Cone's survey revealed a lot more than shopping behaviors. For instance, when it comes to resources and education, a vast majority of participants, 85%, said that they would like for companies to educate them on how to properly use and dispose of products.
More than 60% of respondents understand the environmental terms companies use in their advertising, but most of them still believe that expressions like green or environmentally friendly mean that a product has a positive or neutral impact on the environment. Only 22% were able to correctly identify these terms as meaning the product has a lighter impact than other similar products or less than it used to (2%). Consumer misunderstanding of the term "green" has remained flat at around 60% since 2008.
In terms of clarity of environmental messages, many respondents (69%) say it's okay if a company is not environmentally perfect as long as it is honest. And for companies still not grasping how serious this issue really is, 78% respondents said that they will boycott a product if they discover an environmental claim to be misleading.
Interestingly, when it comes to finding information about green products, only 26% say to perform an online search. The majority, 45% say they are most likely to use on-pack resources for information about how to properly use and dispose of environmental products.
Consumer Brands & Retail
EPR Editorial Team1 min read
American Consumers Like Shopping Green, Survey Finds
EPR Editorial Team1 min read
Cone's survey revealed a lot more than shopping behaviors. For instance, when it comes to resources and education, a vast majority of participants, 85%, said that they would like for companies to educate them on how to properly use and dispose of products.
More than 60% of respondents understand the environmental terms companies use in their advertising, but most of them still believe that expressions like green or environmentally friendly mean that a product has a positive or neutral impact on the environment. Only 22% were able to correctly identify these terms as meaning the product has a lighter impact than other similar products or less than it used to (2%). Consumer misunderstanding of the term "green" has remained flat at around 60% since 2008.
In terms of clarity of environmental messages, many respondents (69%) say it's okay if a company is not environmentally perfect as long as it is honest. And for companies still not grasping how serious this issue really is, 78% respondents said that they will boycott a product if they discover an environmental claim to be misleading.
Interestingly, when it comes to finding information about green products, only 26% say to perform an online search. The majority, 45% say they are most likely to use on-pack resources for information about how to properly use and dispose of environmental products.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
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