Consumers do not buy green products, unless brands are one thing

Sustainable development was once the hottest word in business. Because consumers demanded ecological awareness, the brands raced to prove their green certificates.

Then the whole lot went a bit flat.

The data show: In the global Deloitte study of September 2024, 67% of consumers stated that they perceived climate change as emergency – and about half (46%), in 23 countries, at least one balanced good or service in the month of study bought at least one balanced good or service. It remained stable since 2022, but fell from 56% in 2021.

“Our latest studies have shown that price awareness remains the biggest barrier, and when inflation began to bite a few years ago, we noticed a small decrease among consumers, saying that they make sustainable purchases,” says Derek Pankratz, a senior research leader in the practice of sustainable development of Deloitte.

Kate Assaraf, general director of the Sustainable Hair Dip brand, experienced it first hand: he discovers that the majority customers need to shop in a balanced manner, but “people are tired of spending more on balanced products just to feel burnt.”

Where The possibilities are

Pankratz has a name for this massive group of potential clients of sustainable development: “missing means”. They care about environmental effects, but they are not able or do not need to make the mandatory compromises now.

“Companies that are able to break these compromises can use potentially large hidden demand on the market,” he says.

Of course, it’s easier to say than to do. “In some cases,” says Panratz, “increasing the sustainable products will probably require companies to think about decades of production innovations, which made products cheap, higher quality and convenient.”

For entrepreneurs who need to follow a balanced path, it is best to consider an additional wrinkle: not all categories are considered equal. Consumers seem willing to spend more on sustainable development on some kinds of products.

In the survey this 12 months conducted by Supply Chain Solutions Blue Yonder, 48% of consumers said that they are interested in sustainable development of food and drinks. About the third tolerates higher prices for balanced options

In terms of cleansing products, personal care and beauty. Interest fell lower in the case of clothing, footwear, equipment, consumer electronics and automotive purchases.

Second great barrier

The Blue Yonder survey also showed the problem of trust: only 20% of consumers imagine that brands are truthful when making claims in the field of sustainable development. Higher percentage, 25%, claims that he can not all the time trust the amount of sales of sustainable development.

Assaraf, which sells balanced soap, saw how easy consumers might be dissatisfied. “People say:” I spent $ 14 on a balanced deodorant. Stinkes. I returned to the old spice, secret, whatever, “he says. Then these consumers less often trust another balanced brand in the same category as her.

The discrepancy between beliefs and purchase habits is also visible in the Pets category. Most animal owners claim that they spend firmly to make their furious friends satisfied and healthy, and the age of pets in March announced that sustainable development became a “significant goal.” But the global study of pets owners in 2024 showed that only 12% to 16% was ready to pay more for gathered or produced food for pets.

In many cases, Eduardo B. Andrade writes from Imperial College Business School, there is also “neglect of sustainable development” – the concept that some buyers, when buying some products, simply do not think about sustainable development. For example, when someone buys a bar, they often don’t think about the environment as they might buy paper plates.

“This”-says Andrade, “can help explain why our ecological reusable bags are full of ecological, wrapped in plastic products.”

For entrepreneurs oriented on sustainable development, the problem is a solution-and a probability to attend.