Plastic is the hidden cost of the war in Iran | CNN Business

Experts are warning that consumers will see a rise in prices for a variety of plastic consumer goods due to the war with Iran. Plastic products are partly made out of oil, which has gone up more than 40% since the start of the war in late February. As a result, products like disposable cutlery, bottled drinks and garbage bags could be among the first to rise in the coming weeks, said Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University.  But plastics are used across supply chains, from packaging to manufacturing, meaning it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly where the costs come from in a product’s final price tag. “It’s one of those things where you shake your head at the store. You don’t know if it’s more expensive due to general inflation, rising rents, but you are paying for this,” Joseph Foudy, a professor of economics at the NYU Stern School of Business, told CNN. Higher packaging costs may drive up food prices in two to four months as companies work through existing inventory, Penfield said. In industries like automotive manufacturing — where plastic is just one of many inputs and pricing is often locked into fixed contracts — it