Why Better Data Remains the Missing Link in Improving Packaging Decisions Across Complex Retail Operations

Retailers have long known the value of customer data. Now they're required to pay the same level of attention to packaging data for their private label ranges.

The catalyst for this shift has been the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation in states like Colorado, Oregon, and California — forcing retailers to report on their private label packaging data, with associated fees and threatening significant noncompliance penalties including charges of up to $50,000 per violation per day.

Some retailers and CPG brands are still only at the start of their journey and are panicking, but others saw this coming.

Using Data to Drive Change

The retailers that are still only just starting out tend to think solely in terms of compliance. And that’s if they think about EPR at all. Outside of grocery retail, sectors such as apparel and hardware have lower EPR awareness.

They’re worried about ending up on the "EPR free-rider" delinquency lists being created by lawmakers in Oregon and Colorado. They’re worried about paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. They think in terms of getting the bare minimum level of packaging data to comply.

And yes, that’s incredibly important. Homemade spreadsheets and proxy data guesswork are not going to cut it.

The retail chains that are further along their journey already have a lot of this data because they’ve been collecting it in preparation for EPR. They’re able to ask what else they can do with it.

Beyond compliance, better packaging data is a tool for mitigating EPR fees. Retailers often buy their private label products with the packaging already included in the unit price, but now they want better visibility on where that packaging originated and what it’s made of.

Some might want to leverage their scale to buy the packaging themselves rather than leaving it to their suppliers. They want greater control over the process.

In turn, that’s forcing them to think upstream. How do they change their workflows to capture data earlier in the process and exert greater control over their packaging? Do they have the right technological packaging capability in-house? Will suppliers act as strategic consultants and offer the right materials, or just try to sell the retailer more of what they’re already producing?

Private Label is the Key

This is an issue for retailers because private label is so important. It’s their main source of profits. It’s one of the fastest-growing sectors of U.S. retail, with sales increasing by 3.3 percent in 2025 according to industry figures, compared to a gain of only 1.2 percent for its national brand counterparts.

EPR fees could add millions of dollars to private label ranges, so retailers will have to do everything they can to mitigate those additional costs.

The commercial motivation is to make private label packaging more sustainable from the start rather than leaving it as an afterthought. That in turn creates a motivation to design it better; to make it appeal as a smarter purchase; to make it stand out from national brands both in terms of how it looks as well as how sustainable the materials and substrates are.

Ideally, EPR could actually lead to a golden age of private label packaging design, innovation, and optimization. In many cases that might mean less packaging, but across the board it means having the right packaging.

What’s already become clear is that access to better data sits at the heart of making this a reality.

Greg Lawson is the managing director of Aura Global, a sustainable packaging partner with decades of experience combining technology, innovation and insight.