Could sustainability and circularity be your secret weapon for responding to tariffs?

I’m fresh off the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Impact conference (and on my way to the Circularity conference as I write this). I’ve been having a lot of conversations with brands, both before and during the events this week. We also have some fresh new consumer data, and I sat in on a presentation from Nielsen IQ that had some good insights as well. Here are a few stats to consider (I’ll get to how this could help you manage tariffs in a minute):

• 45% of people in America want to be seen as someone who buys eco-friendly products — up from 33% in 2013. Nielsen shared that 38% of people are now what they call “Glamour Greens,” meaning they consider green behavior to be a badge of honor they want to showcase. In 2010, this category was only 20% of the population.
• The way people generally conceive of an “eco-friendly person” is made of recycling and reuse behaviors.
• According to Nielsen, what makes a brand sustainable is, far and away, sustainable packaging. Not surprisingly, recyclability claims are the largest category of sustainable packaging claims, and the number of these claims has grown nearly 5% since just last year.
• 73% of people in America think companies bear some to very much responsibility for the proper disposal of their packaging.
• According to Nielsen, 43% of Americans have purchased something second-hand, and nearly all generations/age cohorts have seen a year-over-year increase in their belief in the sentiment, “Buy only what you need to reduce wasteful consumption.”
• Our most recent Buzz on Buzzwords report revealed that people don’t automatically associate “green” with “more expensive” the way they did back in 2015.
• Surveys we completed as part of our Canned Good campaign showed that 54% of people familiar with the campaign — which was all about telling the infinite recyclability story of the steel food can — were willing to pay $0.45 more after learning about the steel food can’s recycling attributes.

So, what does this have to do with tariffs?

As we all know, most companies source at least some portion of their product’s components from outside the U.S. Most companies and brands I talk with are all doing the hard calculations to see what the company can absorb and what will have to be passed on to the consumer. So, think about this:

• Consider refill/reuse models. We know people are very concerned about packaging making it out into the environment. We also know they’ll be looking for ways to save money. Can you alleviate both and offer the badge of honor they crave with refillable packaging? Some brands have already launched subscription models that allow consumers to refill at home. Should your company or brand be next? Subscriptions create recurring, predictable revenue for your company, they save the consumer money and they can reduce packaging. I often hear companies say they can’t figure out how to make refill/reuse models work and that consumers don’t want them. When it's positioned as a cost-saving strategy amid rising prices from tariffs, consumers may look at this in a whole new way and be more willing to participate.
• Focus on recyclability messaging. Since we know consumers say they’re willing to pay more for a package they truly believe will be recycled, lean into your recyclability messaging hard amid price increases. They may be more willing to embrace the price increase when it’s accompanied by sustainability — and specifically recyclability — messaging.
• Reconsider your packaging materials. Are there elements of your products or packaging you currently source overseas that are getting more expensive with tariffs? Could you replace those with compostable or recycled content you can source domestically? Now is the time to do it, especially if the local, more sustainable ingredients are now no longer much more expensive than the conventional ingredients.

If you approach this unpredictable, tariff-ridden time as an opportunity to lean hard into sustainability, recyclability and circularity — and shout it from the rooftops — you will likely find your consumer is actually more excited to buy your products because they feel they’re getting value from the increased price, not just paying a tax.