Research Findings: Consumers Say Green is Nice, Taste is Better
Last week Invoke Solutions, with help from their partners Added-Value and Greenfield Online, conducted an interactive quali-quant research session with over 250 adults about “ethical marketing,” green consumption, and its actual impact on purchase decisions. This 60-minute session is part of Invoke’s monthly Invoke Live research program.
Invoke found that over 87% of participants claimed that it was very or somewhat important to purchase from brands that are committed to acting socially and/or environmentally responsible. 78% claimed to have taken active steps to change their behavior to be “a more responsible consumer.”
Still, there was a dose of reality to the responses. “My primary responsibility is to my family,” said one participant. “I have always tried to find the best cost value and best nutritional value of whatever I purchase. If it happens to also be a "green" company or container or whatever, then all the better. But my primary responsibility is to my family, because that is what I can control most.”
This was accented by the fact that responsible attributes like “organic,” “locally sourced/grown,”
and “biodegradable or recycled packaging” ranked 5th -7th respectively in terms of driving juice choices while “taste, “freshness,” and “price” topped the list. When determining whether a brand is environmentally or socially responsible, however, participants ranked the most important factors as 1) Organic; 2) Locally sourced/grown; 3) Fair trade; 4) Biodegradable or recycled packaging; 5) Gives to charitable causes; and 6) CO2 emissions reductions.
As part of the study, Invoke tested three advertisements that touted the environmentally friendly nature of juice products. In general, people wanted to believe the environmental claims saying they were “very” or “somewhat” believable in nature (87%, 81%, and 48% respectively). According to one participant “I prefer ad A first because it was clear and more believable. I don't like ads that leave me with questions.” Not everyone was as easily sold, however. “Companies that give reasons and examples why they are responsible are infinitely more believable than those that just claim to be responsible and let it go at that.”
Invoke found that over 87% of participants claimed that it was very or somewhat important to purchase from brands that are committed to acting socially and/or environmentally responsible. 78% claimed to have taken active steps to change their behavior to be “a more responsible consumer.”
Still, there was a dose of reality to the responses. “My primary responsibility is to my family,” said one participant. “I have always tried to find the best cost value and best nutritional value of whatever I purchase. If it happens to also be a "green" company or container or whatever, then all the better. But my primary responsibility is to my family, because that is what I can control most.”
This was accented by the fact that responsible attributes like “organic,” “locally sourced/grown,”
and “biodegradable or recycled packaging” ranked 5th -7th respectively in terms of driving juice choices while “taste, “freshness,” and “price” topped the list. When determining whether a brand is environmentally or socially responsible, however, participants ranked the most important factors as 1) Organic; 2) Locally sourced/grown; 3) Fair trade; 4) Biodegradable or recycled packaging; 5) Gives to charitable causes; and 6) CO2 emissions reductions.
As part of the study, Invoke tested three advertisements that touted the environmentally friendly nature of juice products. In general, people wanted to believe the environmental claims saying they were “very” or “somewhat” believable in nature (87%, 81%, and 48% respectively). According to one participant “I prefer ad A first because it was clear and more believable. I don't like ads that leave me with questions.” Not everyone was as easily sold, however. “Companies that give reasons and examples why they are responsible are infinitely more believable than those that just claim to be responsible and let it go at that.”
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