The Rising Price of Sustainability

You’ve probably noticed it. Your favourite snack has quietly shrunk. The takeout you ordered came in a strange cardboard box that doesn’t quite hold heat like plastic used to. Prices are rising — but not just in the way we expect. It’s not just inflation. It’s something else, too. It’s called 'ecoflation'.

At its core, ecoflation occurs when the world starts taking environmental issues seriously and the cost of doing the right thing starts showing up on the price tag.

Over the past few years, governments have introduced carbon taxes, banned harmful materials, and established stricter rules to reduce pollution and protect ecosystems. Companies are trying to keep up, switching to sustainable materials, reducing waste, and lowering emissions. All of this is good. It’s progress.

However, if you think about it, you realise: plastic is cheap, durable, and convenient — but terrible for the planet. Paper straws, biodegradable cups, compostable packaging — they’re all more expensive, less efficient, and harder to source. Businesses still have to make a profit, so the extra cost has to go somewhere. And more often than not, it ends up with us, the consumers.

Sometimes you’ll see the price go up. But other times, the cost hides in plain sight — products get downsized, packaging gets lighter, and portion sizes shrink in a phenomenon known as 'shrinkflation'. It is subtle but very real. That 200g bag of chips? Now, it’s 180g. Same price, fewer products.

This isn’t a trick. In many cases, it’s a compromise — companies are trying to stick to environmental standards without scaring away customers with higher prices. They’re under pressure from regulators, investors, and increasingly, from consumers like you and me. We’re asking for greener, safer products — and they’re responding the only way they can, either increasing prices or reducing the product itself.

This is where it gets personal. On paper, ecoflation makes sense. It’s a way of correcting the fact that, for decades, we never paid the real cost of environmental damage. But in reality, it’s hard. People are already stretched thin in financial matters. Life feels more expensive. When prices rise in the name of sustainability, it can feel unfair, especially when the changes don’t always feel better. A soggy paper straw, which is not only less efficient but also costs more, doesn’t scream progress.

That’s the emotional tension of ecoflation. We want a healthier planet, but we don’t always want the growing pains that come with getting there.

Then, the question arises if all of this pressure on companies to make everything greener can just be labelled as ‘bad’, at least for the consumer. Well, the answer to that would be no. This pressure—uncomfortable as it is—might be what pushes real change forward. When costs rise, companies start rethinking how they do everything. They design better packaging, find smarter materials, reduce waste, and invest in cleaner technology. The more they innovate, the more those new solutions become affordable and more efficient for everyone.

And slowly, we’re adapting too. We’re reading labels, asking questions, and supporting brands that try to do better. People are starting to care not just about what they’re buying, but how it was made and what impact it leaves behind.

That kind of awareness is powerful. It turns small choices into collective action.

Well, we need to realise that no matter what, ecoflation isn’t going away. If anything, it’s just getting started. As the climate crisis deepens, the true cost of environmental harm is becoming impossible to ignore. We are beginning to fold that cost into the price of everything — and that’s a good thing. It means we’re finally acknowledging that pollution, waste, and carbon emissions come at a price, literally and figuratively.

But this shift won’t be easy. It’ll take balance. Governments will need to support vulnerable communities. Businesses will need to be more transparent. And we, as consumers, will have to stay patient, curious, and informed.

It’s okay to feel frustrated when things cost more. It’s okay to miss the convenience of the old ways. But maybe this is what maturing — as a society — looks like. Understanding that progress isn’t always comfortable and that doing the right thing always has a price.

Still, if the cost of change, the cost of saving this planet that we all call home so proudly, is a few cents more — or a few grams less—maybe it’s a price worth paying.