Consumer support still strong as Earth Day celebrates its 50th birthday

Article From：kearney.com

 

From peace movement through pandemic, Americans still opt to go green.

Earth Day, which marked the foundation of the modern environmental movement a half century ago this month, was born amid social crisis, matured through recessions and bull markets alike, and now celebrates its Golden Jubilee in the wake of one of the worst pandemics in recorded history. Our study reveals consumers still show strong commitment to the environment even as COVID-19 continues to ravage the nation. 

 

We’ll look at the impact COVID-19 has—or hasn’t—had on consumer sentiment in greater detail, but for now consider the following finding from our research: when we asked consumers if their attitudes toward the environment had changed since the outbreak, 48 percent of respondents said it had made them more concerned about the environment. That concern can be measured in dollars, with 55 percent telling us that as a result of the COVID-19 experience they were “… more likely to purchase environmentally friendly products” (see figure 1). 

 

Madness in the method

Kearney’s 2020 Earth Day survey of 1,000 consumers’ attitudes toward environmental products and practices was launched twice this year, first on March 6, when many thought COVID-19 would be confined to a few “hot spots,” and then a few weeks later, on April 10, when the true scope and scale of the pandemic had become apparent. 

 

What we found will surprise some and may seem counterintuitive to others—in the face of product scarcity and with mortality looming over the horizon, the participants in this year’s study continue to report growing support of earth-friendly products, services, and corporate policies. A quick look at where Earth Day started may help explain how consumers’ socially conscious principles survive even during a pandemic. 

 

You’ve come a long way, baby 

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans—or 10 percent of the US population that year—took to the streets to celebrate the first “Earth Day.” At the time, many believed America was on the verge of a generationally defined second Civil War. But US Senator Gaylord Nelson (D–WI) saw potential in the widespread Baby Boomer activism and an opportu­nity to channel that passion and energy toward support of his favorite cause—saving the planet. The result was the first Earth Day. 

 

Fifty years down the “green road” we see the power of Nelson’s idea echoed in the answers to this year’s Earth Day survey, as shoppers continue to hold the line in support of the environment. 

 

Attention: retailers and consumer goods companies, you’re still blowing it! 

What concerns us, though, is that despite the fact that consumers remain steadfast in their commitment to shopping in more environmentally sensitive and sustaining ways, consumer goods companies and the retailers they sell through still need to do more to drive green outcomes by catching up with consumer attitudes and behavior (see figure 2). This could take a variety of forms from adding climate score labels to consumer goods in supermarkets (similar to existing nutritional information) to, in the case of apparel manufacturers and retailers, providing total supply chain transparency and visibility. 

 

Consumers want a deeper environmental commitment from retailers and manufacturers and they still aren’t getting it. 

 

Perhaps paradoxically, our 2020 report is generally consistent with our findings from last year. Paradoxical because in 2019 the economy was soaring, seemingly shattering new records every week, while this year it is effectively shut down. What this tells us, and ought to tell retailers and manufac­turers, is that American consumers are unshakably committed to the environment and continue to hold corporations responsible for fixing any problems. 

 

Let’s take a deeper look at what we found. Almost 80 percent (78 percent) of respondents believe companies could be doing more to help them make decisions that improve environmental outcomes (see figure 3). And, even in the midst of COVID-19, 65 percent of the consumers we polled expect companies to clearly explain environmental benefits on their product labels or websites. Over half (60 percent) of respondents believe companies will meet their sustainability commitments and a solid majority of respondents (69 percent) believe most corporations will act to improve their environmental impacts beyond what government regulations require. 

 

That’s good news and bad news for branders since this means 40 percent of the consumers we spoke to don’t trust companies to meet their own commit­ments, and remain skeptical of corporate environmental claims. 

 

Like last year, eco-apparel and green personal care continue to see the highest growth potential across all age and income groups with a reported 37 percent increase in intention to shift to “green apparel” by respondents between 45 and 64. Fast-fashion was once again directly in the consumer crosshairs with 52 percent of respondents telling Kearney they would buy fewer fast fashion items after learning about the industry’s environmental impacts. 

 

There was “new news,” in terms of single-use plastics. A significantly growing number of respondents are opting out of single-use plastics. Our survey indicated an 85 percent increase in declining plastic utensils with food orders and a 164 percent increase in buying in bulk, when we asked for the likelihood of taking actions aimed at reducing single-use plastics. Asked about their future plans, 59 percent of respondents intend to bring reusable shopping bags to stores and 57 percent said they are very likely to carry reusable mugs/bottles. 

 

So, with 51 percent more respondents indicating they always consider environmental benefits when making a purchase decision than last year and an 11 percent increase in respondents sometimes considering impacts for certain products, what should retailers and manufacturers be paying attention to? 

 

Going for the green in more ways than one 

Consumers are following through on their commit­ments to factor environmental impacts into their purchase decisions. Respondents indicating an interest in changing purchasing behavior were asked, “Looking back, in the past 12 months which purchases of the core products have you shifted based on environmental benefit claims?” The results of our 2020 survey lined up with what 2019 respondents stated they planned to do over the next year, proving that consumers put their aspirations into action. 

