Social Marketing Techniques on Single-Use Plastics

Introduction

Social matters and issues concerning mass consumption often attract social approaches to manage or control them. When an issue is shared among a group of people, it is solved through mass-oriented approaches. On the contrary, individual problems, challenges or issues attract a more personalized approach and so on. The world today is faced by various challenges that require social attention. Such challenges include environmental health and climatic change, which affect the entire human race as Victor (2017) records. Due to the entirety of the effects of such challenges, social approaches are used to curb them. For example, planting more trees to increase rainfall amounts and frequency is one of the campaigns steered towards controlling draught and famine across the globe as Isebrands and Richardson (2014) record. Similarly, environmental health is enhanced through among other ways, campaigning for responsible disposal of waste. Matters affecting the society such as environmental health and climate change mentioned above are approached in a more collective manner as will be later discussed. This study analyses and evaluates the approaches used to manage the use of single-use plastic through theoretical frameworks and current issues as it answers the question:

Question: Critically evaluating social marketing techniques what approaches have been employed in influencing supermarkets and consumers to reduce the use of single-use plastic? Which types of initiative have proven to be more successful and are likely to be more successful in the future, and why?

Plastic is among the mostly used material globally. According to UN (2019), plastics are light in weight, cheaper and easier to store compared to other material such as metal. Consequently, plastic has been a top option for various purposes universally such as packaging, storage and refrigeration, as well as décor purposes such as furniture. The extensive use surrounding plastics translated to lots of plastic waste at the end of the day. It is also important to note that plastics rarely decompose, which means that they easily accumulate once disposed of (Kale et al., 2015). The accumulation of the plastics as waste material is accelerated by use of single-use plastics thus doubling the effect of plastics on the environment. Considering that plastics have generally become a global environmental concern, the single-use plastics have only made it worse. Single-use plastics and plastics in general have affected the world health in different ways such as soil pollution, release of toxic chemical some of which are disease-causing and secondary effects such as water pollution (Ritchie and Roser 2018). This has called for mass action and consequently, social marketing techniques to control the environmental health situation. These effects of plastics’ accumulation have informed various social marketing approaches across the world.

Social marketing approaches

Social marketing approaches that can be used to control the use of single-use plastics include creation of awareness through various ways including the social media, constant campaigns to enhance sustainability of the project, deliberation of laws governing the use of the single-use plastics and provision of alternatives.

Creation of awareness

Social marketing is conducted through various methods of creating awareness on the current status as Sengupta, Mandal and Kumar (2015) suggest. Creation of awareness involves evaluation of the status quo while anticipating to achieve the change. In relation to evaluation of the status quo, Health Belief Model is instrumental as it focuses on the attitude of the society in preparation for change. According to Wayne (2019), these tenets are based on the individual attitudes and motivation towards making a change for the communal good. The features include Perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers and cues to action.

Perceived susceptibility entails the chances of the individual to the direct effects of the condition. For example, use of single-use plastics has increased land pollution which translates to poor agricultural production (Vox et al., 2016). Consequently, food supply is affected and all individuals in the affected areas and secondary areas fall victim of the same. Such effects are direct to humanity; thus, individuals are aware that the use of single-use plastic bags is a threat to them. Consequently, they are motivated to participate in the mass behavior control strategies drafted to control the threat.

Perceived severity refers to the extent to which the effects of the condition are perceived. According to Verma et al., (2016), participants treat the condition with urgency where the effects are considered risky or fatal. For example, the carcinogenic feature of plastics has resulted to a sense of urgency on the use of single-use plastics globally because diseases such as cancer have increasingly claimed lived across the world as UN (2018) records. Perceived benefits are closely related to the severity and effects of the condition. This tenet dictates that mass behavioral change is successful depending on the benefits it offers to the participants (Lee and Kotler 2015). For example, reduction of the occurrence of diseases such as cancer among other effects of use of single-use plastic bags is motivation enough to trigger action towards maintaining environmental and human health.

Perceived barriers include the cost and challenges anticipated as the set strategies are implemented. The participants weigh the expectations associated with the strategy, which influences their motivation for the project. For example, ban of single-use plastics increased the cost of goods due to the extra packaging costs incurred by other eco-friendly materials as Richard (2018) records. Such costs affect the commitment to the plan, but can be redeemed by the benefits anticipated. Finally, cues are constant reminders on the objectives of the project. For example, fliers and mass media are some of the widely used cues concerning the use of single-use plastics. The cues continually motivate the participants by reminding them of the anticipated benefits as well as the severity of the current condition (McLellan and Aquarium 2014). Social media is also central to the campaigns concerning the use of single-use plastics.

