Lifestyle brand consumers are more likely to get on board with sustainability

The news: Lifestyle brand consumers in all markets are more likely than other consumers to try to be more sustainable in their day-to-day lives, according to a Stifel and Morning Consult survey.

• Researchers fielded the survey to six leading markets worldwide and focused on lifestyle brand consumers—those who bought athletic or activewear clothing and footwear, casual lifestyle apparel, apparel for outdoor activities like skiing, or sporting goods and outdoor recreation equipment.

Dive into the data:

• More than three-quarters of respondents in all markets said they’re trying to be more sustainable in their day-to-day lives.
• Over 70% said they care more now about the sustainability of the products they buy than they did a year prior.
• More than half bought a new brand or product specifically because of its sustainability practices.
• Not surprisingly, China—where the pandemic originated—is among the countries where consumers were most likely to make an effort to be more sustainable. On the other hand, they were least likely to say they regularly choose more expensive brands or products with better sustainability credentials.
• Italy also scored highly by several measures, including day-to-day effort, caring more than in the prior year, buying new products that were more sustainable than previous choices, and trying to learn about a brand’s sustainability practices before buying it.
• In many respects, the US is the least engaged. For example, US respondents were least likely to be trying harder to be sustainable day to day. They were also least likely to buy fewer products for the sake of sustainability, and least likely to boycott a brand if it fell short in that respect.

Why it matters:

It makes sense that physically active individuals who spend time outdoors might be more alert to issues of sustainability than more sedentary consumers who don’t get out as much.

• Since the pandemic, there’s no doubt that sustainability has risen up the priority list for consumers.
• The crisis has reminded many people of the ways in which humans can be out of touch with their environment and its dangers, and the importance of re-establishing a healthy balance.