Only 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled. In 2020, the plastic industry produced more plastic than in any other year before. Our plastic problem is getting worse by the minute: plastic waste and microplastics cause health problems for oceans, animals, and humans alike.

Companies have been pushing the blame for plastic waste on consumers, communicating recycling as a sustainable solution. But in reality, it is not. Greenpeace wanted to push the blame back to who's really responsible: the plastic industry and the companies that package their products in plastic.

The tobacco industry made a product that is very harmful for people's health glamorous and desirable through packaging design. When they were forced to disrupt their design with ugly health warning signs, their brands, and therefore their market value, suffered a great deal.

Because people meet packaging so closely, it greatly influences their purchase decisions. Using this behaviour, we can repeat the effect health warnings had on cigarette packaging if we display the harmful effects plastic has on plastic packaging.

Plastic Warnings is an initiative by Greenpeace to force companies to put tobacco-style warnings on all plastic packaging.

Just like in the case of cigarettes, the glamorous brand of which lost its value when tobacco companies were forced to use health warning labels, Greenpeace wants all plastic packaging to have to include health warning labels too, reminding consumers of the harmful effects of plastic - to oceans, animals and humans.

The campaign wants to push brands to use sustainable packaging alternatives instead.

Companies have been pushing the blame for plastic waste on consumers, communicating recycling as a sustainable solution. But in reality, it is not. Greenpeace wanted to push the blame back to who's really responsible: the plastic industry and the companies that package their products in plastic.

We needed an idea that hurts where it counts, that is why Plastic Warnings targets and tarnishes the most valuable asset of companies: their brand. Just like in the case of cigarettes, the glamorous brand of which lost its value when tobacco companies were forced to use health warning labels, Greenpeace wants all plastic packaging to have to include health warning labels too, reminding consumers of the harmful effects of plastic - to oceans, animals and humans.

We launched the campaign with a film drawing the parallel between the tobacco industry and the plastic industry and asking people for support.

A website collects all info and detail about the campaign and contains a downloadable Activist Kit, containing printable posters and Plastic Warnings that people used offline. User generated guerilla videos were created of this act.

Instagram stickers were virtually put on plastic packaging and spread in social media.

Citylight posters were placed all over town, in social media, as well as in front of the local HQs of the top polluting companies.

The campaign generated a debate in Hungary and finally, the Parliament banned all companies from the distribution of single-use plastics from 1st of July.

Over 1M views of the Instagram stickers

Greenpeace website traffic increased: +415%

Overall campaign reach: 3M+