A Q&A with Sustainability Manager, Meredith Moore
Sustainability is a key factor in how consumers evaluate the products they buy. For brands, this creates an opportunity to gain new customers and market share by adopting more environmentally friendly packaging.
Shorr’s 2025 Sustainable Packaging Consumer Report found that almost 40% of consumers have switched to a competing brand that offers sustainable packaging, and just as many people are willing to pay more for products with sustainable packaging.
Shorr’s Sustainability Manager, Meredith Moore, outlines emerging sustainability trends and how Shorr is helping brands navigate rapid industry changes.
The question on everyone’s mind…
Where is the sustainable packaging industry headed in 2026?
We are seeing a higher demand for packaging that’s recyclable, either curbside or store drop-off. Companies are thinking about how to make their packaging lighter by optimizing material usage and exploring alternatives to lower their environmental footprint.
These changes are typically driven by several factors. The first consideration is how consumer behavior impacts buying decisions. Shorr’s survey shows 90% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies with sustainable packaging. The second is potential exposure to fees from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws and other regulations. Additionally, companies’ ESG goals are driving reassessment of their packaging designs and operational processes.
A challenge companies face is quantifying environmental impact to credibly communicate their sustainability story. Consumers are expecting companies to not only provide sustainable options but to be transparent about their commitments and environmental objectives. Shorr is helping customers quantify their efforts, for example, the number of trees and gallons of water saved and waste diverted from landfills based on packaging changes. By leveraging tangible data, it increases trust and reduces the risk of greenwashing.
90% of Consumers are more likely to buy from brands with sustainable packaging.
As Meredith noted, several factors are driving innovation and accountability for the packaging industry. These factors are influencing packaging design, material choices, and how sustainability progress is measured. We asked Meredith to further unpack what these changes mean for companies.
Trend 1: Circular Economy
What does a circular economy look like?
At its core, a circular economy keeps materials in use for as long as possible. It means keeping material out of landfills and finding ways to reincorporate those materials back into the supply chain or to recycle them. As a result, companies may also be able to reduce their exposure to EPR fees.
What are some of the common hesitations you’ve seen from companies looking into circular economic solutions, and how does Shorr provide guidance?
Product cost can be an upfront barrier, but we help brands overcome it by identifying opportunities to reduce costs in other areas within the value stream. It requires a holistic, comprehensive approach beyond packaging product selection.
Another challenge is the operational and process changes required to shift to a circular model and institute new programs, such as closed loop recycling, to not only reduce waste hauling charges but also earn additional revenue by recycling clean material. By identifying areas of improvement within the supply chain, we can create a plan to cut back on costs in other areas.
What specific tools and services does Shorr provide?
Shorr helps companies by fostering partnerships and industry connections to better facilitate their sustainability programs. We connect organizations to potential outlets to help facilitate closed loop and other recycling initiatives, rather than the material ending up in landfills. We also offer a Sustainability Product Overview, which highlights products with sustainable attributes across multiple product categories and environmental goals. We support our customers’ unique initiatives by helping quantify their packaging decisions and offer recommendations to further reduce their environmental footprint.
How is Shorr uniquely qualified to provide these tools and services?
As a member of the United Nations Global Compact, we align our operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. This commitment reflects our dedication to responsible business practices and advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Joining the world’s largest corporate sustainability network demonstrates our transparency, accountability, and continuous progress toward building a more sustainable future.
We are also active members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), staying proactive in terms of best practices involving legislation, innovation, and technologies.
Our EcoVadis score continues to improve each year which is the foundation for our sustainability program’s growth and credibility. This third-party assessment ranks companies based on their environment, procurement, ethics, and labor and human rights policies and programs, placing Shorr in the top 15%.
By facilitating recycling and closed loop opportunities, we connect organizations to potential outlets to help facilitate recycling initiatives rather than the material ending up in landfills.
In the past, initiatives around recycling and reuse were often the result of a corporation’s internal philosophy on corporate social responsibility. Today, new laws and regulations are driving more companies to move to a circular model.
