As part of the EU-funded ‘Trade Fair, Live Fair’ project, a survey was conducted in 2018 among 5,000 shoppers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and UK. Results showed that consumers were deeply concerned and wanted brands and governments to step up their efforts to protect the environment and tackle social challenges along global supply chains.
In August 2020, a follow-up survey was carried out with the same number of shoppers in the same countries to learn about their purchasing practices in the last twelve months. The findings show that concerns about sustainability choices have grown among consumers in all five countries.
In the last twelve months…
- Two-thirds of all the consumers asked, purchase food and drink products that are made in an environmentally sustainable way and are packaged in recyclable materials. Italian citizens of all ages showed the highest response rate when making environmentally sustainable purchasing choices.
- Regardless of age, income and gender, more than half of those surveyed said that they purchased products with a Fair Trade and/or Organic certification. No fewer than 97 per cent of UK shoppers in the higher and medium income brackets said they had purchased Fair Trade products during the previous 12 months.
- Fair living wages and safe working conditions for workers, as well as ensuring no adverse effects on the environment or on animal welfare are important criteria when buying food and drink products.
- Almost half the respondents have tried to avoid purchasing food and drink items whenever they had concerns that these might have a negative impact on the environment or on society. For this question, the youngest age bracket (16-24 years) showed a higher response rate in comparison with the medium age group (35-54 years).
- Although many consumers in the surveyed countries said that sustainable products are important for them, on average, four out of ten people admitted to purchasing their food and drink products at a reduced price or when they were on special offer.
- While the age and gender groups do not show major differences, the key determining criteria for this decision are lower incomes (up to €18,000). German consumers scored the lowest for this question – 35 per cent.
Consumers are calling brands to ensure transparency and respect for human rights along supply chains
- More consumers than ever – 77 per cent – want food brands to tell them where the ingredients used in their products come from. That’s up from 73 per cent in 2018. Besides greater transparency, shoppers also want to know what companies do to reduce their waste (70 per cent), whether or not they have environmental policies (66 per cent) and how they maintain diversity and inclusion within their businesses (59 per cent).
- Six out of ten people demand that the food and drinks they buy are produced in ways that respect human rights, including providing living wages, not using child/forced labour and ensuring safe working conditions. Nearly five out of ten do not want chemicals that are harmful to the environment or people in their food and drinks.
Consumer expectations of governments and brands continue to rise
According to the results of the survey, 74 per cent consumers want governments to make it easier to purchase food that has been produced in a sustainable way. That’s three per cent higher than the figure for 2018 – an indication that more shoppers are leaning towards sustainable options over time and calling governments to make sustainable choices more widely available.
Change your buying habits. Together we can achieve more!
Consumer demand is a powerful instrument for change. When shoppers ask for more transparency, more climate friendly and more Fair Trade products, retailers take action. There is still a lot of progress to be made on encouraging responsible purchasing behaviours, ensuring that the human rights of those at the end of supply chains are respected and that our environment is protected. For this to happen, consumers, governments and companies all have an important role to play.
