Increasing options for sustainable choices

Though  consumers  are  changing both their lifestyle  and purchasing habits to reduce their carbon footprint, many  feel  that  they  are  not  doing  enough. A new survey by our biotech company put a spotlight on  the  consumer  mindset  and  their  changing preference for products  and  habits  that  support  a more  sustainable lifestyle.  As  a company  that  creates commercial  bio-based  processes  to  make widely-used chemicals that  enable  better, more  sustainable  everyday products, our company  wanted to learn more about con- sumers’ attitudes towards sustainability. Our survey was conducted  in  July 2019  and  included  1,000  consumers¹;  the  following  highlights are what we discovered. 41% of  consumers  feel worried, guilty or ashamed about their personal  level  of  sustainability, though  a  majority, 58%, engage in eco-friendly habits such as re-cycling and 34% buy local products and produce.  95% of Americans  say  sustainability is a worthy goal, but many  are finding it difficult to put into practice. Why is this so? Convenience, lack of awareness and availability are top obstacles to sustainability according to nearly half of consumers.

Sustainability, a global issue

Americans agree that sustainability  is  imperative.  Sustainability seems to be one of the few things both  conservatives  and  liberals can agree on; 70% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats in the survey say that sustainability is important and that they’re trying to make  sustainable  choices. How-ever,  36%  of  Democrats  in  contrast  to  26%  of Republicans  are more likely to think of themselves as more sustainable than most.  When  it  comes  to  age  groups, 78% of Millennials are most likely  to believe sustainability is important  and  to  make  sustainable choices, followed closely by 76% of the Boomers and 71% of Gen X, with 69% of Gen Z coming in last. As far as accountability, 28% of Gen Z and 20% of Millennials say  sustainability  is  a  good  goal but  that’s  for  someone  else  to make happen. 

On trend: Sustainable living

Most  consumers,  though,  are making lifestyle changes and creating eco-friendly habits. Almost  75% of those surveyed currently turn  off  lights when  not  in  the room to save electricity. Another 38% are taking shorter showers to reduce water  consumption. And one-third of the surveyed consumers  are  trying  to  cut meat  from their  diets  to  support  less  carbon-intensive  agricultural  practices.

58%  say  they  regularly  recycle; 34%  claim  they  drive  less  and 36% avoid air travel in order to be eco-friendlier. Altering methods  of  transportation, energy consumption and diet  as an attempt to  reduce an individual’s use of the Earth’s natural resources have become tenets of a sustainable lifestyle which, because of its universal adoption, is not a mainstream trend but a cultural shift.

Knowing what makes a product sustainable

Nearly half (48%) report that convenience, lack of awareness and availability are top obstacles to buying more sustainable products. For almost one fourth, not knowing what products are sustainable is the biggest obstacle that keeps them from purchasing eco-friendly. Even though consumers are motivated to do better, understanding the sustainability of products can be challenging. That starts with the basics: 55% are surprised to learn that some of the ingredients in everyday products such as water bottles, stretchy workout clothes and certain baby sunscreen lotions are derived from fossil fuels, like crude oil, rather than being naturally-sourced from plants; and 71% feel “bothered” or “disgusted” when they learn of these origins. While 56% of consumers say they look at the ingredients

label when shopping, 3 out of 4 of those label-lookers don’t know what half of the ingredients are.

Back up the claims

Sustainability is the one thing the young and old, conservative and liberal can agree on; consumers across the board are becoming more environmentally aware. Companies should take heed by taking action across their value chain by engaging with suppliers and innovating their product line to reflect the eco-values of the consumer. In addition, brands need to communicate their sustainability claims clearly. To help beauty brands communicate more transparently, it is useful

to engage with partners along the supply chain to substantiate their products and services with verified valuations provided by reputable third-parties. Products such as Brontide natural butylene glycol have undergone a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This is a systematic, third-party analysis that produces comparative data allowing brands to make verifiable and transparent sustainability claims. These systematic evaluations of the production process span from cradle to gate. Verifiable insights provided by LCAs, quantifiable and rooted in science, help build consumer trust in personal care brands.

Climate change and resource depletion

We know that climate change and resource depletion are real and their impact on our ecosystem can be devastating. People are adopting actions for sustainable living and desire to do more to reduce their environmental impact by altering their lifestyle. These changing perceptions of consumers towards sustainability coupled with the growing popularity of ecofriendly products is fuelling the innovation of products and services that will support sustainable lifestyles for generations to come.

¹Source:Consumers Agree: It’s Too Hard to be Sustainable, https://www.genomatica.com/consumers-surprisedeveryday-products-made-from-crude-oil