Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has released the findings of it Paper & Packaging Consumer Trends Report, which offers insight into North American consumer behavior and attitudes toward sustainability.

Research Overview
APP wanted to find out what do consumers really want and expect from companies and brands when it comes to paper and packaging products. The Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) 2017 Paper & Packaging Consumer Trends Report explored just this to gain insight into consumers’ thoughts and preferences when it comes to paper and packaging products. The research specifically looked at the importance of sustainability for paper, food packaging and delivery packaging, and how it influences consumer purchasing behavior.

The first section of the report explores the importance of sustainability in food packaging, specifically in restaurants and grocery store settings. The below findings include US consumers only. Detailed findings of Canadian consumers available upon request at [email protected]. 

Report Findings
When it comes to food packaging in restaurants and grocery stores, consumers rank the importance of sustainable attributes of the products.

• 67% – quality 
• 55% – recyclability
• 52% – sustainability
• 52% – biodegradability
• 39% – made from deforestation-free sources

APP asked the question, “How important are each of these factors to you when it comes to food packaging in restaurants (fast food and quick serve) and grocery store food items (e.g. cereal boxes, frozen food, quick service food wrappers, disposable coffee cups)? (Respondents answered “very important” or “somewhat important”)

Nearly half (46%) of consumers agree that the sustainable attributes of food packaging are important.

• 48% of consumers want fast food/quick serve restaurants to make it clearer which packaging items/containers can and can’t be recycled.
• 45% of consumers want to understand what food packaging items can and can’t be recycled
• 45% of consumers want restaurants and food product brands to offer packaging that is biodegradable as an alternative for food packaging that cannot be made recyclable
• 38% of consumers want restaurants and food product brands to provide information on the label about the packaging’s sustainable attributes and recyclability

APP also instructed survey participants to indicate how much they agree or disagree with the following statements. (Respondents answered “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree.”)

When buying products in the supermarket, consumers feel the following information should be available on the label:

• 43% – information about how to recycle the package
• 33% – carbon footprint of the product
• 32% – sustainability credentials of the packaging

Methodology
This report presents the findings of an online survey conducted among a representative sample of 1,015 US adults 18 years of age and older, 505 males and 510 females. The study was fielded using ORC International’s twice-weekly Online CARAVAN Omnibus Survey and was ‘live’ during the period June 1-4, 2017.

Respondents were members of an online panel and had agreed to participate in online surveys and polls. As such, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to multiple sources of error, including but not limited to sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

Completed interviews are weighted by five variables – age, sex, geographic region, race and education – using data from the US Census Bureau to help ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population, 18 years of age and older.

To review the full survey findings, email [email protected].