Ask American shoppers what they want from a package and the answer isn't a green leaf on the label. It's a box they can get into.
In RRD's 2026 Sustainable Packaging Consumer Report, "easy to open" was the most-valued feature, chosen by 55% of respondents. "Protects the product" came second at 49%, and "shows key information" third at 41%. "Better for the planet" drew 20%.
Only 27% said they look for eco-friendly packaging frequently or more. A third said they rarely or never do.
That doesn't mean customers don't care about waste. It means they care about it the way they care about most things on a busy Tuesday: after the package does its job.
The Ranking Holds Up Elsewhere
The RRD survey is small, at 400 U.S. consumers, and it comes from a company that sells packaging. But the order of priorities matches much larger studies.
McKinsey surveyed more than 11,000 consumers in 11 countries in 2025. It found food safety ranked first in 10 of them and shelf life second in nine. Environmental impact ranked sixth out of seven characteristics across all 11. A separate McKinsey survey of U.S. consumers found they currently value cost, convenience and shelf life over sustainability.
Price is where green ambitions usually break. In RRD's data, 69% said a switch to eco-packaging must not raise the price. If it pushed costs beyond their limit, 40% would switch brands and another 33% would buy less often.
"Passing the cost of sustainable packaging onto your customers is a risk," says Joe Schewe, RRD's director of packaging structural design.
Hard to Open Costs More Than It Saves
The flip side is that bad packaging has a real cost, and customers say so.
In a November 2024 Arthritis Foundation study, more than half of general consumers said they would switch brands or pay a premium for packaging that was easier to use, as reported by Packaging World. Seventy-six percent said they would pay more, and more than 65% said they'd repurchase a product if its packaging were easier to use.
"If someone can't use your product, they won't come back for a repurchase," says Deb Gokie, who leads the foundation's Ease of Use program.
This isn't a niche concern. According to CDC figures cited by Packaging Dive, arthritis affects 30.5% of U.S. adults aged 45 to 64 and 50.4% of those 65 and older, a group with substantial spending power. "If packaging is difficult to open for the arthritis community, it's also difficult for regular consumers," Gokie says.
RRD's respondents point to the usual offender: 59% are annoyed by rigid plastic clamshells.
The Green Message Isn't Landing Either
When packaging tries to talk about sustainability, much of the message gets lost.
Seventy-nine percent of Gen Z respondents in the RRD survey said recycling instructions confuse them, compared with 42% of millennials. Gen Z is also the generation most likely to seek eco-packaging, at 63%. Yet 58% of them see it as marketing.
That's the worst combination for a brand: the audience that cares most is also the most skeptical and the most confused.
"People want to recycle, but 60% of them are confused," Katherine Huded of The Recycling Partnership told Packaging Dive. Her standard for good design: packaging "must make it as easy to recycle as to throw away."
Why This Gets More Expensive
A cost argument will also grow over time. Seven states now have extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging: Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington, according to a 2026 compliance map. Colorado sent producers their first invoices in January 2026.
Under these laws, brands help pay for collecting and recycling their packaging, and fees generally rise for materials that are hard to recycle. A mixed-material clamshell now costs you twice: once in customer frustration and again in compliance fees.
What This Means
The lesson isn't to give up on sustainability. It's to stop treating it as a message and start treating it as part of the design. The best package solves the customer's problem first, and the sustainable choice comes along with it.
- Design for the first 10 seconds. Test opening your package with no scissors, with cold hands, or with one hand. If your team needs a knife, your customers do too. Tear strips, perforations, and pull tabs are cheap.
- Protect first, then cut material. Shelf life and protection were non-negotiable for 76% and 73% of RRD respondents. Damage and spoilage waste far more than the package does, so reduce material only where it doesn't put the product at risk.
- Kill the clamshell where you can. A paperboard sleeve or single-material box is usually easier to open, easier to recycle, and cheaper under EPR fees. That's one change that improves three outcomes.
- Write disposal instructions like a stop sign. Use one material and one instruction, in plain words: "Box: recycle. Film: trash." If Gen Z can't follow it, assume most people can't.
- Let the experience make the green case. RRD found 76% of people get satisfaction from crushing or flattening packaging and 74% from recycling it. Make that easy and satisfying, and you won't need a paragraph of claims on the side panel.
Customers judge a package in the few seconds it takes to open it. Get those right, and the sustainability story becomes believable.
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