 

There were consistent shifts toward the purchase of environmental products across a variety of key categories from food and beverage to apparel, personal care, and household products. And, with the exception of household products, respondents expect those trends to continue through next year. 

 

The biggest contributors to the core product shift in the apparel and personal care categories were shoppers between the ages of 25 and 64. Although overall there was a slight downtick compared with 2019 in younger age groups’ “always considering environmental impacts when purchasing,” this was offset in part by an uptick for older demographics. 

 

Price remains the leading barrier to purchasing products with environmental benefit claims, although the number of respondents citing price as their primary purchase hurdle declined by 7 percent from last year (see figure 4). Lack of environ­mental options ranked number two this year on the “hurdle to purchase” list with 22 percent of respon­dents reporting their local stores do not carry the products with environmental benefit claims, a 25 percent increase over 2019. The number of respondents who said environmentally friendly products were less effective decreased by 9 percent and 6 percent of those polled in 2020 said they found no meaningful difference between “green” and “non-green” products. 

 

products. 

 

Figure 04

One word. “Plastics.” 

Three years before the original Earth Day, Dustin Hoffman starred in the now iconic film, The Graduate. At a party, a young Hoffman is pulled aside by an adult anxious to share his worldly wisdom. His advice: “One word. Plastics.” While plastics are still a hot topic today, it is probably for very different reasons. 

 

As far as consumers are concerned, “plastics”—at least the single-use variety—have distinctly fallen out of favor. Well over half of respondents said that over the next year they plan to reduce their use of single-use plastics by opting for reusable shopping bags (59 percent) and reusable travel mugs or water bottles (57 percent) for on-the-go drinks (see figure 5). A third of respondents (33 percent) said they were very likely to prefer brands that use alternative packaging materials and almost as many (30 percent) indicated they planned on using delivery services that offer reusable containers. And when it comes to foodservice, 43 percent said they will turn down plastic utensils with their take-out and delivered meals. 

 

 

Respondents anticipate a 12 percent increase in giving preference to delivery services that use reusable containers and a 21 percent increase when it comes to bringing reusable shopping bags to stores. Our shoppers also indicated that, over the next 12 months, they expect a 37 percent increase in their use of reusable travel mugs, water bottles, and personal on-the-go drink straws. Half (50 percent) told us they would bring reusable containers with them to restaurants for leftovers and to the grocery store for produce items. 

 

Not surprisingly income is important, with respon­dents in higher income households tending to trust—and be more optimistic about—companies and their approach to sustainability than lower income respondents. That said, when asked if they trusted companies announcing sustainability commitments, such as reducing carbon emissions by 2025, 62 percent of respondents from households with annual incomes under $25,000 responded affirmatively. 

 

What (no) difference a pandemic makes

Prior to widespread consumer awareness of the full range of implications around COVID-19, consistency between 2019 and this year in the first wave of responses was not surprising. Consumers had announced their intentions to at least incrementally improve their environmental shopping practices, and by and large they have.

 

What was a bit of a surprise was that the second round of survey responses, provided when the rate of COVID-19-related illness and death was skyrocketing, were not significantly impacted by the pandemic.

 

This seems unusual at a time when shopping—especially in the food, drug, and everyday supplies trade—was undergoing a radical transformation in terms of product scarcity in key environmentally sensitive categories such as paper goods and increased demand for the strongest disinfectants and cleaning products available.

 

There was a marginal uptick in the number of post­COVID-19 respondents indicating they always or nearly always consider environmental impacts when making a purchase decision. Overall, there was a 5 percent increase in respondents who said, when looking ahead 12 months, that they saw themselves changing their purchase behavior toward products with environmental benefit (see figure 6). 

 

Affirmative responses in the food and apparel catego­ries were up a bit. Responses were also statistically the same in the beverage and personal care catego­ries. The only real decline in intentionality (4 percent) was found in the household products category. 

 

Final thoughts: the view beyond COVID-19 

The consistency between 2019 and 2020’s results as well as the lack of radical changes pre- and post­COVID-19 holds a critical message for retailers and consumer-focused manufacturers. 

 

Consumer intentions to shop with the environment in mind are being matched by actual behaviors—they are taking action and following through. While it’s hardly a Green Revolution, this represents something far more important—a permanent shift toward environmental products and services that transcends even what’s possibly the most serious threat to global public health the world has ever seen. 

 

The moral of the survey? Environmental awareness is real. Shoppers are continuing, albeit gradually, to increasingly put their wallets where their intentions are. And, more importantly, they expect businesses, not lawmakers or regulators, to be mindful stewards of the Earth by setting the highest possible environ­mental standards for everything they bring to market. 

 

Earth Day transpired amid the political, social, and cultural chaos that characterized much of the 1960s and 1970s. Today it is thriving, and if anything, the heightened awareness between the close, and perilous, relationship between human beings and nature, underscored by the current pandemic, has made consumers even more committed to doing better in addressing environmental issues. 

 

The message to industry couldn’t be clearer. As many of the buttons sported 50 years ago on the original Earth Day read: “Save the Earth. You can’t get off.”