How the rise of eco-friendly packaging will impact consumer behavior in 2024

You’ve probably seen cardboard boxes with huge recycling symbols, reminding consumers to do their part. The timeless brown may have been replaced by a bolder green, symbolizing a company’s environmental commitments.

Companies are making these changes for two main reasons. The eco-friendly packaging market is profitable because consumers like to support ethical companies. Second, countless organizations have sustainable metrics that they must strive to achieve to reduce waste. Changing the packaging is one of the easiest ways to achieve this, so how does this affect buyers?

1. Influence on purchasing decisions

Voting with your dollar is a real phenomenon and 85% of consumers are willing to do so pay a surcharge of 9.7% for a greener, ethical product. People will spend more if an item has sustainable packaging. This changes the way people think about shopping and budgeting behavior.

Packaging in environmentally friendly packaging is an efficient way to communicate the financial and sustainable value of the object to customers. Numerous visual cues alter purchasing decisions based on packaging alone, including:

• Words like biodegradable, recyclable, compostable and sustainable
• Presence of environmental certifications, such as Fair Trade or B Corp
• Used materials
• Percentage of packaging made from upcycled or recycled products
• Clear disposal information

Even something as insignificant as color can change your mind. How often do people unintentionally associate the color green with sustainability? Packaging can also influence purchasing decisions in this way.

2. Greater preference for sustainable brands

All consumers, families and travelers need easy-to-recycle options. Eventually, you become familiar with specific, easily accessible go-to brands. Suddenly, putting their items in packaging destined for the landfill is no longer a consideration.

This means that customers become loyal to a brand much faster. More companies are choosing unsustainable packaging than the alternative, reducing decision fatigue. The simplicity of choice could make consumers more committed than ever. The chances of you becoming a repeat customer also skyrocket. This behavior affects much more than just shopping.

3. Perception of brand reliability

Consider how someone who immerses themselves in environmental awareness will make different vacation decisions. They can base their accommodation choice on the way the hotel packages food, coffee and shower products. If the items are in disposable or plastic, you can easily look for another place nearby with a stronger sustainability commitment.

People associate environmentally friendly packaging with responsible business choices. For example, a supermarket can place greener options on the shelves at eye level. This could change someone’s perception of that grocer’s climate ethics.

Such tactics are strategically important to engage buyers with specifically packaged brands. Consumers should always stay informed while shopping to ensure that the seller does not manipulate them. It doesn’t matter if you trust a brand for their eco-friendly packaging. All purchasing decisions should be your own and should not be pushed to you by a third party.

4. Reduced ecological footprint

The move to sustainable packaging within an organization is likely due to overarching environmental goals. Sustainable packaging can be the gateway to other efforts to reduce your carbon footprint. Without a product as a catalyst, a buyer may never have thought about the footprint of their food or cosmetic waste. Greater awareness will lead to individually set targets for decarbonization of the economy, opening doors for greater advocacy.

Companies can even advertise how the materials they used to use were harming the planet. They do this to highlight improvements and encourage customers to learn more. The healthcare sector is known for its use of polystyrene, a versatile plastic but with a large environmental footprint. It pollutes the oceans, but progress shows that new packaging alternatives will too remove 60,000 polystyrene boxes from the area.

5. Shift to sustainable travel practices

The desire for sustainable packaging is changing the way consumers buy, but it’s also changing what people don’t buy. Companies need to be as determinedly aware of these trends as they need to know what will convert a customer.

As suggested, the availability of sustainably packaged products can influence one’s destination. It also changes consumer travel behavior. The sustainable packaging revolution could ensure that people no longer receive disposable drinks at petrol stations before traveling. She will bring reusable bags and coffee cups. Maybe they’ll stop supporting travel size toiletries because there are less wasteful packaging options.

6. Encouraging reuse and recycling

Sustainable packaging is only important if consumers dispose of it properly at the end of its life cycle. The materials encourage recycling or reuse if they are openly environmentally friendly. It can lead to an even more sustainable activity if the packaging has clear directions on what to do with it when you’re done. Toilet paper brand Who Gives a Crap makes their products from recycled materials and environmentally friendly bamboo.

The company knows that every second a buyer interacts with the items is an opportunity for marketing, which sounds like it just wants to make a profit. It wants consumers to spend time on the packaging because it highlights the potential for reuse. Some boxes recommend using it as a cat house. You can use their beautiful wrapping paper as gift wrapping paper. It has even gone so far as to apply QR codes to the empty paper rolls to keep people entertained in the bathroom with jokes and facts.

7. Involved customers and companies

Customers will be exposed to more environmental topics and conversations thanks to packaging. This will lead to buyers educating their colleagues as they become curious about sustainable topics. Ultimately, this could translate into educating brands themselves.

It’s more common than ever to express dissatisfaction with a company on social media or in reviews. It is just as common for companies to be caught greenwashing. This is when companies advertise what they do for the planet, and consumers discover they were hiding the truth. Passionate consumers will advocate for their interests and tell companies that people want better in the eco-friendly packaging market.

The eco-friendly packaging market and its ripple effect

Sustainable packaging is driving a dramatic shift among buyers. It ensures that they adopt environmentally conscious habits, spend money differently and hold companies accountable. The market for eco-friendly packaging will only grow as more companies pledge to reduce their carbon footprint. It may take some time for everyone to adopt better practices or go a step further and go package-free. But the trend is positive: everyone is learning to use materials better and generate less waste.