Just a quarter of consumers are aware of renewable materials in packaging and even fewer have heard of FSC, research from the carton producers association ACE has found.

Research carried out among 1,001 shoppers for the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK found that just 26% of consumers had heard of renewable materials being used in packaging, while 16% knew of the FSC chain of custody logo.

Richard Hands, chairman of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK and environment manager for Tetra Pak UK, said: "The concept of renewable energy is understood but we've been concerned that that understanding doesn't extend to packaging."

The research showed that 94% of consumers considered both FSC and renewable content to be important once the concepts had been explained to them.

Its publication follows recent announcements from both Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc over the use of FSC material in their packs. Tetra Pak UK is to roll out the logo on 75% of its cartons this year.

Hands said that his company, Tetra Pak, would aim to communicate the benefits of FSC and renewable materials through the medium of the cartons themselves and through channels such as social networking.

The ACE survey did not touch on recyclability, an area where cartons trail other materials by a wide margin but are improving their performance.

ACE statistics for 2008 show that 33% of cartons were recycled across Europe in that year, compared to 70% for steel packaging and 65% for glass.

Hands said: "There is space on supermarket shelves for all packaging formats but we are focusing on the carton's strengths."

"To get recycling right is very important and we've demonstrated that with an improvement in collection coverage to 83%. Nearly a quarter of consumers now have kerbside collections as well."

Hands added that the drive towards renewable materials was in step with the Government's recently-published 2030 food strategy, which calls for food to be produced, processed and distributed in sustainable ways.

Publication of the research results came as Sainsbury's revealed that it had moved its Basics chopped tomatoes into cartons made by SIG Combibloc, citing the format's lower weight as well as supply chain savings through the packs' square shape.