Open Access Conference Proceedings

Sustainable business requires changes in the management of logistics activities. One of these activities is packaging, which has recently attracted the attention of many stakeholders in the supply chain. This paper focuses on consumer recognition of sustainable packaging for products of the chemical industry. Based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research among Czech consumers (focus group, questionnaire survey), indicators of sustainable packaging are identified and their level of importance in consumer assessment of product sustainability is quantified. The results of the research showed that the important indicators of sustainable packaging include returnability of packaging, recyclability of packaging, refillability of packaging, use of recycled packaging materials and eco-label. While green customers pay more attention to most of the indicators compared to mainstream customers, the order of their perceived importance does not differ in principle. Both customer groups consider returnability and recyclability of packaging to be the most important indicators. The findings develop the existing knowledge on consumer perceptions of packaging and provide business managers with the necessary basis for developing appropriate sustainable packaging strategies.

Keywords: sustainable packaging, sustainable packaging indicator, household chemicals, chemical industry

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