It pays to know what your consumers do with your product’s packaging after the contents are gone. Most consumers either dispose it or compost or recycle parts or all of it. Still others, however, hang onto it for further use.

They keep it as a collectible or find a second use for it. The latest such evidence, posted on the PN China Blog, comes from a study by ePanel Co. Ltd., a market research firm in Beijing, China. Surveying nearly 1,500 young women in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the researchers found that cosmetic packaging in China often has second uses after it has been emptied.

Women in China also favor glass packaging for cosmetics, but some prefer plastic containers.

This is interesting food for thought as more U.S. brands expand into China and consider ideas for keeping their brand name in front of customers. Know the local cultures; there are opportunities for packaging to work harder for your brand, even after the package is empty. Know Chinese consumers’ preferences and what drives purchase intent at shelf. As speakers have pointed out at recent packaging conferences, brand marketers also need to understand regional differences, which do exist in different parts of the country.