Consumers encounter sustainability messages everywhere: on product labels, in advertising, and throughout the shopping aisle. For brands, the challenge is turning those messages into packaging that delivers a better everyday experience.

Consumers encounter sustainability messages everywhere: on product labels, in advertising, and throughout the shopping aisle. For brands, the challenge is turning is 

What do consumers really want from eco-friendly packaging? Research suggests a practical answer: packaging that protects the product, fits their budget, and makes responsible disposal easier.

For brands developing flexible packaging, folding cartons, or labels, those expectations offer a useful starting point.

Packaging That Protects the Product

Sustainability starts with packaging that does its job. In McKinsey’s 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, food safety and shelf life remained the most important packaging characteristics. Ease of use, durability, and label information also ranked highly.

When evaluating a more sustainable packaging design, consider:

• Product protection: Appropriate barriers to help maintain freshness and quality.
• Durability: Enough strength to withstand shipping, handling, and storage.
• Reliable closures: Features that open, close, and reseal as intended.
• Material efficiency: Opportunities to use less material while maintaining performance.

A coffee pouch needs to protect its contents. A folding carton needs to hold up through distribution. Reducing material is a worthwhile goal when testing confirms the finished package still meets the product’s needs.

Value That Fits Their Budget

Consumers may care about sustainability, but they still have budgets to manage. McKinsey’s research found that quality, price, and convenience remained consumers’ leading product purchasing priorities, with environmental impact ranking lower.

For brands, that means making sustainability part of a compelling overall purchase. Potential opportunities include:

• Eliminating unnecessary packaging components.
• Improving material efficiency.
• Simplifying production where practical.
• Balancing environmental improvements with cost and performance.

Evaluate each change against the customer experience. An environmental improvement should have a clear purpose, and brands should avoid assuming it will automatically justify a higher price.

Clear Instructions for What Happens Next

Recyclability was the most important packaging sustainability characteristic for U.S. respondents in McKinsey’s survey. However, a recycling symbol alone does not tell consumers everything they need to know.

Clear packaging instructions should help answer:

• Where does it go? Curbside recycling, a participating drop-off location, an appropriate composting facility, or the trash.
• Does it need preparation? Explain whether the package needs to be emptied, cleaned, or separated.
• Which parts qualify? The container, label, lid, and other components may require different handling.
• Are there local limitations? Acceptance depends on the finished package and available collection programs.

How2Recycle’s labeling system distinguishes among pathways such as widely recyclable, check locally, store drop-off, and not yet recyclable. These distinctions help consumers understand how to handle a specific package.

Compostable packaging also needs clear instructions. Commercially compostable plastics require appropriate commercial or industrial composting conditions and should not go into conventional plastic recycling.

The goal is to make the next step easy to understand, with instructions that reflect the actual package and the systems available to the intended customer.

Specific Information About Environmental Improvements

“Eco-friendly” can mean many things. A more useful message explains the particular improvement a brand has made.

Depending on the package and the supporting evidence, brands can communicate:

• Verified recycled content: State the percentage and the component it applies to.
• Reduced material: Explain the reduction and identify the previous design used for comparison.
• Practical reuse: Describe how the package is intended to be used again.
• Disposal requirements: Explain any special conditions or collection limitations.

Specific information gives customers something concrete to evaluate. Before printing a claim, confirm that it accurately describes the finished package, including relevant coatings, labels, adhesives, and closures.

Convenience Built Into the Design

Packaging is part of a daily routine. A practical approach to sustainability considers how people open, use, store, refill, and dispose of the product.

Ask these questions during development:

• Easy opening: Can customers open the package comfortably?
• Simple resealing: Does the closure work reliably?
• Practical refilling: Is it easy to pour into the intended container?
• Readable instructions: Can customers quickly understand use and disposal?
• Useful reuse: Does the package serve a realistic purpose after its first use?

Testing prototypes with customers can reveal issues before production. A refill pouch, for example, should be easy to handle and compatible with the container it is intended to refill.

What This Means for Your Brand

Consumer research provides a starting point, but the right packaging decisions depend on your product, audience, and distribution needs. No single material or format answers every challenge.

Bring design, product protection, production, cost, and disposal into the conversation early. Define the improvement you want to achieve, test the finished package, and communicate the result clearly.

At SunDance, we approach packaging as a combination of structure, print, and function. From flexible pouches to folding cartons and labels, the goal is to create packaging that supports your product and presents your brand with care.

Ready to rethink your packaging? Connect with SunDance to discuss your next project at SunDanceUSA.com.