Packaging constitutes a large proportion of global plastic waste, and developing more sustainable packaging solutions is of major interest to designers, the packaging industry, and researchers. Research regarding sustainable packaging, however, is mainly focused on technological development, design, and marketing, yet sustainability is not merely a technological issue but is also about creating packaging features that both enable and encourage consumers to make more sustainable consuming choices. This chapter introduces a literature review that explores the research regarding sustainable packaging from the consumer point of view, focusing on the roles and agency consumers are perceived to have in packaging systems. Drawn from the literature published in 2000–2023, three thematic entities providing different perspectives on packaging-consumer-society relations were recognised: (a) package as a function, (b) waste and circular economy and package, and (c) the green consumer. There is also a considerable lack of research that would acknowledge the cultural aspects and underlying cultural patterns that guide consumers’ consumption habits regarding packaging.

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Addressing Consumer Perspectives on Sustainable Food Packaging: Insights from the Research Literature

  • Kirsi Sonck-Rautio,
  • Nina Tynkkynen,
  • Taina Lahtinen

摘要

Packaging constitutes a large proportion of global plastic waste, and developing more sustainable packaging solutions is of major interest to designers, the packaging industry, and researchers. Research regarding sustainable packaging, however, is mainly focused on technological development, design, and marketing, yet sustainability is not merely a technological issue but is also about creating packaging features that both enable and encourage consumers to make more sustainable consuming choices. This chapter introduces a literature review that explores the research regarding sustainable packaging from the consumer point of view, focusing on the roles and agency consumers are perceived to have in packaging systems. Drawn from the literature published in 2000–2023, three thematic entities providing different perspectives on packaging-consumer-society relations were recognised: (a) package as a function, (b) waste and circular economy and package, and (c) the green consumer. There is also a considerable lack of research that would acknowledge the cultural aspects and underlying cultural patterns that guide consumers’ consumption habits regarding packaging.