Packages and closures for packaging

What really matters to consumers today when choosing packaging?

Based on the latest McKinsey article, “Sustainability in Packaging 2025: Inside the Minds of Global Consumers,” published in June 2025, we took a closer look at what consumers expect from packaging, and what truly ranks highest on their list.


McKinsey & Company is a global consulting firm founded in 1926 that regularly publishes reports, primarily through the McKinsey Global Institute providing, among other things, independent macroeconomic data and forecasts.


According to the study, product price and quality remain the top criteria driving purchase decisions. And what about ecology? Although environmental concerns are increasingly present in consumers’ minds, they often lose out to everyday realities, especially price. Interestingly, perceptions of the “eco-friendliness” of various packaging materials differ widely. Paper and glass are universally regarded as the most environmentally friendly. By contrast, views on plastic, particularly PET bottles, depend heavily on local circumstances. For example, in Sweden and Japan, where efficient return-and-recycle systems are in place, PET is seen in a positive light; in Italy, India, or China, the opposite tends to be true.


Regardless of the material, certain packaging features consistently rank highly across markets. Recyclability comes out on top, closely followed by the percentage of recycled content and the ability to reuse packaging. Features such as bioplastics or compostability rarely make consumers’ priority lists, perhaps because few people fully understand what these terms mean, or because they doubt their real-world effectiveness.


Who, then, should lead the shift toward more sustainable packaging? Manufacturers? Brands? In reality, everyone including consumers needs to play a part. Yet do consumers themselves feel co-responsible? 


Survey results show that consumers expect the industry to take the lead on sustainable packaging initiatives. Respondents point first to packaging producers and brand owners as those most responsible for driving eco-friendly change, and far less often hold themselves, as individual consumers, accountable. But can real progress happen without active consumer participation?


At Polpak Packaging, we recognize this shared responsibility and are rolling out solutions that meet the market’s growing needs. Our offering includes all-plastic closures as well as single-material closures such as lotion pumps, push-pull caps, and disc-top caps, because responsible packaging is a conscious step toward a better future.


Discover more of our solutions in our online catalog: PRODUCT CATALOG