By Sophie Lindqvist, CMO Observer

McKinsey & Company has published a new consumer study, "Sustainability in packaging 2025: Inside the minds of global consumers," examining how buyers across markets think about the environmental footprint of the packaging on shelf.

The report continues a line of McKinsey research into packaging sustainability, a topic that has moved from corporate-responsibility departments to the centre of brand and trade-marketing decisions. Its focus is the consumer: what shoppers notice, what they claim to value, and how those stated preferences sit alongside price and convenience at the moment of purchase.

For chief marketing officers, the study speaks to a live budget question. Packaging reformulation, recyclable substrates and refill formats all carry cost, and the business case rests heavily on whether consumers reward those investments — in trial, in loyalty or in willingness to pay.

What does the report actually cover?

The publication is a global consumer survey. It sets out to describe the mindset of shoppers across regions on sustainability in packaging, rather than to score individual companies or materials.

Its core concerns, as framed by the title and McKinsey's prior work in this series, are:

• How consumers perceive sustainable packaging and which cues they respond to on pack
• How stated environmental concern translates, or fails to translate, into purchasing behaviour
• How attitudes differ across global markets rather than treating the consumer as a single bloc
• Where sustainability ranks against price, convenience and product performance in the purchase decision

The global scope matters. Packaging regulations, recycling infrastructure and cultural attitudes to waste vary widely between the United States, Europe and growth markets, and a message that tests well in one region can fall flat in another. Multi-market consumer data is what lets a CMO set regional packaging strategies rather than one global claim.

What does this change for marketing leaders?

In practical terms, the report gives brand teams a current read on the audience before they commit packaging budgets. Sustainability claims now sit under increasing regulatory scrutiny, and greenwashing exposes brands to legal and reputational risk. A claims strategy grounded in current consumer perception data, rather than in assumptions carried over from earlier studies, reduces that exposure.

The study also arrives at a moment when retailers and private-label brands are pressing suppliers on packaging footprints. CMOs who can show which sustainability attributes their own consumers actually register — and which they ignore — can prioritise the packaging changes that carry commercial weight.

McKinsey has not restricted the report to a single category. That breadth makes it usable as a benchmark across food, beverage, personal care and household products, the sectors where packaging volume and consumer contact are highest.

How should readers use it?

Treat the findings as directional input to segmentation and messaging work, not as a substitute for proprietary brand research. Consumer attitudes toward packaging sustainability shift with media coverage, regulation and local recycling reality; a 2025 read is a snapshot, and the useful question for any brand is how its own buyers diverge from the global average.

The report is available now from McKinsey & Company.

What does this change for the CMO? A fresher map of the consumer's mind — and one fewer excuse for guessing.