This study encompassed three areas of research. The first area of research was to discover what
consumers believe to be green packaging. The second area of research was to discover how packaging
companies are approaching the creation of a green product. The final area of research was
to discover what experts in the packaging field are defining as green packaging.
The research in the first area was performed through descriptive research by conducting a survey
of the average consumer with varying ages and incomes. The second area of study used historical
research and consisted of case studies of companies which are featured on the Sustainable Packaging
Coalition’s web site. The last area of study was performed with historical research on how
experts in the field are defining green packaging. Finally, the research concluded with content
analysis, relating all the research back to the research question.
The descriptive research survey being conducted determined how consumers view green packaging
through a sample survey of tangibles, studying only a sample of the consumer population. A
sample survey is a type of survey that studies only a portion of the of the population. The data
collected was all be tangible data, meaning that it would merely discover if a consumer believed
that one package is more green than another (Levenson, 2001). The survey was created electronically,
using the tools available on www.surveymonkey.com and distributed through the site as
well. Links to the survey on www.surveymonkey.com were distributed via e-mail and Facebook.
The group of consumers surveyed were wide and random, consisting of people of various age
ranges and genders. The questions were posed are as follows