Significant
apprehension has been raised in response to bioplastics taking away from agricultural
crops. This should not be a concern for consumers or companies whatsoever.
Indeed, of all the land in the world, 92% is cultivated for agriculture, 6% for
industrial materials, 2% for biofuels, and less than 0.1% is for
bioplastics-miniscule! [1]
Additionally, from a mass flow perspective, the amount of raw materials used
for the production of bioplastics also is very small compared to the amount of
materials used for biofuels. Based on different estimates by the
nova-institute, it was concluded that “the impact of biofuels was about 250
times greater than the impact of bioplastics on food markets, agricultural
prices and land competition in 2008.”[2]
Misconceptions and Economic Impact
There
are common negative misconceptions within the renewable community associated
with the consumer’s ideas of bioplastics that can potentially impact the
marketplace. Specifically, it is viewed that consumers within business and
amongst the wider public are unaware that bioplastics derived from feedstock even
exists, not to mention all of the performance advantages they offer. In fact,
materials based on renewable resources are often assumed to be of lower quality
in terms of performance. The table below illustrates
all of the important primary and secondary factors in terms of price,
product quality, product performance and business performance/reputation which
allow bioplastics to remain effcient and competitive with a strong hold on the
market.
Table: Bioplastics Efficiency and Competitiveness. [3]
Understanding customer needs has shown to be
critical in order to successfully commercialize inventions. Interaction with
customers can help the company to gain information about market needs and new
technological advancements. In order to create the most value for the
customers, it is essential for the company understand the customer needs by an
active exchange of knowledge.[4]
One kind of customer involvement is termed co-development, in which the
producing company and the customers work closely through the entire product
development process, exchanging knowledge, ideas and expertise.[5]
1. Carus, M., Piotrowski (2009) Land Use for Bioplastics. Bioplastics Magazine. Nova Institute,
Germany
2. Carus, M., Scholz, L. (2011) Report on Bio-based Plastics
and Composites. Biowerkstoff-Report, Edition 8. Available: www.nova-institut.de/nr. Online: March 28th, 2011
3. Theinsathid, P.,
Chandrachai, A., Keeratipibul, S. (2009) Managing Bioplastics Business Innovation
in Start Up Phase. Journal of Technology
Management & Innovation. 4(1), 82-93.
4. Freeman, C. (1991). "Networks of Innovators: A Synthesis of Research Issues." Research Policy, 20(5), 499-514.
5. Neale, M.R., Corkindale, D.R. (1998), "Co-Developing Products: Involving Customers Earlier and More Deeply." Long Range Planning, 31(3), 418-425
© new wave ideas -Sara Bonham
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