Sustainable packaging - a growing consumer issue

A new report from independent market analyst Datamonitor identifies that sustainable packaging is a growing consumer issue that has the potential to benefit numerous stakeholders. At present, consumer interest in packaging is relatively low in general; however, a high proportion of consumers are interested in the sustainability aspect of packaging.

“Sustainable packaging has the potential to become the new breakthrough consumer issue of its time, in the same way as organic food or fair trade products a decade or so previously,” comments Matthew Adams, Consumer Analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.

The results of Datamonitor’s consumer survey in the second half of 2008 showed that in Australia, 43% of consumers felt that packaging design has a medium or high level of influence over their choice of food and drink products. However, of this proportion, only 13% felt it exerted a very high level of influence on purchase. Consumers’ relationship with packaging in many ways is complex because few will admit to its importance because it is often taken for granted, but increasing consumer concern about ecological matters means packaging is an issue that is rising to prominence.

Sustainable packaging, as one of a number of important ethical and ecological consumer issues, is one with scope for increased importance in future in much the same way that organic and fair trade products were issues gaining significant momentum a decade ago.

Despite the gender divide in importance attributed to ethical issues, one area where there is greater uniformity among men and women in relation to sustainable packaging is their reaction to products deemed to be packaged excessively. “According to Datamonitor’s survey, almost half of Australian consumers (49% of women and 46% of men) will consider swapping brands if they deem one product to be excessively packaged compared to the alternatives,” advised Matthew Adams. “This makes for startling reading for consumer brands if half of their customers could be lost due to sustainable packaging concerns.”

With this in mind, all consumer packaged goods companies must continue to evaluate their packaging in order to align themselves with an emerging consumer trend. “Sustainable packaging need not only be seen as a worthy environmental issue but more so as a ‘win-win situation’ where consumers, producers and the environment all reap the benefits,” said Matthew Adams. Updating packaging can also be a more credible way to make cost savings without having to indulge in such methods as ‘package shrink’, or more accurately ‘portion shrink’, where a smaller amount of the product is sold at the same price.