What Motivates Sustainable Shoppers

Sustainable shoppers are everywhere. 

They’re strolling through Whole Foods, perusing their local farmers’ market, and browsing Amazon’s website and app for more-sustainable products with the Climate Pledge Friendly badge, which highlights products with at least one sustainability certification.

What do sustainable shoppers have in common? They want to make purchases that minimize the environmental impact.

And they are willing to support brands that are also making more-sustainable choices. 

Six in 10 U.S. consumers (63%) actively seek out brands that have sustainability in their business practices, according to the Higher Impact research. Three-fourths (75%) of U.S. consumers say they are tired of brands acting like they are exempt from environmental responsibility.

And while a good portion of consumers are price-conscious—especially during times of economic uncertainty—some sustainable shoppers may be more likely to spend more for products and services that reflect their values.

Take millennial and adult Gen Z consumers, for instance. According to research from Amazon Ads and Kantar, a third (33%) are willing to spend more if a brand’s values align with theirs. And nearly 40% would spend more if the brand practiced sustainability and offered sustainable goods or services.

Sustainable shoppers proactively seek out eco-conscious brands, with nearly three-quarters (72%) of the Higher Impact survey respondents saying they are likely to carry out their own research for sustainable options. These shoppers say their most reliable sources of information for sustainable options come from:

• Search engines to find general information (33%)
• Third-party certification (30%)
• Sustainability experts, advocates and groups (30%)
• Online purchaser reviews/ratings (e.g., retailer’s website, manufacturer’s website) (27%)
• Product descriptions on a company/brand website (21%)

These shoppers want confirmation that their choices are indeed aligned with their principles, and they rely on credible indicators like the Climate Pledge Friendly badge.

In 2022, sales of U.S. Climate Pledge Friendly products in fashion, health and beauty, grocery, and auto increased 84% year-over-year. And customers are rewarding brands that sell Climate Pledge Friendly products with their loyalty: The total number of brand orders placed by customers of Climate Pledge Friendly brands is 1.36 times higher than customers of brands that don't sell Climate Pledge Friendly products.

While sustainable shoppers reflect a diverse range demographic backgrounds, Amazon Ads insights highlight some interesting shopping interactions among its U.S. “Eco-Friendly” shoppers. These consumers:

• Tend to be heavy spenders in categories like grocery, health, home, beauty and personal care

• Have a particular affinity for healthy food options, vegan products, office supplies, home electronics, and lawn and garden goods

• Over-index on activewear and fitness apparel purchases, and have a high level of interest in exercise, fitness equipment and outdoor activities

Brands with products in these categories may want to emphasize their more-sustainable products or initiatives to help educate and reach these sustainable shoppers.

And when this eco-friendly audience takes time to relax, they are more inclined to watch romance and musicals than other genres. Brands may want to seek out advertising opportunities that align with content in these genres, where sustainable shoppers are spending their time.

By better understanding sustainable shoppers, brands can help ensure the impact of their messaging while also being confident that they’re reaching relevant audiences about climate action.

What Brands Can Do  

The conversation about sustainability is constantly ongoing across borders, organizations, screens and media. Marketers can be creative with how they reach sustainable shoppers or educate new shoppers just starting on their climate journey. This messaging is important for brands to keep existing shoppers, reach new ones and educate others along the way.

Here are some ways to reach and engage with sustainable shoppers. 

Seek relevant channels 

Connect with relevant audiences by meeting consumers where they discover new products or services, from online to offline channels. Explore resources like Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly product pages, eco-oriented blogs and podcasts, and environmentally focused websites.

“It is certainly the responsibility of companies to educate and make the consumer aware of the sustainability and quality of the product,” shares Mario Cerruti, the chief institutional relations and sustainability officer at the Italian coffee company Lavazza. “Labels are a very important tool, but they have to be part of a broader information system: digital channels, the stores where our coffee is sold, websites and, finally, consumer service, which, in our case, is particularly careful and responds to all the requests that arrive at a global level.”

Collaborate with trusted partners 

Team up with respected eco-oriented organizations, initiatives and experts such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), National Park Foundation (NPF) and the Nature Conservancy. Learn from their expertise and leverage their reach to amplify your messages and impact.

This year during Earth Month, General Mills worked with Amazon Ads and Fire TV to help raise money for the NPF through the Stream It Forward program. Through this Fire TV cause-marketing initiative, audiences were incentivized to stream video content to help raise money for the NPF, an organization that protects and enhances America’s more than 400 national parks for present and future generations. During the Press Play for Nature campaign, which ran April 1-26, Amazon donated $1 for every hour of select nature content streamed on Fire TV.

