Demand for environmentally friendly packaging is growing rapidly and will increase further in response to heightened publicity around plastics ending up in the ocean.
This was a recent finding of a report by data and analytics company GlobalData, which surveyed consumers on their recycling habits.
According to the Q3 2016 global consumer survey, 65 per cent of consumers globally always or mostly recycle product packaging and 53 per cent always or mostly avoid excessively packaged grocery products.
GlobalData consumer analyst Peter Hays said consumers were "highly sensitive to the environmental implications of packaging formats".
"While the implications of product formulation have long been a focus of consumers, it is becoming clear that the packaging waste produced by everyday purchases also has a detrimental effect on the environment."
The next survey, in Q1 2017, found that consumers consider packaging recyclability to be the most important factor when it comes to environmentally-friendly packaging, but that view is likely to shift as awareness builds.
"While packaging recyclability is laudable, the recycling process requires additional energy," Hays said.
"A more environmentally friendly packaging format might use recyclable materials while also reducing unnecessary packaging.
"Better still would be offering consumers reusable packaging.”
