Plastic Straw Bans, the Consumer Perspective Part 4: Reasons
Plastic straws have been in the news with celebrities, political leaders, and municipalities debating their use. Municipalities are banning the use of plastic straws and other plastics. Some businesses are discontinuing their use.
We wondered what arguments in favor of plastic straw bans resonate with consumers. We pulled seven arguments from a variety of online sources and then asked consumers: 'Regardless of your current views, which of the following arguments against the use of plastic straws is most compelling to you?'
Keep in mind that we did not ask if it would change their point of view, and we did not ask them a similar question regarding arguments that favor using plastic straws. In hindsight, we wish we had taken this more balanced approach. We also did not vet the accuracy of these statements — we encountered them online on a variety of websites and included them in this research.
What we learned
Eco-friendly alternatives (nearly 20%)
The single statement selected most often — by nearly 20% of respondents — was that there are eco-friendly alternatives to plastic straws.
Ocean trash arguments (nearly 25%)
'Plastic straws are the 8th most prevalent ocean trash in 2019' and 'The Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is currently twice the size of Texas' together resonated with nearly 25% of consumers.
Bird protection arguments (another 25%)
'Over 1 million birds die each year from ingesting plastic' and 'Straws are especially dangerous to seabirds, causing suffocation and choking' resonated with another 25% of consumers.
All arguments found an audience
All seven arguments resonated with some consumers, suggesting that no single message will reach everyone — but ocean and wildlife imagery has the broadest appeal.
What this means
Most consumers are not particularly worried about losing plastic straws because there are alternatives. For those entities making a move away from plastic straws, it suggests focusing justification language and imagery on the ocean and waterfowl and oceanic birds.