CHRISTINE GALLUP
Genomatica, San Diego, CA, USA

Abstract

Consumers are opening their wallets to sustainable products and brands – and boycotting dirty ones. A new survey by Genomatica, an innovative biotech company, put a spotlight on product ingredients, their origins and the desire for transparency. 

As a company that creates commercial biobased processes to make widely-used chemicals that enable better, more sustainable everyday products, Genomatica wanted to learn more about consumers’ attitudes towards sustainability. Our survey was conducted in July 2019 and included 1,000 consumers (1). Below are some highlights of what we discovered.

Approximately one in four (26 percent) say they would spend more money with their favorite brand if it increased its sustainability efforts. Some 46 percent of consumers say they’ve boycotted a brand in the past. Of those, 24 percent boycotted the brand have done so because of unsustainable products and 23 percent acted due to unsustainable practices.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM: STEP UP SUSTAINABILITY

According to our survey, modern buyers are looking for “healthy for me and healthy for the planet” choices. They believe brands should take primary responsibility for developing sustainable products. Among respondents, 38 percent believe brands have the greatest responsibility to make sure products are sustainable and 48 percent believe brands should absorb the added costs, if any, of making a product more sustainable.

CONSUMERS FEEL IT’S TOO HARD TO BE SUSTAINABLE

Knowing what makes a product sustainable can be challenging. Sustainability is a broad term and while 95 percent of the consumers that we surveyed said sustainability is a good goal, many are finding it difficult to put into practice.

Nearly half (48 percent) report that convenience, lack of awareness and availability are top obstacles to buying more sustainable products. For almost o ... ...