Toluna study finds 37% of consumers willing to spend more for eco-friendly goods

More than one-third of consumers are willing to seek out and pay up to 5% more for products that are marketed as environmentally responsible, according to a study released by Toluna, a Wilton-based consumer intelligence platform provider.

The Toluna 2019 Sustainability Report polled 1,000 U.S. consumers and found 37% of respondents were willing to spend more on eco-friendly products. For respondents between the ages of 18 and 34, 45% indicated that it is extremely important to buy  goods that are produced in an environmentally friendly way ”“ although only 14% of respondents aged 55-and-over indicated the same opinion.

Among the eco-friendly items that consumers are more likely to buy are cleaning products (42%), drinks (37%), prepackaged food (35%), cosmetics and toiletries (34%), clothing (31%) and automobiles (29%). Furthermore, 34% of respondents believed it is very likely that concerns about environmentally friendly packaging will continue to grow over the next year. The respondents also believed manufacturers will take an increasing eco-friendly approach to the creation of foam packaging (42%), single-use drink containers (39%) and plastic rings (35%).

“Consumers engage with a variety of brands as part of their daily lives,” said Jay Rampuria, executive vice president for global business and corporate development at Toluna. “They have come to expect to see their changing values reflected in the products they use, especially when it comes to the environment. To remain competitive, consumer packaged goods companies must ensure that they not only focus on environmentally friendly products as well as larger corporate operations but also communicate those efforts to younger, more socially responsible consumers as their purchasing power increases.”