Is Sustainable Packaging Important to Customers?

Is Sustainable Packaging Important to Customers?

As a manufacturer, brand or retailer, you will be keen to positively influence buying decisions. Packaging design plays an important role in this process, but does it matter which packaging materials are used?

According to a Coleman Parks survey, which was commissioned by Pro Carton, 68% of UK shoppers have been swayed by the environmental impact of packaging materials. Excessive packaging or non-recyclable materials have resulted in 36% stating that they have already switched brands.

If sustainable packaging hasn’t been a priority for your brand, you could be at risk of losing out to the competition.

Growing Awareness of Packaging Waste

A growing awareness of what happens to waste packaging has resulted from images of turtles entangled in plastic and litter strewn over tropical beaches. The impact has been shared on documentaries and social media, along with details that much of the fish we consume contain plastic particles. Many consumers want to tackle this issue and they are looking to retailers to help them.

Around 7,000 European residents took part in the survey, with 68% responding that environmentally-friendly packaging was now ‘more’ or ‘very’ important to them. Amongst the 19-29 age range, this rose to 80% – a valuable insight if you are targeting products at the younger generation.

The Role of Corrugated Cardboard Packaging

Amongst UK shoppers, 63% of those questioned believed that corrugated cardboard packaging was the most environmentally-friendly. Given the choice between two like-for-like products, 85% stated that they would opt for corrugated cardboard over plastic packaging. Are your packaging materials encouraging customers to pick your products?

It’s important to note that 72% of the surveyed consumers didn’t feel that brands and retailers were doing enough to change their packaging for the better. It isn’t always obvious to buyers when steps have been taken to reduce waste or switch to favourable packaging materials. If you are in the process of implementing change, make sure that you let people know.

How does your Packaging Stack up?

In addition to considering your retail packaging, it could be time to review what you are up against. Is the competition offering a more sustainable packaging option? Are they using icons or information that helps consumers to easily identify that the packaging is recyclable or from renewable sources?

As a cardboard packaging specialist, Aylesbury Box Company is on hand to help problem solve. Our advice, cardboard design and engineering skills and print knowledge can help you discover viable and environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Aylesbury Box Company manufactures bespoke retail packaging and e-commerce packaging for online retailers. We’d love to help you win more custom, whilst improving your environmental credentials. Give us a call today on 01296 436888.