Part 7 ~ Pizza Express’ Response to the Anti-Plastic Straw Movement

Figgener expressed in an interview(Rosenbaum, 2018) that she is “happy” with the fact that her video has helped “[fuel] the movement” against single-use plastics. However, she stated; “I don’t want the corporations to feel like they’re getting off easily just by eliminating plastic straws. I hope this is the first step”(Rosenbaum, 2018).

Figure 2. The letter to Pizza Express from five-year-old customer Ava.

The plastic straw is a convenience, not a necessity for the business and the customer (with the exception of “people with disabilities who cannot drink a beverage without the assistance of a straw”(Ho, 2018). The vast majority of people can happily drink out of a glass without a plastic straw and the eliminating of this product has a positive impact on the environment. Therefore, the phasing out of the use of plastic straws is an easy way for businesses to paint themselves green (appear more environmentally conscious) without having to make costly changes to their business plan.

When a business falsely portrays themselves as environmentally-friendly, they are guilty of greenwashing. Greenwashing is a term “coined in the 1980s”(Watson, 2016) which describes “a company, brand, organisation or individual”(Pritchard, 2019) that is exaggerating “their eco credentials to make them seem greener than they are”(Pritchard, 2019)

The term “cancel culture” refers to the increasingly common "practice of no longer supporting people[...] or products that are regarded as unacceptable or problematic"(Macmillan Dictionary, n.d.). When a high-profile individual or company is declared “cancelled”, they are often publicly shamed on social media for their disagreeable actions(Asmelash, 2019). In efforts to avoid being “cancelled” by being accused of not caring about the environment, many coffee houses and restaurant chains started to phase out the use of the plastic straw. This included Mcdonald’s, Starbucks, American Airlines and Pizza Express(Rosenbaum, 2018).

In January 2018, Pizza Express announced that they had made “the decision to stop using plastic straws in 460+ UK restaurants”, “mov(ing) to a biodegradable straw”(Pizza Express, 2018). Instead of ending the announcement there, Pizza Express shared a letter they had received from a five-year-old customer, Ava, who asked if they would “stop using plastic straws”(Figure 2). Ava stated that the straws “can get stuck in (animal’s) mouths and noses”. This specifying of an animal’s “nose” suggests that she had seen Figgener’s video, which is likely considering the popularity of the video.

In this way, Pizza Express have sensationalised their banning of the plastic straw into a headline- worthy publicity campaign. By celebrating the charming story of a young girl’s concern for the environment, decorated with her delightful handwritten letter, the story is no longer about the environmental impact of the straw itself, but about a young girl’s concern about this impact and Pizza Express’s diligent response.

In this way, the Pizza Express' public relations team “prefer the sign to the thing signified”(Debord, 2014, p.1); by placing value on the story surrounding the issue, rather than the issue itself, the messenger becomes more important than the message. Pizza Express have painted themselves as humble heroes; discreetly accepting their own accountability and promising to do better, while graciously commending the conscience of a five-year-old girl.

While Pizza Express’s banning of plastic straws makes it seem as if they care about the environment, it is possible that they only care to maintain the appearances of an eco-friendly brand, so as not to turn the environmentally-conscious customer away from them.

Just like this, the war against the plastic straw has been recuperated. The anti-plastic-straw movement - in which Figgener’s video was a considerable part of - is just one component of the wider movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by consuming less and producing less waste. Assuming the companies are only adopting an appearance of environmental-concern, the very businesses that facilitate so much plastic waste in the first place - Pizza Express and other companies - have used the anti-plastic-waste movement as a tool to greenwash themselves.