• Sea change: More and more companies will focus on providing sustainable products made from recycled ocean plastic, taking targeted action:
  • In Spring 2017, Adidas launched the new editions of the popular UltraBoost shoe, all made from ocean plastic.
  • Procter & Gamble committed to introduce 25% recycled plastic across 500 million bottles sold annually on the company’s haircare brands.
• At the same time, consumers are increasingly more aware of the impact of ocean plastic on wildlife and on their own health  Tweet This!, and of the importance of recycling. According to the research:
  • 66 per cent of Polish consumers prefer to drink water from a recyclable bottle.
  • Over half of UK fish consumers would be interested in sustainable alternatives.
  • 72 per cent of UK consumers would buy products with packaging made from recycled plastic.

• Transparency: As consumer distrust towards governments and media is spreading to companies, the latter will have to demonstrate greater transparency and openness regarding product ingredients, packaging and sourcing, as well as manufacturing processes. According to the research:
  • No less than half of Europeans agree that the enhanced ability of consumers to communicate and find information through the internet and social media puts pressure on companies to be more transparent.
  • One out of five 20- to 24-year-olds in the UK would like online retailers to publish videos showing how shoes and clothes are made.

References:

This article was compiled using a publication by Mintel. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the publication’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.mintel.com/european-consumer-trends/

The post Mintel research: Key 2018 consumer trends relate to sustainability appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

Four major consumer trends were recently identified by market research firm Mintel, affecting both consumer behaviour and how businesses engage with shoppers, and two relate to sustainability:

Bad business practices do not go unnoticed by consumers

• Consumers, increasingly aware of their rights, using digital platforms to express their views on companies, brands and products, pay greater attention to corporate practices and policies, feeling empowered to condemn and, possibly, change bad company practices:
  • Company policies, such as a company’s ethical treatment of workers (44%) significantly influence consumers in their purchasing choices
  • In the US, for 82% of restaurant customers the fair treatment of its employees will influence them in choosing a restaurant
  • In the UK, for 79% of consumers a clothing company’s returns policy will affect them in their shopping decisions

Consumers expect companies to care more about the environment

• Consumers across the globe increasingly care about emissions, urban pollution and the environmental impact of products, alongside a company’s environmental protection initiatives, using technology (relevant apps) that enables them to examine a product’s environmental performance:
  • 76% of UK adults consider the green credentials of products they buy, together with manufacturing and distribution practices and a company’s or brand’s reputation
  • 64% of US consumers expect companies to be more environmentally friendly
  • For 91% of Brazilian consumers, “green actions from companies can really have an effect on the world’s environment”
  • 41% of US consumers said they care about the environmental impact of products they buy

References:

This article was compiled using a report by Mintel. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/social-and-lifestyle/mintel-identifies-four-key-uk-consumer-trends-for-2015

The post Research by Mintel: 2 out of 4 major consumer trends relate to sustainability appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.