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When it comes to the US market in 2025, uncertainty is the only thing you can be certain of.
Between political upheaval, geopolitical turmoil, confusion around tariffs, and a steadily rising cost of living, consumers in the post-pandemic era have a lot on their plates already. The question for businesses is: Do they still have room in their lives for sustainability?
It’s a question that businesses need to be able to answer confidently in order to build successful strategies in the US market. The answer, however, is more complex than you might think.
An evolving sustainability landscape
‘Sustainability’ has been top of mind for the packaging industry for the several years. It’s been nearly impossible to read an industry magazine or attend a trade show without reading or hearing it numerous times.
All that talk has been backed up with results. Sustainable packaging solutions and technologies have taken several great leaps forward in just the last five years. And there has been evidence that consumers have supported this by voting with their wallets. Surveys from just two years ago reveal that roughly half of Americans were willing to pay more for products that had been packed in a way that they perceived to be sustainable.
However, a lot has changed since then. Consumer confidence has been rocked by the uncertainty plaguing the US economy, so it’s important to ask where sustainability fits into this new landscape.
Convenience is king
A recent report from McKinsey indicates that consumers broadly don’t care about sustainability any less than they did in the past. However, other concerns such as food safety, quality, and shelf life are more pressing priorities.
Interestingly, consumers are now least concerned about the appearance of packaging, instead valuing convenience and durability.
This focus on convenience seems to be influencing the way consumers are engaging with sustainable packaging. Recyclability is the most important sustainable factor for consumers, with 77% ranking it either “extremely important” or “very important”. In other words, consumers prefer sustainable features that they can conveniently engage with and dropping recyclable packaging into your bin, as part of your regular kerbside collection schedule, is about as convenient as it gets.
Consumers care about sustainability – but not at the cost of quality
Back to the question posed by the title of this blog: Do US consumers still care about sustainability? The answer is yes – but with some important nuances that businesses need to be aware of.
Sustainability still matters but it needs to be considered alongside every other consumer need.
Just because consumers have other, more immediate concerns in their day-to-day lives doesn’t mean they care about sustainability any less. But they expect sustainable packaging to be affordable and functional, delivering no compromises when it comes to quality and convenience.
Monopolymer solutions like EcoLidd, our high-performance lidding film, can offer the kind of strength and durability consumers expect while also offering the sort of end-of-life options that consumers can make work with their hectic schedules.
And our award-winning EcoFlow pouch materials offer even more options for businesses looking to provide convenient options for modern consumers. This pouch can be tailored with a variety of formats and features, delivering a recyclable solution for a wide variety of food and non-food applications.
Our portfolio includes a range of lightweight flexible solutions that can position your business as one that truly understands what American consumers want, delivering convenience, functionality, and sustainability at an affordable cost.
Not only that, but our cutting-edge technology, including two Fujifilm Jet Press FP790 digital presses, enables us to deliver these innovations with pristine print and a rapid lead time, providing certainty for businesses when they need it the most.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your next packaging project.
