A new pan-European study confirms the increasingly central role of packaging in purchasing decisions and reinforces RDM Group’s call to brands: accelerate the use of recycled cartonboard.
The study, conducted by Perspectus Global on 6,149 consumers across six European countries, shows that 66% of respondents consider the environmental impact of packaging a determining factor in purchasing decisions. Ninety-one percent of consumers say they notice packaging, and 45% have chosen a brand specifically because of it — a figure that rises to 59% among young people aged 18–29.
Sustainability has now become a key criterion: 75% of European consumers consider it important, with even higher figures among those under 44. When discussing sustainability, more than half of respondents (55%) immediately think of packaging and recycling. Purchasing behavior also confirms this trend: 38% have stopped buying a product due to packaging-related concerns.
Among the most important factors are ease of recycling (56%) and packaging sustainability (52%), both considered far more important than aesthetics (18%). When faced with equivalent choices, consumers show a clear preference for recycled cartonboard: 69% choose it over virgin material, and 80% believe its use makes brands more responsible. In addition, the same percentage of consumers say that visible signs of recycled material would help them identify more sustainable companies.
However, a knowledge gap remains: only 54% of Europeans say they can distinguish between recycled and virgin cartonboard, with significant differences between countries. RDM Group therefore encourages brands to systematically evaluate replacing virgin fibers with recycled alternatives wherever possible, highlighting concrete environmental benefits and increasingly equivalent performance.
“Today, recycled cartonboard can guarantee high performance in a growing number of applications,” says Krzysztof Krajewski, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer at RDM Group. “The question is no longer whether it works, but why it is not being used wherever possible.”
With evolving technologies and growing consumer awareness, recycled packaging is proving to be a strategic driver for brand competitiveness and for the transition toward a circular economy model.