Food Manufacturers, Farmers and Consumers Can Change Climate for Good

It is time for the natural products industry to engage consumers in climate action and regenerative agriculture. The exciting thing is that the market is ready for us to lead, our recent research shows.

Author: Eric Pierce | Published: November 8, 2017

No longer is consumption a passive acquisition of stuff. Increasingly consumers consider buying something as an act that impacts others, one that requires ethical decision making.

They are willing to pay more for responsible business practices.

They are willing to pay more for responsibly produced food.

They are willing to support brands that practice environmental responsibility.

If the baby boomer generation represents the dominant perspective of yesterday and the millennial generation represents where the market is headed, we begin to see a trend line appearing across generations that suggests that consumers increasingly weigh higher order values as they make purchasing decisions.

A recent study conducted by the New Hope Network among 1,000 consumers carefully drawn to be representative of the U.S. population reveals this pattern.

Social and environmental issues resonate and are of growing importance to consumers. We found that consumers are increasingly willing to pay more to support brands that demonstrate environmentally and socially responsible business practices. While activists among the boomer and Gen X generations may have created the momentum behind social and environmental issues, today it is the millennial consumer who is likely to drive these issues into commerce.

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