Packaging, Transparency and Sustainability Consciousness

When we hear the term sustainability, any number of subjects spring to mind: global warming, carbon offsets, green building, packaging reduction, equipment recycling, alternative energy and corporate transparency. Many of these innovations and initiatives relate to the ongoing broad-scale greening of industrial and consumer packaged goods producers and retailers. Trade and consumer publications have devoted entire issues to the greening of suppliers and retailers, yet it is apparent the voice of the consumer in the midst of all this sustainability discussion is frequently missing or, at the very least, tends to be comprised of the greenest of consumers (as if they represent all of the public).

In order to better comprehend how the term sustainability fits with complex consumer lifestyles, over the past year The Hartman Group has focused on consumer perceptions of sustainability in an effort to better understand where the public is in the midst of all the media headlines, and what it thinks about issues like packaging waste, recycling and corporate transparency.

The upcoming report Sustainability from a Consumer Perspective incorporates comprehensive ethnographic and analytical research and includes surprising findings. One of the biggest? Sustainability is definitely not a household word. The term sustainability is little used in consumer circles and is not widely understood as a holistic concept. Nevertheless, it is a useful umbrella term when describing the current cultural movement toward health, wellness, organics, environmental consciousness, ethical consumption, fair trade, simple living, buying local, etc. From the consumer perspective, the underlying assumption behind all of these trends is if society continues on its current path, systems will break down, resources will become scarce and public health will be at risk. Our sustainability research shows consumer attitudes and behavior are shifting to reflect these key distinctions, and that from the publics viewpoint, sustainability is much more about improving outcomes for personal health, the community and the global natural environment, as well as improving outcomes both now and in the future. While these research results show the term sustainability is not widely used and not widely understood by consumers, the data clearly reveals a cultural shift taking place in consumer awareness, acceptance and practices that relate to sustainability.

While most consumers have a limited understanding and usage of the broad concept of sustainability, consumer engagement with green concepts can be described in terms of varying degrees of sustainability consciousness. This refers to the way people link every day life to what they perceive to be as big problems (e.g., food, water and air quality). Sustainability consciousness is not just about eco-conscious consumers and the environment; it is about conventional shoppers, too. While from a media and business standpoint we frequently see sustainability defined as green enhancements to points in a supply chain (e.g., packaging reduction as mandated by Wal-Mart to its suppliers), for consumers, sustainability consciousness has much more personal meanings that relate to perceptions of everyday risk factors.

The Consumers World of Sustainability

From a cultural standpoint, 93 percent of the American population has some degree of sustainability consciousness. A world perspective as implied by the phrase World of Sustainability is a concept used by The Hartman Group to illustrate consumer behavior organized around any world of activity and lifestyles, in this case sustainability, which has a broad context. Consumers within the World of Sustainability have different behavioral and emotional mindsets when it comes to how intensely they are involved with sustainable beliefs and activities, including orientations toward packaging, recycling and corporate transparency. Consumers at the Periphery of the World of Sustainability (16 percent of the population) tend to concentrate their awareness of risks on their personal lives and bodies, while those consumers most active in the world of sustainability at the Core (also 16 percent of the population) tend to extend their risk awareness outward from their bodies to broader environments ranging from their community to globally. In between periphery and core consumers with a sustainability consciousness, are Mid-level consumers, who comprise a substantial 60 percent of Americans. While they tend to focus on risks to the body, they also examine risks to their surroundings at home as well as in society.

To see how consumers might live in the World of Sustainability, we profile three different consumers from the Periphery, Mid-level and Core:

Linda lives in the Periphery:

Dan lives in the Mid-level:

Sarah lives in the Core:

Aligning Products, Brands and Labels

What we can see from these consumer profiles is that as one approaches the core of the World of Sustainability, issues that pertain to packaging reduction initiatives and recycling are embraced at an emotional level, while at the periphery such issues are supported simply because ones community requires waste recycling. Similarly, consumers in the core of the World of Sustainability are much more likely to seek out companies and brands that align with their beliefs about fair trade and ethical consumption, and are more likely to understand seals, symbols and labels that signify such qualities.

One of the easiestif not always reliableways for consumers to support sustainability is through their purchasing power; for example, by purchasing products and services certified as green, eco-friendly or otherwise sustainable. Predictably, the practice of selecting products on the basis of eco-friendly labels (such as the Green Seal) is most common in the core of the World of Sustainability and least prevalent in the periphery.

Corporate transparency initiatives recently launched by companies such as Timberland, which has created a carbon footprint ingredient label for its products, are more likely to resonate with consumers in the mid-level and core of the World of Sustainability, since these consumers are more likely to seek out products and brands with environmental attributes.

While the market for ecologically enhanced products, processes and services appears to be growing, it is important to remember consumers are themselves evolving in complex ways.

Public perceptions of risk (to themselves, their communities and their global environment) are what drive consumers into the World of Sustainability. Companies that speak from a platform of sustainability should acknowledge we are currently experiencing a significant cultural shift in which consumers will continue to adapt their behavior to align with brands, products and services they find relevant to their current lifestyle. 

Laurie Demeritt is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Hartman Group, a leading consulting and market research firm. The Hartman Group specializes in the analysis and interpretation of consumer lifestyles and how these lifestyles affect the purchase and use of health and wellness products and services. Their client base includes a number of Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods companies, pharmaceutical firms, and mass and natural food retailers. She can be reached at [email protected].