2022 State Of Sustainability In America, 20th Annual Consumer Insights & Trends Report
The 2022 State of Sustainability in America Consumer Trends and Insights Report measures and describes the marketplace for sustainable products and services, the consumers who use them, consumers’ expectations of corporate behavior, and attitudes toward environmental and social issues. In addition, it uncovers consumer motivations and the challenges they encounter in their pursuit to become increasingly aligned with a more sustainable lifestyle.
While some challenges may exist regarding the relevance of sustainability in a world which appears to have been turned on its end, many of the latest findings provide evidence that sustainable ideals and attitudes have taken on a higher level of acceleration and importance in consumers’ mindset.
In addition, there appears to be evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic may have ignited a stronger conviction towards environmental protection and sustainable behaviors as the fragility and interconnectedness of the human and planetary condition has been made more apparent than ever.
In fact, our findings reveal consumers are clearly showing more sophistication within the realm of sustainability – with greater understanding of its breadth, depth, and implications, and they pick the elements that mean the most to them. In this year’s research we are finding a heightened awareness and concern over the health of the planet which appears to be causing shifts in consumer behaviors. Instead of adopting environmentally-friendly behaviors for more self-directed and personal benefits, consumers are looking outward to the environment around them and realizing they have to take a bigger part in fixing the ills that are disrupting planetary health.
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- U.S. Sustainability Consumer Trends Database Overview
- Other Natural Marketing Institute Databases Used in Report
- Summary Overview
- The Institute's Sustainability Segmentation
- Sustainability Segmentation Model Methodology
- Levels of Environmental and Sustainable Engagement
- Segmentation Overview
- LOHAS Consumer as Environmental Steward
- LOHAS Mainstreaming Attitudes
- Dual Positioning of Personal and Planetary Health
- LOHAS Aspirational Attitudes
- Importance of Company's Mindfulness
- Leaders and Followers Profile
- Differences across Leaders and Followers
- Changing Segment Composition
- The LOHAS Consumer Profile
- The NATURALITES Consumer Profile
- The DRIFTERS Consumer Profile
- The CONVENTIONALS Consumer Profile
- The UNCONCERNEDS Consumer Profile
- Demographic Summary Across Segments
- Trends in Consumer Engagement in Environment and Social Sustainability
- Personal Responsibility for the Environment
- Effect of COVID-19 on Sustainability Orientation
- Level of Living "Green"
- Willingness to Sacrifice for Environment
- Lessening Personal Impact
- Participation in Sustainable Behaviors
- Growth in Participation in Sustainable Behaviors
- Dual Benefits of Sustainable Behaviors
- "Loftier" Benefits of Sustainable Behaviors
- Participation in Sustainable Behaviors to Assimilate
- Consternation Regarding Environmental Involvement
- Concerns Regarding Environmental Issues
- Concerns Regarding Social Issues
- Concerns Regarding Food Waste
- Concerns Regarding Hunger and Undernourishment
- Concerns Regarding Race and Immigration Policies Concerns Regarding Fair Labor and Workers' Rights
- Consumers' Willingness to Provide Assistance to Others
- Donating Behavior
- Desire to Create Change for the Better
- Consumer Outlook on the Status of Planetary Health
- Resource Depletion Concerns
- Concern Over Lack of Biodiversity
- Interest in Company Practices Regarding Biodiversity
- Global Warming Concerns
- Interest in Company Practices Regarding Global Warming
- Positive Outcomes During Lockdown
- Connection of Toxins in Soils and Increased Disease Rates
- Concern for Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture
- Connection of Planetary and Personal Health
- Concern Regarding Plastic in Oceans and Environment
- Waste, Recycling and the Plastic Problem
- Living in a Wasteful Society
- Preference for Products Manufactured in a Sustainable Manner
- Impact of a Circular Economy
- Increased Wastefulness Due to COVID-19 Impact
- Impact of Overpackaging
- Preference for Glass, Cans and Cardboard over Plastic
- Likelihood to Shop Stores Which Reduce Plastic
- Preference for Refillable Economy
- Positive and Negative Attitudes Regarding Refillable Economy
- Recycling Frequency of Specific Materials
- Growth in Recycling Across Specific Materials
- Skepticism Regarding Curbside Recycling
- Impact of Sustainability on Product Purchase
- E-Friendly and Sustainable Positioning as Drivers of Product Purchase
- Stage to Reduce Environmental Impact
- Concern Regarding Chemicals in Household Products
- Frequency of Harmful Chemical Monitoring
- Interest in Natural and E-Friendly Versions of Categories
- Use of Conventional, Natural, Organic Versions of Categories
- Use of Conventional, Natural, Organic Versions of Personal Care
- Household Penetration of Natural and Organic Personal Care
- Importance of Personal Care Attributes and Growth
- Use of Conventional, Natural, Organic Versions of HH Cleaning Across Generations Household Penetration of Natural and Organic Household Cleaning
- Importance of Household Cleaning Attributes and Growth
- Barriers to Purchase of Natural or Green Household Products
- Use of Natural and Organic Foods/Beverages
- Use of Dairy Milk and Organic Dairy Milk and Growth in Usage
