92% of consumers don’t notice sustainability logos on product packaging, according to a new study by QuadPackaging and Package InSight. At the same time, 40% say sustainability influences their buying decisions.
The researchers used mobile eye-tracking technology to determine where people looked when they shopped. What they found was that no one spent much time looking at sustainability logos.
Paul Nowak, senior director of sales strategy and business development at QuadPackaging said in a press release: “These results are not surprising if you take into account the barrage of logos, seals and stamps found on consumer package goods claiming some form of sustainability. Consumers have become numb to all the messaging on packaging which hinders the penetration of sustainability claims.”
There is one pretty significant caveat to these results: the study involved only 60 people. If the results were to hold up in a larger investigation, it would suggest that either people don’t care as much about sustainability as they say they do or that they don’t make purchasing decisions based on sustainability claims.
Nowak recommends companies put more effort into educating customers about what their sustainability claims really mean. “It might be important to your brand to include these logos, but you don’t need prime packaging real estate – awareness and education are more important to get through to consumers,” he said.
