Emma Sheppard is a journalist specialising in business, technology, family and social affairs. As well as Canvas8, her work has appeared in The Guardian, Wired, BBC Worldwide, The Independent and more.

People are recognising the urgency of global environmental measures 

Sustainable Solutions

The fight for sustainability was given a much-needed boost in June 2022, when four of the UK’s leading supermarkets – Co-Op, Morrisons, Sansbury’s, and Tesco – announced they will launch a prototype of the industry’s first 

. It will track a product’s impact on climate change, land use, water use, and quality, and will allow shoppers to compare products across supermarkets. It’s a move that’s been welcomed by campaigners and consumers alike – research has found 

 when it comes to making sustainable choices at the supermarket.

But what of sustainable packaging itself? Despite the technology advancing in leaps and bounds, there are still misconceptions that have delayed brands from adopting it in droves. For some, sustainable packaging is still seen as more expensive, liable to break down, or more limited in terms of design. Yet, research has shown it’s popular among consumers – 54% say the sustainability of packaging is a factor in their product selection process, and 57% are less likely to buy products with packaging that is harmful to the environment. 

Trivium Packaging

According to Deloitte’s report on sustainability and consumer behaviour, there’s been a sharp increase in the number of people who have adopted more sustainable lifestyles since before the pandemic. For instance, in 2021, three-quarters of consumers recycled or composted household waste, while 64% limited how much single-use plastic they used. 

Deloitte

 Those decisions aren’t without trade-offs, particularly when it comes to food packaging. “Sustainability nowadays often comes at the expense of other benefits that we might not be willing or ready to sacrifice,” says Giulia Granato, a PhD researcher in the department of marketing and consumer behaviour at Wageningen University, and co-author of 

The price of sustainability: How consumers trade-off conventional packaging benefits against sustainability

Interview with Giulia Granato conducted by the author

 But to what extent are shoppers willing to overlook other less favourable aspects in favour of sustainability? Canvas8 interviewed Granato to find out more.

Why is this topic important to understand?

The food industry is a sector that has a massive environmental impact – not just in the production and consumption of the food itself but also in terms of packaging. Despite the technological efforts and the investments that scientists and companies are making to make packaging more sustainable, this technology comes with drawbacks. We’re asking consumers to compromise.

Biodegradable and compostable packaging, for example, tends to be cloudier than transparent plastic. And consumers tend to express negative feelings about that because they cannot assess the product – how fresh it is, for example – themselves. Another factor could be the preservation of the product. Sometimes these biodegradable and compostable bags tend to break down really easily or require the consumer to change their behaviour in terms of disposal or recycling.

So, we have to understand how consumers cope with these trade-offs in exchange for a higher level of sustainability. We also wanted to understand the spillover or halo effect of sustainable technology and how that changes the perception of other benefits, too.

This is something that has been studied in a design context – designers always have the ramifications of choosing one material over another in mind. But it’s not been investigated in the consumer research literature. We have some studies around how we can better communicate sustainability in general, but they all tend to approach sustainability as a benefit and not so much in comparison with other factors.

Organix has released resealable baby food pots that are 100% recyclable

How did you go about conducting your study?

My research was part of a European project called MYPACK on sustainable packaging innovations and food waste and was funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 research programme. We surveyed 5,035 consumers across five European countries – Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and France. We also measured demographic characteristics such as age, gender, household composition, education, and employment.

There were four packaging options – paper, plastic, biodegradable, and compostable – and a variety of product categories, such as fresh salad, baby food, and biscuits. Consumers were given a choice between two packaging options. One was higher in some benefits – sustainability, convenience, aesthetic quality, and the ability to properly preserve a product – and the other was the exact opposite. Higher sustainability, for example, may have come at the expense of aesthetic quality. And, then we asked the consumer which item they perceived as better able to preserve the product and which they would be more likely to buy.

Kraft has designed a paper-based ketchup bottle

We found that the positive perceptions of sustainability tend to spill over to other benefits, up to a certain threshold. A higher level of sustainability tended to absorb some of the other drawbacks, which weren’t even realised. Something that was perceived as more sustainable, for example, was paradoxically also perceived as more convenient.

When we asked consumers to sacrifice one benefit for sustainability, this spillover effect was there, and they didn’t tend to perceive any potential drawbacks in convenience, preservation, or aesthetics. A higher sustainability level seemed to absorb some of the drawbacks until a certain point, beyond which losses were perceived. When we asked them to sacrifice two benefits, this power of sustainability decreased. And when we asked consumers to sacrifice three benefits, this effect was not there anymore. That also impacted purchasing intention as well.

