1 in 3 Consumers Have Switched Brands Over Packaging — and Only 16% Trust What Brands Tell Them
By Priory Direct | 15 June 2026 | Source: Pro Carton European Consumer Packaging Perceptions Survey 2026
Contents
A new survey of over 5,000 consumers across Europe — including 1,000 in the UK — has put hard numbers on what many in the packaging industry suspected: packaging decisions now directly influence whether customers stay loyal to a brand or walk. More than one in three consumers has already switched. And the majority don't trust brands to tell them the truth about recyclability.
Pro Carton's 2026 European Consumer Packaging Perceptions Survey, titled The Power of Packaging: What makes European Consumers Trust, Stay or Switch?, was published in late May 2026. The findings have direct implications for any business that sources, sells, or ships products in physical packaging.
About the survey
Pro Carton is the European Association of Carton and Cartonboard Manufacturers. Their annual consumer survey covers attitudes to packaging sustainability, material preferences, recyclability confidence, and brand trust — across Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The 2026 edition surveyed 5,000+ respondents in total, with the UK cohort numbering 1,000.
The survey was conducted against a backdrop of rising cost-of-living pressure — 78% of respondents said financial concerns had become more worrying over the past 12 months — which makes the resilience of pro-sustainability attitudes throughout the data particularly notable.
Brand switching: packaging is now a purchase driver
The headline finding is stark: 37% of European consumers — more than one in three — have switched to a different brand because of concerns about packaging. This is no longer a fringe behaviour. At that scale, it represents a material commercial risk for brands that have not reviewed their packaging against modern consumer expectations.
"Even in a challenging economic climate, the message from consumers is clear: sustainability matters, but it must be practical and affordable. The 2026 data shows that recyclability has become a decisive factor in purchasing decisions."Winfried Muehling, Director of Marketing & Communications, Pro Carton
The survey also found that two-thirds of consumers (66%) say sustainable packaging increases their trust in a brand. In the UK specifically, that figure sits at 62%. These numbers underline that packaging is increasingly functioning as a brand signal — not just a logistical requirement.
37%
of consumers have switched brands due to packaging concerns
84%
would choose cartonboard over plastic for the same product
87%
trust that cardboard/cartonboard will actually be recycled
16%
completely trust brands to be honest about recyclability claims
Cardboard beats plastic — across every age group
When consumers were asked which material they would choose for the same product, 84% said cartonboard over plastic. Cartonboard was also ranked the most likely material to be successfully recycled — 87% trust it will be recycled — which represents a 4% increase since 2025, overtaking corrugated cardboard for the first time.
The UK data shows that 72% of British consumers prefer cardboard packaging over plastic — a figure that rises to 92% among over-60s. This cross-generational preference is commercially important: sustainable packaging is not a preference held only by younger, more environmentally engaged shoppers. It has become the majority expectation.
"With cartonboard consistently preferred over plastic when given the choice, brands have a clear opportunity to build trust and loyalty through packaging that fits into established recycling systems and supports the transition to a circular economy."Winfried Muehling, Director of Marketing & Communications, Pro Carton
The trust problem: only 16% believe brand recyclability claims
Perhaps the most damaging finding for brands who rely on green marketing: only 16% of UK consumers completely trust brands to be honest about recyclability claims. A further 47% believe non-recyclable packaging should simply be banned.
This trust deficit has been building for years, fuelled by a history of vague "eco-friendly" and "sustainable" labelling that consumers can no longer verify. With EPR now requiring producers to formally declare RAM recyclability ratings — and with those ratings tied directly to fee modulation — the industry is moving toward a system where packaging claims need to be substantiated, not just asserted.
For brands, the implication is clear: packaging that demonstrably fits into the established recycling system carries more credibility than any green claim on a label. Materials that consumers recognise as recyclable — cardboard, paper, corrugated board — carry that trust by association.
Cost of living vs. sustainability: the 6% threshold
The survey confronts the tension between sustainability intent and spending behaviour directly. With 78% of respondents citing cost of living as an increasing concern, the survey tested how far that translates into purchase behaviour.
The finding: consumers would, on average, pay 6% more for sustainably packaged products. Crucially, 71% of UK respondents said they would continue buying sustainable products — but only if the cost is equivalent. This is not consumers abandoning sustainability; it is consumers placing a clear and quantifiable limit on the premium they will absorb.
For packaging buyers, this has a practical implication: a switch to recyclable, fibre-based formats that does not materially increase the cost of goods can be positioned as directly aligned with what the majority of UK consumers want — without requiring a price increase.
UK-specific findings
Packaging News highlighted additional UK data from the same survey, coinciding with the UK reaching Overshoot Day on 22 May 2026 — the point at which Britain had already consumed its full annual ecological budget. The UK-specific stats paint a consistent picture:
- 55% of UK consumers say sustainability has become more or very much more important to them over the past 12 months
- Among 18–29-year-olds, that rises to 69%
- 72% prefer cardboard/cartonboard packaging over plastic (rising to 92% among over-60s)
- 62% say sustainable packaging increases their trust in a brand
- 47% believe non-recyclable packaging should be banned
- 88% say they are confident about what packaging can and cannot be recycled
- Only 16% completely trust brands to be honest about recyclability claims
What it means for businesses sourcing packaging
The survey findings, taken alongside the EPR fee modulation system already in effect, create a clear dual pressure on packaging decisions: compliance cost and consumer preference are now pointing in the same direction. Here are the practical takeaways:
1. Cardboard and fibre-based formats are now the consumer default
84% of European consumers would choose cartonboard over plastic for the same product. If your current packaging uses plastic where cardboard is viable, you are actively working against your customers' stated preferences — and, under EPR, likely paying more for it too.
2. Packaging affects whether customers come back
With 37% of consumers having switched brands because of packaging concerns, this is no longer a marginal risk. For e-commerce businesses in particular — where packaging is the primary physical brand touchpoint — the unboxing experience and its environmental credentials now carry direct retention implications.
3. Vague green claims don't work — verifiable recyclability does
Only 16% of consumers completely trust brand recyclability claims. The most credible signal you can send is packaging made from a material consumers already recognise as recyclable — cardboard boxes, paper mailers, kraft-based products — alongside honest, specific labelling aligned with the Simpler Recycling framework.
4. Sustainable packaging needn't cost significantly more
Consumers will absorb an average premium of 6% for sustainability — but most would prefer parity. Right-sizing packaging, removing unnecessary void fill, and switching from plastic mailers to paper or cardboard equivalents can achieve both goals simultaneously: lower materials cost and stronger consumer alignment.
Looking to switch to cardboard and fibre-based packaging?
Priory Direct supplies cardboard boxes, paper mailers, padded envelopes and protective packaging — built for e-commerce businesses that want packaging aligned with both consumer expectations and EPR compliance.
Browse our range →Sources
- Packaging News — Importance of sustainable packaging to consumers undiminished, survey shows (26 May 2026)
- Pro Carton — Consumer Survey Report 2026: The Power of Packaging
- Sustainable Packaging News — One in Three Europeans Switch Brands Due to Packaging
- The Packaging Portal — UK Overshoot Day sees country in an 'environmental overdraft' (22 May 2026)
- Packaging Solutions Magazine — One in three Europeans switch brands due to packaging
