Sustainable Packaging: What Consumers Really Want

Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have” in packaging – it’s a non-negotiable market requirement. Consumers, retailers and regulators (keyword: PPWR) all demand a genuine circular economy. But who carries the responsibility for implementation – and more importantly, who carries the cost?

McKinsey’s global consumer study “Sustainability in Packaging 2025” provides a clear snapshot of worldwide consumer attitudes and highlights the tension facing the entire plastics value chain.

We’ve summarised the key findings from the study below:

The Dual Expectation of Consumers

The study reveals two central – and at first glance, contradictory – consumer expectations:

• Responsibility lies with the industry: When asked who should drive more sustainable packaging, consumers worldwide pointed clearly to brand owners and packaging manufacturers. They are seen as far more responsible than regulators, retailers or consumers themselves.
   
• Willingness to pay has limits: At the same time, the survey shows that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging – but this willingness is limited.
   

Consumer Insights: What Do They Expect from Packaging?

The McKinsey study offers several insights relevant to packaging producers and plastics processors:

• Price and quality remain the top purchase criteria – sustainable packaging often ranks just behind them.
• Nevertheless, recyclability is the most valued sustainability attribute globally.
• The willingness to pay a premium exists, but it depends strongly on region, age, income – and whether the sustainable packaging provides equivalent performance.

These findings highlight a simple truth: packaging must not compromise its core functions (such as protection, shelf life and processability). Sustainability needs to be integrated – not added at the expense of performance or price.
 

Willingness to Pay – Yes, but with Limits

The good news: sustainability is a purchase-relevant criterion. The study confirms that in every region of the world there are consumers willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. The less positive news: this willingness is not a blank cheque. It varies widely and is limited – creating a delicate balancing act for the consumer goods and packaging industries. In practice, this means:

• Consistent quality: Sustainable solutions must not compromise on quality, product safety or aesthetics (such as colour brilliance and brand identity).
• Circular design as standard: Principles of circularity – especially recyclability and reduced carbon footprint – must be embedded in packaging design from the outset.
   

Regional Differences: A Global Trend, Local Realities

• Emerging markets with a growing middle class show the highest willingness to pay more for sustainable products: 36 % of consumers in India say they are willing to pay “much more”. China (18 %), Brazil (17 %) and Mexico (15 %) also rank high. At the other end of the scale, mature markets such as Japan show only 3 %.
   
• The study clearly shows that perception of a material’s sustainability (e.g. PET) depends directly on the efficiency of local recycling infrastructure: In countries with high collection rates (over 80 %) – such as Germany, Sweden and Japan – PET is perceived as one of the top three most sustainable materials. In countries with low collection rates (e.g. the US at around 33 %), PET ranks near the bottom.
   
• The expectation that manufacturers and brands must lead is universal but particularly pronounced in some countries: Mexico (44 %), India (40 %), France (37 %) and the UK (37 %) show above-average agreement with this view.
   
• Although price and quality dominate purchase decisions almost everywhere, the environmental factor carries more weight in some regions. In France and Italy, consumers assign significantly greater importance to the environmental impact of packaging than in most other markets.
   

Conclusion: “Design for Recycling” Must Become the Standard. The McKinsey study makes one point unmistakably clear: the trial-and-error phase is over. Consumers expect sustainability and circularity to be standard features in product development – and they expect industry to take the lead. For brand owners and processors, the key question is no longer if but how to implement these expectations efficiently. How can materials and additives – especially masterbatches – be used in ways that do not hinder recyclability, but actively support it, while maintaining brand aesthetics and scalability?