Through thick and thin? When sustainable packaging design increases consumer waste generation

Abstract

Abstract Packaging decisions involve a complex balance of cost, functionality, efficiency, branding, and sustainability initiatives. One promising sustainability strategy that also reduces costs is lightweighting, a manufacturing practice aimed at reducing raw material usage. In reducing raw material use, lightweighting results in structural changes to the packaging, specifically a reduction in packaging density, which has downstream consequences on consumer disposal. When assessing packaging for disposability cues, we show packaging density drives perceptions of its quality, value, and associated feelings of waste aversion. While lightweighting reduces firms’ waste, this work finds that once low-density packaging gets into consumers’ hands, it produces more waste, as consumers are more likely to improperly trash low-density versus high-density recyclable packaging. However, prompting consumers to reconsider the value of low-density packaging can curtail this unintended wastefulness. This work highlights that even sustainable firm practices can result in unintended and unsustainable consequences.