Packaging Innovations 2025: GoUnpackaged director urges reusability over “material shifting”

Environmental sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a must, with half of UK consumers actively preferring to shop with brands that implement reuse and refill systems, according to Catherine Conway, director and reuse lead at reusable packaging consultancy GoUnpackaged. But she explains that the decision to opt for reusability must be made early on in the design process — only then can systems be designed to be more sustainable than single-use.

GoUnpackaged estimates that the UK would eliminate over 1.4 billion items of single-use packaging annually if every household opted to reuse just one item per week. 

The consultancy specializes in helping clients transition from single-use to reusable packaging. It identifies the best products and categories to transition to reuse based on commercial, operational, and environmental KPIs using its proprietary supply chain modelling tool, UnpackAnalytics. 

Packaging Insights sits down with Conway to discuss the influence of reusable packaging at Packaging Innovations in Birmingham, UK, next week. We also talk about the challenges for scaling reusable applications, their limitations, and consumer support for refill solutions. 

Are you expecting reusable packaging systems to trend at Packaging Innovations?
Conway: I am hoping that we will start to see a shift from the current focus on material shifting (e.g. from single-use plastics into single-use paper) to promoting reusable solutions. The problem with material shifting is that it is all still single-use and a waste of resources when we need to move more products into reuse. 

Will reusable packaging play a bigger role than in previous years?
Conway: Yes, but reusable packaging is in its infancy and many packaging companies are not taking it as seriously as they should. Companies that embrace reuse and refill systems can now establish themselves as leaders in sustainable retail. Single-use packaging is a liability, with shoppers favoring brands and retailers that align with more eco-conscious values. GoUnpackaged supports Aldi UK with designing refill solutions.

Implementing reuse systems — such as refillable containers in-store and reusable packaging — can not only encourage customer loyalty but also help businesses stay ahead of incoming regulations such as pEPR, where producers will be expected to cover the full cost of waste management of the packaging they place on the market.

What are the main challenges for scaling reusable packaging?
Conway: There are various challenges facing the transition to wide-scale reuse. Currently, the supply chain is powered by a linear economy and — as with other sectors engaging in the Green Transition to a Circular Economy — this involves system change, which is complex and requires change from industry (to offer reusable solutions to customers), government (to develop the right legislative environment to create a level playing field for businesses to change their business models), and consumers (to change their behavior toward purchasing products in reusable and refillable packaging). 

How can GoUnpackaged help overcome these challenges?
Conway: We work with businesses to identify the right products to transition to reuse and the right reusable packaging systems to implement. We do this by analyzing and costing every step of the single-use use supply chain and comparing it to an assumed reuse system to understand all the impacts on cost, labor, materials, carbon emissions and pEPR fees. Only by understanding this information can clients make decisions based on real-world data and empirical evidence. Sometimes, the answer will be to use an existing reusable solution. Other times, we at GoUnpackaged will help to design a new solution, such as our Refill Coalition work with Aldi UK & Ocado Retail, where we co-designed and tested a new standardized supply chain solution for in-store refill, and online consumer returnables. 

Are there limitations to reusable packaging, such as hygiene and shelf life?
Conway: There are tens of thousands of products in grocery and hospitality where reusable packaging makes sense from a commercial, operational, and environmental point of view without impacting on hygiene or shelf life — for example, switching from single-use to reusable cups at a stadium. There is a small number of categories, for example, medical packaging, where reuse is far more challenging due to the regulatory requirements of the sector. Therefore, we focus on the easier products, categories, and use cases to transition, of which there are many. 

How much more eco-friendly can reusable packaging be compared to single-use solutions?
Conway: It depends on the product, the volume of sales, the use case (for example, in-store, online, on-the-go), the efficiency of the washing, and reverse logistics as well as the materials used for the reusable packaging itself. This is why we encourage a “modeling first” approach so that the right decisions can be made early on in the design process of any new system — for example, the most efficient reusable packaging design or return logistics for a particular solution. Additionally, we always encourage our clients to use LCA as a robust and standardized way of measuring the benefits of any reuse system versus single-use. 

How willing are consumers to engage with reuse and refill systems?
Conway: Our Refill Coalition real-world trials show that for both solutions (in-store refills at Aldi UK, online consumer returnables at Ocado Retail), the sales share is about 30% — i.e., where the products are available in refill or in reusables, 30% of the sales come from these products compared to single-use. This shows a huge latent demand among mainstream UK consumers to purchase goods this way, which is not being served by the majority of UK retailers. 

In addition, we recently released some consumer research (conducted by Opinium) showing that two-thirds of Brits (65%) believe all retailers should be offering reuse and refill systems and moving away from single-use plastics. When reuse and refill systems are made convenient, over two-thirds (68%) of consumers are likely to incorporate them into their weekly shop, with enthusiasm rising to 77% among younger shoppers aged 18–34. 

The message is clear: sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a must. Half of consumers (50%) actively prefer to shop with brands who implement reuse and refill systems, and 45% say they would choose retailers prioritizing reuse over those that don’t.

GoUnpackaged counts brands, retailers, and operators from grocery, FMCG, and hospitality, as well as NGOs and the UK Government as its main clients, supporting them with research and policy development around reuse. 

Ahead of Packaging Innovations 2025, we explored the impacts of incoming EPR legislation on packaging businesses. We also spoke to Martin Kersh, executive director at the Foodservice Packaging Association, about his concerns around “misleading” packaging claims, and Tey Bannerman, partner at McKinsey & Company, about generative AI in packaging design.