Trend 2: Evolving Regulation and Compliance
How should companies prioritize compliance investments and navigate regulatory changes? And how does Shorr provide guidance?
As packaging legislation evolves, companies should be looking for opportunities to right-size, downgauge, reduce material volume, incorporate recycled content, and switch packaging materials to reduce exposure to fees. They should also ensure they are using appropriate labels and documentation to remain compliant.
Shorr offers a wide range of sustainable packaging solutions, and our team works with suppliers to review their current solutions and provide more sustainable alternatives that are both compliant with emerging legislation and help reduce exposure to regulatory fees. We also leverage educational resources, partnerships with outside networks, and resources such as the Circular Action Alliance to help brands move forward faster.
Which regulations do you think will have the biggest impact on packaging and why?
EPR is having a substantial impact right now. While it is not new on the global scale, it is causing many companies to completely rethink their packaging design to reduce potential exposure to high fees. The brands making significant improvements are switching from traditional products to more sustainable alternatives, for example, by switching from EPS to fiber-based products.
As packaging legislation evolves, companies should be looking for opportunities to right-size, downgauge, reduce material volume, incorporate recycled content, and switch packaging materials to reduce exposure to fees.
Compliance goes beyond great packaging design. Companies must be able to document and track materials throughout the entire lifecycle. Achieving this level of visibility requires a strong commitment to data integrity.
Trend 3: Data Integrity
Why is data so important when it comes to sustainability?
Accurate data brings credibility to sustainability claims, which promotes consumer trust and positive brand reputation. It also helps companies measure ESG goals and avoid greenwashing. This level of transparency and collaboration is necessary to reduce consumer confusion while holding companies accountable to make progress.
If a company isn’t currently tracking data, where should it start, and how does Shorr provide guidance?
It can be difficult for companies to track sustainability data across complex supply chains, especially as EPR deadlines approach. Companies should first examine the products they are selling and where they’re currently selling those products. Understand the type of materials being used (e.g., flexible film) and what the components are made of (e.g., plastics, paper). Then, determine the weight of each component, the recycled content, and recyclability.
Many companies look to a trusted supply chain partner with access to this data. Shorr helps its partners get started by tracking the weight of the materials shipped to them and providing access to that data and additional documentation for reporting.
What This Means for Your Business
Sustainable packaging trends continue to evolve, and they are having a profound impact on how companies approach packaging decisions. As Meredith explained, regulatory compliance and consumer expectations are pushing brands to prioritize sustainability to stay competitive in 2026. This has resulted in the need for companies to tell a compelling and credible sustainability story backed by real data.
Companies might be required to redesign packaging to meet customer expectations and keep up with packaging legislation. Though that can be an investment, the financial risk of missing registration, reporting, or fee payments for sustainable packaging legislation can be significant, with fines up to $50,000 per instance or even loss of market access.
The Cost Benefits
To ensure success, companies should look for packaging partners with credibility, data transparency, and innovation to support their long-term goals. Shorr has been awarded the Silver Medal under the 2025 EcoVadis standards. This means that Shorr’s ongoing investments and dedication to environmental stewardship, ethical business practices, and social responsibility place it among the top 15% of evaluated organizations.
Our commitment is reflected in the results we deliver for our customers.
Shorr helped one eCommerce company reduce material use by switching from corrugated boxes to the Pregis EverTec mailer. The reduced freight costs helped the company reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 73% and saved the company over $4.3 million each year.
For a leading agricultural manufacturer, our experts were able to advance the company’s 2030 goal to reduce Scope 3 CO2e emissions by 30%. This was done by replacing 100% virgin void-fill paper with a curbside recyclable kraft paper that is responsibly sourced from 100% recycled materials and is much lighter for workers to handle.
Shorr never takes a one-size-fits-all approach for sustainable packaging solutions. Instead, we are proud to partner with our customers with expert guidance and tailored product recommendations that help them achieve or establish their own environmental and social goals, no matter where they are on their sustainability journey. We welcome the opportunity to begin a conversation about your priorities.
Connect with a Shorr sustainable packaging expert for a free consultation.
