Report ‘The Better Consumer in Europe’, front cover, March 2013.“Show me there is demand, and we’ll be happy to cater to it.” is the most frequently received answer when asking CEOs of consumer goods companies, fashion and apparel in particular, as to why they are not producing better, more sustainable (ecological and ethical) products.
This new report, combines – to the best of our knowledge – all available data about the increasingly popular consumer demand for more responsible products in EU countries.
The summarised data holds a clear message:
Generally speaking, consumers are neither purposely ethical nor unethical. In this report we show that purchasing decisions are made as a response to very particular needs and choices related to the range of products available. Importantly however, given choice, sufficient information and a comparable price/quality ratio among products, we found that a majority of consumers are willing to choose the most ethical product among those available to them, despite being valued at a slightly higher price.
Download the Report: The Better Consumer in Europe – The Trends Fashion Companies should watch to make good decisions
Consumers are reliant on, and generally trust product labels, as well as certification and accreditation labels for better products. However, they maintain the view that sufficient information is still unavailable to them, and is not presented in a clear and easily digestible format, to fully rationalise their purchasing decisions.
It is clear that onvenience remains an important factor in the equation. If chain retailers and department stores were willing to offer a larger range of better products, the market will be ready for them.
The price/quality ratio is of high importance to consumers. People are willing to pay extra for better products, up to 20%. However, this is only the case when such products perform at least on the same level as their conventional equivalents. Consumers resort to buying locally in order to buy sustainably, because they perceive large brands and businesses to be non-transparent and therefore untrustworthy.
Terminology varies from country to country, as do the nuances of what is considered a better, more sustainable, product. This evidently not only affects consumer-based communications, but also the products that are most popular among manufacturers and retailers, and hence are most likely to be found in their ranges.
We hope that this report provides the factual data for what so far seems a typical catch-22 situation: producers and brands which claim to be ‘all ear’ yet neglect to acknowledge the demands consumers put forward; and consumers who want to invest in better products but who equally feel that producers are inattentive to either their needs or demands as consumers.
Download the Report: The Better Consumer in Europe – The Trends Fashion Companies should watch to make good decisions