Another theory concerned with behavior change is Social Cognitive Theory which insists on the role of experiences in shaping behavior. According to Brennan et al., (2014), social cognitive theory has experience as the sole determinant of behavior. In terms of social behavior, experience is gained through various ways such as personal encounters or observation. For example, the unsightly sites were plastics have accumulated are observable to all. In addition, the resultant diseases and other effects of single-use plastics such as low production due to soil pollution can be observed in the affected areas (Rodríguez-Eugenio, McLaughlin and Pennock 2018). Consequently, the society is more receptive to strategies formulated towards controlling the current conditions. For example, nations and continents of the world such as Africa are have taken up the movement towards a more plastic-free world. A clear indicator is the ban of use of single-use plastics in countries such as China and South Korea (Sean and Kelsey 2019).

Constant mobilization for sustainability

Continuity in social marketing enhances sustainability. The cyclic implementation of the strategies formulated until the objectives are met ensure that the initial goals are followed and improved with time hence ultimate achievement. For example, the ban from single-use plastics is anticipated to be in action for the future. The sustainability of set objectives is enhanced by the cyclic nature of social marketing steps including selection of the desired behavior, identification of costs and benefits of the strategy, implementation, evaluation and feedback. The process continues until the set objectives are achieved. To begin with, the desired behavior is selected according to the long-term goal as Kwasnicka et al., (2016) acknowledge. For example, the adverse effects accelerated by the use of single-use plastics has resulted to carcinogenic diseases across the world. Consequently, nations have obliged to other options such as sisal and eco-friendly plastics for daily use such as packaging as The Guardian (2019) reports. Use of the other options in substitution of single-use plastics is the behavior towards enhancing the environmental and human health.

Secondly, the costs and benefits for the plan are identified and evaluated. For example, the human health benefits of using eco-friendly packaging bags are outlined as well as the cost such as increased prices of products due to the increased cost of production (Marsden Jacob Associates 2016). This step provides a breakdown of the objectives of the project as well as the anticipated challenges. Implementation involves the actualization of the strategies, that is, the actual unavailability of the single-use plastics in the market and the enhancement of law for those that are found using them. According to Russell-Jones (2014), evaluation and feedback facilitate measurement of the success of the implemented actions. It also entails acting on the weak areas and enhancing the strong ones. The process repeats itself from the deliberation stages such that the process is continuous and ultimately goals and objectives of the project will be achieved. Constant reminders are also made through the wholesale and retail dealers. For example, supermarkets stick notices on the walls to remind their customers of the ban against single-use plastics (AP 2019). While the stores are frequent stops for most people, they offer constant reminders for the community they serve.

Deliberation of laws

Law involves legal provisions governing certain behavior such as the consequences if one behaves in a certain way. Laws are specific in terms of the expectations and the consequences of a certain behavior as Hess, Orthmann and Cho (2016) note. Countries such as China have laws that govern the use of single-use plastics. For example, the Philippines have a law that covers for among other things, “prohibition of single-use plastics by food establishments, retail stores, markets, supermarkets and groceries...” (Congress 2018). Violation of such a law results to the punishment provided for by that very law. The deliberation of law provides legal support to the ban as a way of enhancing a healthier world.

Provision of alternatives

As a technique, provision of alternatives provides for better options for the society. After creation of awareness, constant reminders and legal provisions, the society uses the available substitutes towards achievement of the set goals and objectives. The ban of single-use plastics due to the effects of those plastics required other options that would be usable by the society and sustain the environment at the same time (KMPG 2019). For example, packages made from sisal and other eco-friendly material were manufactured and made available in the places of need such as supermarkets and stores. The alternatives are affordable to the public, thus the four Ps of marketing.

The Ps include product, price, place and promotion but the most relevant to the substitute products such as sisal bags are product, price and promotion as reported in Marketing (2015). The product feature involves the desirable features of the product. For example, papyrus bags are biodegradable thus friendlier to the environment. The substitute ought to meet the requirements such as bio-degradability and environment friendliness. According to Al Badi (2015), price entails the affordability of the product. In the alternative material availed in the market, they are affordable if not cheap. If more expensive than the previous one like single-use plastics, the benefits of use outdo the cost. For example, a customer will buy a sisal basket when they are aware of the cost that single-use plastics incur in the long run through expenses such as shortage of food supply. Finally, promotion involves the deliberate steps towards reaching the product to the market. Promotion also entails the awareness techniques such as the social media mentioned earlier. In addition, gestures such as offers also market the chosen substitutes. For examples, supermarkets and other whole-sale dealers could give carrier bags to their customers while non-customers purchase those carrier bags (Genchev and Todorova 2017). Such promotions will enhance the popularity of the substitute carrier bags hence eventually eliminating the single-use plastics.

Conclusion

Social marketing is a tool for communal change. Matters society and social factors such as health and the environment require deliberate action by the community involved. The current call on environmental health is the root course for actions such as ban of single-use plastics. The effects of these plastics such as health hazards are the key motivation for the ban across the world. These effects are communal in nature, hence the need for the entire world to participate in solving the problem. Consequently, there is need for social marketing which should be continuous to ensure sustainability. In addition, various techniques such as use of social media to create awareness and provide constant reminders, deliberation of rules governing the use of the single-use plastics and the provision of an alternative which is more friendly to the environment and human health.

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