“We saw this as an opportunity to authentically connect streaming with sustainability and Earth Day initiatives, and our brands pride themselves on being connected to cause-marketing efforts,” says Jamie Needham, a senior manager of customer marketing at General Mills. “It’s education, but we’re also giving consumers the opportunity to give to national parks.”

Pursue relevant certifications 

Consider applying for certifications that align with your product attributes. For example, U.S. EPA Safer Choice indicates certified products that contain safer ingredients for human health and the environment. Cradle to Cradle flags certified products that are made with safer materials and responsible processes to positively impact people and the planet, and Forest Stewardship Council highlights certified products that support responsible forestry. 

“At Amazon, we leverage over 40 trustworthy sustainability certifications to highlight products as Climate Pledge Friendly, helping customers understand when products represent the sustainability values they’re seeking,” says Cameron Westfall, head of Climate Pledge Friendly at Amazon. “We focus on certifications that are reputable, transparent and have a focus on preserving the natural world. By obtaining these credible sustainability certifications, brands are instilling confidence in their sustainability claims for the products that truly raise the bar for more-sustainable options available to customers.”

Broadcast your values and share progress 

Share your environmentally related ideology on your website, social media channels, ad messaging and more. Sustainable shoppers actively seek purpose-driven products and services, and as the Higher Impact research shows, a majority of consumers say they are more willing to purchase from a brand that takes a stand on social issues and conflicts. 

Keep consumers informed of your sustainability goals and achievements, as well. Celebrate milestones and the launch of new initiatives. Be transparent about what you’ve accomplished and what still needs to be done. Whenever possible, provide insights and metrics to demonstrate your impact.

At Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, brands like Listerine, Neutrogena, Johnson’s, Le Petit Marseillais, OGX and Nicorette all have more-sustainable products and programs that they inform customers about through digital channels and retailers who have a like-minded view on sustainability.

“Our brands are leaning into our Healthy Lives Mission because it’s the right thing to do and it matters to our consumers,” shares Katie Decker, the global leader of essential health and sustainability at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health. “We have been working hard to make our packaging easier to recycle and reuse, increase the use of recycled plastic, and, where possible, introduce refill-and-reuse models to reduce our overall packaging footprint.”

Sustainable Brands in Action

There are many inspiring stories that highlight how brands are educating customers about more-sustainable options. Here are two examples of the many making sustainability strides.

Logitech

Computer peripherals powerhouse Logitech embraces authenticity and consumer empowerment when sharing details about its environmental efforts. 

The sustainability-focused area of its website prominently displays the company’s desire “to create a more equitable and climate positive world.” It has detailed information on its eco-friendly initiatives, links to its Impact Reports and connects to a searchable page that helps customers to find their nearest recycling center so their keyboards, mice and headsets can get a second life. 

In addition, Logitech built sustainability messaging into its Amazon Ads campaigns and has a portfolio of its products in the Climate Pledge Friendly program. Logitech also has sustainability certifications recognizing carbon neutral products, meaning the product’s carbon emissions have been measured and reduced, with any remaining emissions offset as part of its Carbon Clarity Program.

“We believe that carbon is the new calorie, and consumers have the right to know what their consumption is,” says Robert O’Mahony, Logitech’s head of sustainability global operations.

Logitech also shares details about Carbon Clarity and its other environmental initiatives through social media and on a sustainability-focused storefront on Amazon. The landing page for the store lets shoppers know that its operations and product portfolio are certified carbon neutral. “We reduce our own emissions and offset our residual impact by supporting forestry, renewables and climate-impacted communities,” Logitech says on that page. “This is setting us on a path to become Climate Positive and remove more carbon than we create.”

Unilever

Unilever has a strong record of focusing on personal and planetary health, with sustainability embedded in its DNA. 

The packaged goods giant uses a wide array of communications to spread the word about its sustainability efforts, from partnering with influencers to creating information-packed web pages that describe its eco-efforts. 

A large part of that messaging shares what the company is doing. But, at the same time, it also encourages consumers to take positive action as well, such as using less plastic or wasting less food. 

“We know that consumers are at different stages of their sustainability journeys... There are a lot of consumers today who make purchasing choices based on sustainable attributes or because they believe in the company,” says Soumya Donkada-Martinez, head of digital, media and ecommerce, beauty and well-being at Unilever North America. “However, there are many consumers who still struggle to make the shift in their everyday routine.”

One way the company makes it easy for shoppers to choose sustainable options is by being a part of the Climate Pledge Friendly program on Amazon. Dove, Axe, Seventh Generation, Suave, Degree, TRESemmé and Vaseline are among Unilever’s brands that consumers can purchase with the knowledge that they’re marking a more sustainable choice with that purchase.