"As people opt out of other [marketing] disciplines, what you communicate on the shelf is more important than ever," said Block.

Hence, recycled/renewable packaging, such as those from Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vt.—one of the nation's leading producers of nontoxic and environmentally safe household packages and products—is on the rise. And the once-ubiquitous plastic clamshell cases are shrinking, being reformulated with agricultural rather than petroleum products, or are disappearing outright. "Consumers now want sustainability built into their brands, as long as it isn't too inconvenient and companies are compelled to listen and respond," said Swanson.

In some cases, it is the retailer that is taking the lead. Wal-Mart recently mandated that vendors adhere to strict sustainability guidelines in packaging and the mass merchant has committed to reducing excess packaging on its own store brands as well.

Tesco, the U.K.-based supermarket chain that expanded into the U.S. last year with its Fresh é Easy stores, said it would list carbon footprint information on its private label packaging. Much like nutritional labels, these will detail the amount of energy expended to produce, package, transport and market each product so customers can factor in the information when making their choices.

Whether companies decide to go green or not, packaging has become "absolutely the most critical component to get right," said Barney Hughes, president of Hughes Design Group, South Norwalk, Conn. "It's the only thing that connects directly with the consumer, at the store and during the use of the product."

"Advertising opens the conversation with consumers and gets them interested," said Swanson. "Packaging has to close the deal."

Published by BrandWeek
December 31, 2007