Recently, there has been an upward trend in consumers wanting sustainable products. They demand more from their brands and are willing to switch allegiances if a company does not prioritize sustainability. Consumers are even prepared to pay higher prices for products to get what they want too.

But, why do consumers care about sustainability and how can businesses make sure they are able to deliver this demand? Let’s take a closer look at the answers to these questions.

What is Sustainability?

First of all, let’s be clear about what we mean when we are referring to sustainability. Essentially, in a business sense, this means using practices that can meet your needs without causing unnecessary harm to future generations. In other words, sustainable practices are those that can achieve a goal but without huge amounts of harm to the environment or depleting natural resources too harshly.

Therefore, a company that prioritizes sustainability cares about the environment and its community. As an example, you can read more about sustainability and the progress made in packaging here. Now that we know what sustainability is to the consumer. Let’s take a look at why it matters to them and what brands need to think about very carefully moving forward. There is a lesson here for all businesses to acknowledge.

Desire to Help the Environment

Most people realize that the environment is being destroyed every day. It is becoming a concern as people believe that global warming is getting worse. So, they want to help the environment by supporting businesses that care about this matter too. For example, there are some companies that are notorious for being polluters and a lot of people are switching their allegiances. For example, this includes Chevron, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and even Tesco.

So, in order to help the environment, customers look for brands that promote sustainability. This is a sign that they also care about the environment and share the same goals and morals as their customers. Of course, customers are more likely to support brands that appeal to their interests and this is one example of that happening.

To Reduce Production Waste

It is common knowledge that there are a lot of brands out there that are wasteful. This can be in production were only part of materials or used or even after production when things have not been bought, such as with food. While this was something that was just accepted and perhaps ignored years ago, customers now want to see a change from their favorite brands. Otherwise, they will shop elsewhere.

So customers care about sustainable practices since this can reduce the amount of waste that is produced in production. It can make customers feel good about the choices they are making and know that brands are doing everything they can to reduce waste that might pollute the environment.

Lower Their Carbon Footprint

A lot of people have the goal of lowering their carbon footprint. Indeed, this is linked to wanting to help the environment. But, it is a way that can be measured. There are many consumers that want to make sure that their greenhouse gas emissions are lower every year. One way they do this is by supporting and buying from brands that promote sustainability when it comes to their products.

So, by companies prioritizing sustainability, customers feel better about their choices. Their buying habits can be part of lowering their carbon footprint. Again, if they feel that a brand does not care about this and is making no effort to change, they will lower their own carbon footprint by switching to another brand.

To Support Animal Welfare

Any brand that is exposed for animal cruelty or abuse is going to feel the wrath of the public. There is almost no bigger crime than poor animal welfare practices. This also ties into sustainability. Essentially, any practice that does not prioritize animal welfare is not going to be sustainable in the long run.

For Social Signalling

Often, trends take off in a variety of industries because people want to be seen as cool and good people. Thus, people follow a trend not necessarily because they want to at first, but because they want to be in with the popular crowd and look like they do support something. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why sustainability has become such a huge expectation from consumers. It has become a trend. People see others wanting sustainability and they jump on the bandwagon.

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