Packaging, marketing, logistics and the environment: are there trade‐offs?

TLDR

A mail survey of UK marketing executives identified the decision‑makers for primary sales packaging and assessed how they perceive trade‑offs among marketing, logistics, and environmental sustainability. The study found that sales packaging mainly protects the product, is driven by marketing, costs less than 10 % of product price, and that most respondents see no conflict between marketing/logistics and environmental goals, yet view packaging as a major environmental issue and prioritize sales performance over environmental compatibility when trade‑offs arise.

Abstract

Identifies, via a mail survey of UK marketing executives, who makes the sales packaging (i.e. primary packaging) decision within the company, and the extent to which these individuals perceive trade‐offs between the traditional marketing and logistical functions of a sales package, and environmental pressures to reduce, recycle and reuse packaging. Finds that the primary function of sales packaging is to protect the product until it is ready for use. The marketing function carries the most influence within the organization when it comes to making the sales package decision and, in the majority of cases, sales packaging accounts for less than 10 per cent of overall product costs. Claims the majority of respondents did not see a trade‐off between the marketing and logistical function of the sales package and the environmental demands to reduce, recycle and/or reuse sales packaging. However, reports that respondents did agree that sales packaging is a major environmental concern and, assuming it is not possible to have a sales package which both enhances the saleability of the product and is compatible with the environment, the ability of the sales package to sell the product is more important than its compatibility with the environment.