Buying a sustainable brand is a subject close to the heart for more and more consumers - and this shows in a new study by Unilever wher one third of people choose brands they believe do social and environment good.

The international study of 20,000 adults from across five countries revealed that 33 percent of consumers are opting for brands with a sustainability impact. They were asked how their sustainability concerns influence their choices in-store and at home. 

Their claims were then mapped against real purchase decisions, giving a more accurate picture than ever of what people are actually buying and why.

And more than one in five people (21 percent) say that packaging information does make a difference. They claim they would actively choose brands if sustainability credentials were clearer in marketing and labeling. 

This purpose-led purchasing is also greater in emerging countries, suggests the study - 53 percent of shoppers in the UK and 78 percent in the US say they feel better when they buy products that are sustainably produced, but that increases to 88 percent in India and 85 percent in Brazil and Turkey. 

There are two probable reasons for consumers’ greater focus on sustainable purchasing in emerging economies compared to developed markets, says Unilever. First is direct exposure to the negative impact of unsustainable business practices, such as water and energy shortages, food poverty and poor air quality in those emerging economies and the second is the power of social norms. 
While Brazilian, Indian and Turkish people feel pressure from their family, friends and children to buy greener, more socially responsible products, this sense of social scrutiny is currently less prevalent in the UK and US.

The results of Unilever’s study reveal significant “untapped opportunity” worth US$102 billion in the sustainable goods market. 

The scale of this opportunity is also further borne out by Unilever’s own financial performance. Of its hundreds of brands, those such as Dove, Hellmann’s and Ben & Jerry’s, that have integrated sustainability into both their purpose and products delivered nearly half the company’s global growth in 2015, says the company. Collectively, they are also growing 30 percent faster than the rest of the business.

“This research confirms that sustainability isn’t a nice-to-have for businesses. In fact, it has become an imperative. To succeed globally, and especially in emerging economies across Asia, Africa and Latin America, brands should go beyond traditional focus areas like product performance and affordability. Instead, they must act quickly to prove their social and environmental credentials and show consumers they can be trusted with the future of the planet and communities, as well as their own bottom lines,” says Unilever’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Keith Weed.

Data was gathered on respondents’ general sustainability beliefs, category sustainability beliefs and their sustainable behaviors such as washing at lower temperatures and recycling at home. The research was carried out in conjunction with Europanel and Flamingo.