Recycled content has a messaging problem — and an opportunity

The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.

There’s a three-second rule when it comes to packaging: Marketers have just three seconds to convince a buyer to purchase a product. Increasingly, sustainability is influencing those purchase decisions, but new research shows an uphill battle: nearly half of consumers don’t differentiate between terms like “recycled content,” “recyclable” and “recycle.” 

Research from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) shows 48 percent of consumers incorrectly believe packaging made with “recycled content” can be recycled. Yet once consumers understand messages like, “Made with 100% recycled content,” these claims become the most powerful sustainable packaging attribute influencing purchases. 

Term differentiation

The phrase “made with recycled content” is meant to communicate the use of recycled materials in a packaging format — e.g., “This water bottle is made from 90 percent recycled plastic.” On the other hand, terms like “recycle” or “recyclable” are meant to serve as instructions, to tell you what to do with packaging after you’ve used it. It’s the difference between “Where did this come from?” and “Where should this go?”

The key point: Packaging made with recycled content isn’t always recyclable.

Across American consumers, our research shows a confidence-comprehension gap when it comes to the meaning behind recycled content, with 49 percent of consumers believing they can accurately explain recycled content to a friend without looking it up. But when asked to do so, 48 percent of consumers got it wrong. In other words, they see “made with recycled content” and automatically think they can recycle the packaging in question.

Despite this disparity, consumers want to shop sustainably and research shows they increasingly do; the share of Americans purchasing sustainable products rose by 6 percentage points between 2024 and 2025. Once brands clear up this confusion, they’ll be able to tap into growing demand.  

A packaging story

With nearly half of all consumers unclear on the difference between recycled and recyclable, brands and retailers have their work cut out for them. New research sheds light on a tool that companies can use to communicate a piece of packaging’s recycled content and give instructions on its recyclability, all while inspiring purchase. That simple but powerful tool? Storytelling.  

Stories, more than statistics, resonate with consumers. If you tell someone a statistic alone, the influence of that fact will fade by about 73 percent over the course of a day. If you tell someone a story, the story’s influence only fades by about 32 percent.  

The same is true when it comes to the story of packaging’s past. “Not all packaging claims are equal,” said Susannah Enkema, vice president of research and insights at Shelton Group. While the percentage of recycled content matters (e.g., “made with 75 percent recycled content”), the actual story — the trees saved, the waste diverted, the emissions avoided — behind the recycled content can matter more. “Narrative claims connecting the recycled content to real-world impacts helped customers see that their purchase was supporting good that’s already happened, even before they do their part of recycling,” said Enkema, whose research team conducted the consumer survey with SPC. 

When packaging communications translate recycled content into tangible impacts by saying things like, “The recycled content in this bottle has carbon savings equivalent to removing 50 cars from the roads annually,” they yield two key benefits: First, they bridge the gap between abstract environmental data and everyday consumer experiences, giving consumers concrete visuals to associate the recycled content with. Second, these story-based communications far out-perform percentage-only claims.  

Moving from confusion to competitive advantage 

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is a great slogan and an even better practice, but it’s contributed to some confusion. Brands and retailers that demystify the “re” words on packaging can reap benefits to both the planet and their P&L statements. 

Once consumers understood the difference between the “re” words and the story behind recycled content, recycled content became the top sustainability packaging attribute influencing purchase intent, according to our study. In other words, if brands want to sell sustainability, the right recycled content message could turn consumer confusion into one of their best competitive advantages.  

To minimize confusion while maximizing competitive advantage and circular outcomes, brands can: 

• Refrain from using the “chasing arrows” logo to communicate recycled content, reserving them for packaging that’s recyclable.
• Audit their current packaging claims to identify opportunities where recycled content messaging could be leveraged to drive a stronger consumer response. 
• Establish a strategy to communicate both recyclability and recycled content, by using distinct messaging for recycled content deploying recognizable instructions to communicate recyclability. 

There’s a clear takeaway for everyone in sustainability: The demand for recycled content is real. The confusion is fixable. And brands that clarify recycled content first will reap the most rewards.