Sustainability was once the hottest word in business. As consumers demanded eco-consciousness, brands raced to prove their green credentials.
Then everything went a little flat.
The data shows it: In a September 2024 Deloitte global survey, 67% of consumers said they view climate change as an emergency — and about half (46%) of them, across 23 countries, bought at least one sustainable good or service in the month of the survey. That’s remained steady since 2022, but was down from 56% in 2021.
“Our most recent research indicated that price-consciousness remains the biggest barrier, and as inflation started to bite a couple of years ago, we saw a slight dip in consumers saying they were making sustainable purchases,” says Derek Pankratz, senior research leader for the Deloitte U.S. Sustainability Practice.
Kate Assaraf, CEO of the sustainable hair care brand Dip, has experienced this firsthand: She finds that most customers do want to shop sustainably, but “people are tired of spending more on sustainable products only to be left feeling burned.”
Related: 4 Reasons Sustainability Will Benefit Your Business and Satisfy The Growing Trend of Green-Hungry Customers
Where the opportunities are
Pankratz has a name for this large group of would-be sustainability customers: the “missing middle.” They care about environmental impacts, but are unable or unwilling to make the necessary trade-offs right now.
“Companies that are able to break those trade-offs could tap into potentially sizable latent market demand,” he says.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. “In some cases,” Pankratz says, “making products more sustainable will likely require companies to rethink decades of manufacturing innovation that made products cheap, higher quality, and convenient.”
For entrepreneurs who want to pursue a sustainable path, there’s an additional wrinkle to consider: Not all categories are considered equal. Consumers seem willing to spend more for sustainability on certain kinds of products.
In a survey this year by supply-chain solutions company Blue Yonder, 48% of consumers said they were interested in sustainability in food and beverage. About a third tolerate higher prices for sustainable options
in the categories of cleaning products, personal care, and beauty. The percentages dropped lower for clothing, footwear, appliances, consumer electronics, and automotive purchases.
Related: How to Harness the Power of Sustainability in Small Business to Drive Profits and Capital
The other big barrier
Blue Yonder’s survey also found a trust issue: Only 20% of consumers believe that brands are being truthful when making sustainability claims. A higher percentage, 25%, say they can’t always trust sustainability sales pitches.
Assaraf, who sells sustainable soap, has seen how easily consumers can become disaffected. “People are like, ‘I’ve spent $14 on a sustainable deodorant. It stinks. I’m back to Old Spice, Secret, whatever,'” she says. Then those consumers are less likely to trust another sustainable brand in the same category, like hers.
The divergence between beliefs and buying habits is also evident in the pets category. The majority of pet owners say they’ll spend heavily to make their furry friends happy and healthy, and Pet Age reported in March that sustainability has become a “significant focus.” But a 2024 global survey of pet owners found that only 12% to 16% were willing to pay more for sustainably raised or produced pet foods.
In many instances, Eduardo B. Andrade of Imperial College Business School writes, there’s also “sustainability neglect” — the idea that certain shoppers, when buying certain products, just don’t think of sustainability as relevant. For example, when someone’s buying a candy bar, they often don’t think about the environment in the way they might when buying paper plates.
“That,” Andrade says, “may help explain why our eco-friendly reusable bags are full of eco-unfriendly, plastic-wrapped products.”
For sustainability-focused entrepreneurs, it’s a problem to be solved — and an opportunity in waiting.
Related: 6 Sustainability Strategies Every Business Leader Should Embrace
Sustainability was once the hottest word in business. As consumers demanded eco-consciousness, brands raced to prove their green credentials.
Then everything went a little flat.
The data shows it: In a September 2024 Deloitte global survey, 67% of consumers said they view climate change as an emergency — and about half (46%) of them, across 23 countries, bought at least one sustainable good or service in the month of the survey. That’s remained steady since 2022, but was down from 56% in 2021.
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