{"id":384,"date":"2025-07-11T12:38:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T12:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/?p=384"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:46:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T15:46:58","slug":"ick-factor-biggest-threat-to-circular-economy-new-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/ick-factor-biggest-threat-to-circular-economy-new-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIck factor\u201d biggest threat to circular economy, new study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-beyondwords-marker=\"a90b2f95-a59f-4466-a9e9-c428965fde72\" data-beyondwords-player=\"true\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<h4><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-202837 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Reusable packaging\" width=\"860\" height=\"516\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.circularonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/iStock-1315151599.jpg?resize=860%2C516&amp;ssl=1\"><\/h4>\n<h4>Fears over hygiene, safety and quality are stopping consumers from buying reused and refurbished products, says global research from BSI.<\/h4>\n<p>Consumer hesitation over the cleanliness and reliability of second-hand goods is emerging as one of the most significant barriers to circular economy adoption, according to a major new global study by BSI in partnership with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Dubbed the \u201cick factor,\u201d nearly half (48%) of consumers surveyed said hygiene concerns prevent them from buying refurbished or reused items\u2014despite 68% citing environmental motivation for reusing, repairing or recycling. Quality (56%), safety (51%) and reliability (49%) were also top concerns, indicating a growing trust gap between consumer intention and action.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For circularity to thrive, businesses must move beyond sustainability messaging and prove the reliability and value of reused, repaired and recycled goods<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While 76% of respondents acknowledged that their purchasing choices contribute to a more circular economy, actual uptake remains low. Only a third would consider buying second-hand technology, and just 25% said they would purchase imperfect produce.<\/p>\n<p>In the UK, 64% of consumers said a recognised label to validate sustainability claims would increase their confidence in circular products\u2014suggesting that reassurance, rather than more information, is key to driving change.<\/p>\n<p>BSI Chief Executive Susan Taylor Martin said: \u201cFor circularity to thrive, businesses must move beyond sustainability messaging and prove the reliability and value of reused, repaired and recycled goods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bsigroup.com\/en-GB\/insights-and-media\/campaigns\/the-tipping-point-building-trust-in-the-circular-economy\/?utm_source=Publication&amp;utm_campaign=gl-grp-cross-strgc-nss-sus-mpd-mp-cethetippingpoint-0025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Tipping Point: Building Trust in the Circularity Economy<\/a>, outlines how embedding quality and safety standards into circular products can unlock wider adoption and economic opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.circularonline.co.uk\/news\/ick-factor-biggest-threat-to-circular-economy-new-study-finds\/\">\u201cIck factor\u201d biggest threat to circular economy, new study finds<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.circularonline.co.uk\">Circular Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Fears over hygiene, safety and quality are stopping consumers from buying reused and refurbished [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}