Brands Inspire Eco-Conscious Consumerism

To mark a study carried out by GlobalWebIndex among 2,324 internet users in the UK and U.S.A. on eco-consumerism, today we’re looking at what influences consumers’ ecological perceptions in the first place.

Across both markets, word-of-mouth is the most powerful driver of eco-conscious consumerism, with 53% of Eco-Conscious Consumers being inspired by friends, family, or colleagues.

But it’s also revealing that almost as many consumers are influenced by news/media sources (48%) and TV shows (48%).

In the UK, TV shows are ahead, which may be driven by recent documentaries like Blue Planet. The David Attenborough-fronted series has been credited with inspiring campaigns to ban single-use plastics in institutions as well-known as the British government and royal family, making a big difference in consumer awareness.

Looking at a breakdown by age, we see that media is more influential than friends for younger consumers as well.

Beyond these leading resources, brand advertising (44%) has almost as much of a prominent role in inspiring eco-conscious consumerism, and in the U.S.A., brands are slightly ahead of TV shows.

As consumers say that they find brand advertising influential, we can see that advertising of eco-conscious practices doesn’t just offer the potential to convert sales, it also helps shift behavioral change and consumer attitudes.

Eco-Conscious Consumers are defined as internet users aged 16-64 who say that concern for the environment affects their day-to-day purchase behavior.