- Importance of Food/Beverage Attributes and Growth
- Use of Plant-Based Food/Beverages
- Purchase of Plant-Based Household Cleaning and Personal Care Products
- Barriers to Purchase of Environmentally-Friendly Products and Services
- Impact of Price on Product Purchase
- Beyond Products-What Does CSR Mean to Consumers
- Importance of Company's Environmental Mindfulness
- Increased Commitment to Companies with E-Friendly and Sustainable Initiatives
- Perceived Leader in Environmental Protection and Who Should Be Doing More
- Retailers and Corporate Need to Do More to Protect the Environment
- Interest in Companies' Environmental Initiatives
- Concern for Socially Responsible Business
- Interest in Companies' Social Initiatives
- Interest in Companies' Social Initiatives by Ethnicity
- Racial Equality and Social Justice Trends
- Impact of Company's Cause Support
- Alignment of Personal Values with Product Purchase
- Impact of Local Support vs. Global Support
- Greenwashing Skepticism Prompts Searching Behavior Actions Taken to Determine Company Initiatives
- Impact of a Company's Mindfulness on Trial, Loyalty
- Boycotting Behavior
- Sources of Influence and Points of Connection
- Sources of Influence Prompting Purchase of More Sustainable Products
- Social Media Influence across Healthy & Natural, Supplements and Sustainable Products
- Impact of a Seal or Certification Mark on Purchase
- Recognition and Understanding of Certifications
- Impact of Certifications on Likelihood to Purchase
- Seal and Certification Confusion
- Understanding of USDA Organic Certification vs. Regenerative Organic Certification
- Trustworthiness of Certifications
- Influencing Others Regarding Environmentally-Friendly Purchase
- Early Adoption of Environmentally-Friendly Products
- Desire for More Information about Environmental Protection
- Shopping Patterns
- Shopping Patterns
- Channel Shopping Across Generations
- Online Grocery Shopping
- Online Research and Mobile Device Grocery Shopping
- Growth in Channel Shopping Across Generations
- Sustainable Initiatives Which Prompt Increased Store Shopping
- Sustainable Initiatives Which Prompt Increased Store Shopping Across Retail Shoppers
- Importance of Clean, Pure Product Merchandising
- Category Shopping Across Retailers
- The Institute's Sustainability Segmentation
- Consumer segments in the general population exhibit various shades of ‘green’ based on their levels of environmental and sustainable engagement
- While some consumers have ‘deep green’ consciousness, there are varying levels among consumers within the American population.
- The consumer segment within the population which is considered the ‘greenest’ segment is the LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability) consumer who is integral in helping to drive sustainability into the mainstream.
- Other segments within the population also hold ‘green’ attitudes and participate in ‘green’ behaviors but their motivations are differentiated.
- By understanding the consumer segment’s orientation, organizations are better equipped to determine how to target the most optimal segment with the most relevant marketing strategies.
- Sustainability Segmentation Model Methodology
- Development of the Institute’s unique and proprietary segmentation model among General Population 18+ Adults began with evaluating over 170 different attitudinal and behavioral variables, later narrowed to approximately 15. A k-means clustering method was used. Cluster centers were defined as dense regions in the multivariate space based on the k-means segmentation of the behavioral and attitudinal variables from the Institute’s Sustainability Consumer Trends Database survey.
- This segmentation can be used to identify and predict segment membership as part of a quantitative extrapolative analysis of future consumer behavior.
- Each of the five unique segments is mutually exclusive and has the maximum differentiation between consumer groups and the maximum homogeneity within each consumer group. The predictive accuracy is high at 86%.
- The segmentation has been overlaid on third-party data sets such as NielsenIQ’s Homescan and can be licensed through the Institute in custom/primary qualitative or quantitative research.
- U.S. Sustainability Consumer Trends Database® (SCTD) Overview
- Scope:
- Quantifies the size of the consumer market for environmentally and socially responsible products and services
- Measures the importance of environmental and societal issues as well as corporate social responsibility
- Explores environmentally conscious behavior
- Determines consumer usage of sustainable products and services and quantifies purchase criteria
- Annual tracking study in U.S. since 2002 and globally since 2005
- Report Methodology:
- 4,071 U.S. adults in 2021, nationally projectable to the U.S. adult population and accurate at the 95% confidence level to +/- 1.2%
- Conducted online
- Fielded October 2021
- Report released January 2022
- Natural Marketing Institute Databases:
- U.S. Trending since 2002 and Globally since 2005
- Conducted in 23 countries; 150,000+ global consumers interviewed
- All materials herein are a copyright: 2022 by Research America Inc., DBA Natural Marketing Institute. All rights reserved. Reproduction, publication (internal and/or external), transmission, or other use of any of the within materials, including but not limited to graphics, data, and/or text, for any commercial or non-commercial purposes, is strictly prohibited without the prior express written permission of Natural Marketing Institute.
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