yogurt brands

My favorite yogurt had been Noosa's honey flavor for the longest time. I put it in smoothies, on fruit and with my homemade granola. It filled all of the typical yogurt roles deliciously. But buying all of the plastic containers and then washing them out before putting into recycling was getting to me. I have low trust that all of the plastic we throw into recycling actually gets recycled. So the minute I saw these lovely pastel colored pots of yogurt on the shelves I was hooked! I switched yogurt brands because of my perception of sustainable packaging.

Sustainable packaging is an impactful way brands and companies can signal their commitment to environmental conservation. In most of the marketing research studies we did last year consumers told us that recyclable and sustainable packaging is something they notice and value highly.

And now the term circular packaging is emerging as an ultimate goal for the most committed sustainable brands. Danone, another European yogurt brand, known for their Evian water, is working towards 100% circular packaging, "This means eliminating the packaging we don’t need; innovating so all the packaging we do need is designed to be safely reused, recycled or composted; and ensuring the material we produce stays in the economy and never becomes waste or pollution."

Leading beauty brands Ulta are launching refillable packaging programs. Ulta's partnership with Loop allows consumers to buy products that come in waste-free packaging and a reusable tote, then send their empty bottles back in the tote to be cleaned and refilled.

Danone and Ulta both have pledged to complete and meet their sustainable packaging goals by 2025, and both the pledge and programs are important to advertising. Consumers want to see action and commitment. So don't underestimate the power of a packaging change and commitment to sustainability in packaging. Even if it's small, but part of a longer term commitment, it might persuade consumers to switch.