Sustainable purchasing power
Consumers are more likely to buy authentic eco-labels, says study.
Monday, August 23 2010 || News || BY ROMY UDANGA
The company's business improvement manager, Mike Atkinson, says these businesses will “go beyond the functional to represent an ideal, which appeals across products, categories and cultures''.
And according to this year's Fairfax Media/ShapeNZ nationwide survey on sustainable business practice, one of the ways businesses can take a stand in this area is to label their products with authentic information. Some 86 per cent of consumers say product labels influence their buying decision and eco-labels backed with authentic information make them more likely to buy.
"In an increasingly flat world, this is an opportunity that businesses can take to differentiate themselves from competitors and succeed globally,'' Mr Atkinson says.
Among information consumers look for are whether a product is locally produced (59 per cent), eco-friendly (56 per cent), price (55 per cent) fair trade (54 per cent), environmentally responsible (54 per cent), socially responsible (35 per cent) and organic (28 per cent). A product's low carbon intensity is least considered (17 per cent), while just 2 per cent don't care and 3 per cent don't know.
When asked to select just one purchasing factor, price is most important (47 per cent), followed by it being a local product (12 per cent), eco-friendly (11 per cent), environmentally responsible (10 per cent), fair trade (8 per cent), socially responsible (7 per cent) and organic (2 per cent).
Eco-friendliness is most important to 18- to 24-year-olds and women are more likely to consider both environmental and social aspects of a product before buying.
Imperial College London food marketing professor David Hughes says consumers generally will not pay more for sustainable products but New Zealand can trade on its 100 per cent pure reputation.
"It's the ticket to premium market spaces. If you are in premium spaces, people expect that your products will be better for the environment. They expect that they are ethically produced. They expect that they contain organic and natural ingredients.''
When it comes to choosing between sustainable products, the top five influences are personal experience (65 per cent), knowledge of the company behind the product (44 per cent), trusted brand (42 per cent), recommendations from friend (35 per cent) and news reviews (20 per cent). Only 3 per cent say they are influenced by celebrity endorsements.
THE Sustainable 60 series, created by Fairfax Media and PricewaterhouseCoopers and now in its second year, will showcase the progress of companies on their journey to sustainability. The programme rewards those that have made significant achievements, and will share their stories and celebrate excellence through Fairfax Media business publications and seminars/ workshops. The aim is to explore ways in which companies have addressed the concept of sustainability and built it into their business models, practices and processes for a long-term future.
Entries close on September 3. For more information go to sustainable60.co.nz
