Consumer Support Still Strong as Earth Day Celebrates its 50th Birthday

Consumer Support Still Strong

From the peace movement through a pandemic, Americans still opt to go green.

Earth Day, which marked the foundation of the modern environmental movement a half-century ago this month, was born amid social crisis, matured through recessions and bull markets alike, and now celebrates its Golden Jubilee in the wake of one of the worst pandemics in recorded history.

Our study reveals consumers still show a strong commitment to the environment even as COVID-19 continues to ravage the nation. 

We’ll look at the impact COVID-19 has - or hasn’t - had on consumer sentiment in greater detail, but for now, consider the following finding from our research: when we asked consumers if their attitudes toward the environment had changed since the outbreak, 48 percent of respondents said it had made them more concerned about the environment.

That concern can be measured in dollars, with 55 percent telling us that as a result of the COVID-19 experience they were “… more likely to purchase environmentally friendly products”

Madness in the Method

Kearney’s 2020 Earth Day survey of 1,000 consumers’ attitudes toward environmental products and practices was launched twice this year, first on March 6, when many thought COVID-19 would be confined to a few “hot spots,” and then a few weeks later, on April 10, when the true scope and scale of the pandemic had become apparent. 

What we found will surprise some and may seem counterintuitive to others - in the face of product scarcity and with mortality looming over the horizon, the participants in this year’s study continue to report growing support of earth-friendly products, services, and corporate policies.

A quick look at where Earth Day started may help explain how consumers’ socially conscious principles survive even during a pandemic.

Attention: Retailers and Consumer Goods Companies, You’re Still Blowing It! 

What concerns us, though, is that despite the fact that consumers remain steadfast in their commitment to shopping in more environmentally sensitive and sustaining ways, consumer goods companies and the retailers they sell through still need to do more to drive green outcomes by catching up with consumer attitudes and behavior.

This could take a variety of forms from adding climate score labels to consumer goods in supermarkets (similar to existing nutritional information) to, in the case of apparel manufacturers and retailers, providing total supply chain transparency and visibility.