We looked at whether there were similarities between clusters or segments of consumers that differed from each other, but this spillover effect was a general phenomenon. There were some small differences around purchase intention – German and Italian consumers, for example, were willing to spend a bit more on this technology but seemed to be more familiar with this type of packaging. Female consumers are also a bit more sensitive towards sustainability in general, although this wasn't a novelty.

Ben and Jerry’s has removed 40% of plastic from its tubs

Brands “should consider which benefits consumers are most willing to compromise on,”, says Granato. “This study suggests consumers might be more willing to accept packaging perceived as inferior in preservation and aesthetics if it’s perceived as superior in terms of sustainability.” 

 But, she admits that more research is needed on different product categories. She cites another example whereby a detergent packaged in a sustainable bottle was perceived as being less effective at cleaning clothes because sustainability is more associated with gentleness. Price is also another factor when people choose to make more sustainable choices. Almost three-quarters (73%) of consumers say they’re willing to pay more for sustainable packaging, which rises to 83% among younger buyers. 

 But this willingness to pay more for green may change as the cost of living crisis bites, so finding the sweet spot between price and aesthetics can encourage consumers to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviours long-term – 57% of those surveyed by Deloitte said they want sustainable alternatives to be more affordable. 

Brands that have invested in sustainable packaging should shout about their eco-credentials, Granato says. “A lot of time sustainability is hidden in the overall design. Coca-Cola for example created a new sustainable bottle made from plants but didn’t promote it on the packaging, it was hidden. One challenge is for the industry to better communicate sustainability whether that’s around the text, labels, and logos used.” She points to another study whereby people were listening to music with headphones made from recycled materials versus another group using conventional headphones. “There were significant differences between the two – the group with the sustainable headphones enjoyed the music more. That’s the spillover effect in action.” 

 Shipping could be another area where brands help consumers feel good about their choices. One 2022 survey found that 86% of people are happy to delay online deliveries in order to minimise environmental impact, and 

 has been the most climate-friendly carrier in the UK. 

Business Wire

According to Deloitte, one in four customers don’t know what information to trust when it comes to business commitments to climate change and sustainability. 

Greenwashing is prolific across sectors – in a global review of 500 websites by the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network, 40% of green claims were found to be false. 

The CSR Journal

The Dutch airline KLM is currently being sued for deceiving the public about how sustainable its flights are, and the European Commission plans to bring in new rules for companies to be more open about the impact of their activities and supply chains on the environment and people from January 2024. 

Edie

 Among Britons, 86% say they want brands and businesses to actively take steps to minimise their impact on the environment, and 52% inform their purchase decisions based on a brand’s eco-credentials. 

Campaign Live

The Drum

 Shoppers are looking for guidance on what is and isn't sustainable, and brands that lead in this area with transparency and clearly-communicated comms are likely to see benefits – Patagonia has 

 in its marketing activities in a drive for more honesty on the issue.

Like the supermarkets investing in the first standardised eco-credentials label, brands have a role to play in driving the world forward in adopting sustainable practices on a larger scale through product experimentation and innovation. 

, for example, has removed 40% of plastic from its tubs and created the remaining plastic from a renewable plant source, and Coca-Cola, after being found to be the world’s most polluting brand multiple years in a row, has invested in creating 

 that are 100% recyclable but can also be reused and resealed, in a sector first. Morrisons has even invested in 

 in a pledge to tackle hard-to-recycle plastics such as crisp packets and sweet wrappers and reduce the amount of plastic it puts into the market in turn.

 of consumers are less likely to buy products with packaging that’s harmful to the environment

 (73%) of consumers say they’re willing to pay more for sustainable packaging, which rises to 

 of Britons say they want brands and businesses to actively take steps to minimise their impact on the environment

Sustainable packaging is popular among consumers, but brands still see it as expensive, liable to degrade, and limited in terms of choice

Researchers have found that shoppers will make compromises on other factors if sustainability is a benefit

Experimentation and innovation from brands can help to drive the global adoption of sustainable practices

Giulia Granato is a PhD researcher at Wageningen University who studies how to prompt consumers’ sustainable behaviour and acceptance of sustainable innovations.

Global

Behavioural Sciences

As the growing trend of conscious consumption encourages shoppers to make more sustainable choices, they are weighing new eco-attitudes up against other factors before making purchase decisions. Canvas8 spoke to Giulia Granato about the compromises people are willing to make for sustainable products.

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