A new McKinsey report highlights consumer attitudes towards packaging, including their feelings about sustainability. It doesn’t quite reflect what you might think! Meanwhile regulatory agencies march on with efforts to diminish packaging waste, and brands and retailers must decide not only how they can comply, but what, if any, marketing messages around sustainability with resonate with consumers.

I recently came across an interesting study by McKinsey: Sustainability in Packaging 2025: Inside the Minds of Global Consumers. McKinsey has been conducting this research globally since 2020, and the most recent round encompasses survey responses from more than 11,000 respondents from 11 countries. It addresses consumer preferences across product categories, packaging substrates, and sales channels. It follows surveys in 2020 and 2023, so it also revealed trends over time.

They identified five key findings, and especially if you represent a brand or packaging converter, you should read the entire report to get the full details, but we will summarize them here. Two relate to the factors most important to consumers overall when making purchases and when considering packaging, and the remaining three provide detail on consumer attitudes toward sustainability.