Report: 37% of Consumers Willing to Pay More for Eco-Friendly Products

Following on the heels of the recent U.N. Climate Action Summit and simultaneous Global Climate Strikes, a new report has been issued that highlights consumers’ desire to support brands that protect the environment. The research, from consumer intelligence platform provider Toluna, an ITWP company, confirmed that 37% of consumers are seeking out and willing to pay up to 5% more for environmentally-friendly products and are actively changing their shopping behavior to do so.

Says Toluna, at a time where consumer attention to the environment is heightened, and more than half of respondents of all ages declared that they are either “very” or “extremely” environmentally conscious, its “2019 Sustainability Report” found that respondents expect companies to do their part to help solve the climate crisis. Fifty-one percent of respondents said that companies creating more eco-friendly processes is more important to changing consumer behavior than government or local regulations. 

Thirty-four percent of respondents—there were 1,000 U.S. consumers surveyed—feel that it is very likely that concerns about environmentally-friendly packaging will continue to grow over the next year and flag the next potential materials to be reconsidered by manufacturers will include foam packaging (42%), single-use drink containers (39%), and plastic rings (35%). 

“Consumers engage with a variety of brands as part of their daily lives. They have come to expect to see their changing values reflected in the products they use, especially when it comes to the environment,” says Jay Rampuria, Executive Vice President, Global Business and Corporate Development for Toluna. “To remain competitive, consumer packaged goods companies must ensure that they not only focus on environmentally friendly products as well as larger corporate operations but also communicate those efforts to younger, more socially responsible consumers as their purchasing power increases.”

Other key findings from the Toluna 2019 Sustainability Report include: 

• For consumers aged 18 to 34, 45% indicated that it is extremely important to purchase goods that are produced in an environmentally-friendly way. However, only 14% of respondents aged 55-and-over indicated the same, with 45% of that same demographic indicating that they would pay up to 5% more for environmentally-friendly goods. 
• Consumers are more likely to purchase specific items from brands that are environmentally friendly, including cleaning products (42%), drinks (37%), prepackaged food (35%), cosmetics and toiletries (34%), clothing (31%), and cars (29%).