FOCUS ON – CONSUMER GOODS
THE PANDEMIC HAS INCREASED
"CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION" HABITS "Conscious consumption" habits - being more acutely aware of the environmental and economic impacts of the goods and services you use - have risen sharply throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
72
% of consumers have reported shifting their priorities to tackling food waste and two-thirds believe governments should introduce legislation that promotes this, such as charging for plastic bags or standards for labels, according to global data gathered by consultation firm Accenture. The firm claims around half of the respondents did not truly know which brands operated using more sustainable methods and those that did not. 69% answered that it should be in the consumer company's best interest to relay this information in a bid towards transparency. “The pandemic is making consumers think more about the impact their purchasing decisions are having on the environment and society at large,” said Oliver Wright, senior managing director and global lead of Accenture’s consumer goods industry group. "Consumers’ focus on areas like the provenance of ingredients and raw materials, working practices, the environmental impact of finished products and packaging, 10 Industry Europe
calls for companies to ensure the agility and capability to be relevant to consumers and customers," he added. Half of consumers will also look to shop more health-consciously, the research claims, following a health kick craze that swept Britain during the early months of the pandemic. Initial research found that roughly 45% of respondents also committed to making more sustainable choices in their shopping, however, updated statistics place this number closer to 66% as the new year rolled around. "This is a trend that was very much in place before the pandemic," according to Kim De Maeseneer, the European head of Accenture's consumer goods division in an interview with Industry Europe, adding there were metrics to suggests these habits are here to stay. "What has happened is that this has put the trend of consumer sustainability and conscious consumption on steroids. The effects - the silver lining - of the pandemic
and its effects on this industry are completely unforeseen," she added. De Maeseneer said that effects that were years in the making were compressed into a matter of weeks and months and her team expect the trend of conscious consumption to outlast the pandemic. Since the pandemic began, news outlets have been posting anecdotal testimonies on public awareness of consumer consciousness, with many claiming it was a temporary fad. NGO OnePlanet claims the pandemic has influenced trends that match some of the data gathered. Based on data gathered in July last year, as many as 19 million Britons were eating healthier as a result of the pandemic. There are also concerns over company transparency regarding what companies put into their products and how they are sourced. This also appears to have been something many companies, particularly within consumer goods have already begun making strides in improves sustainability across their supply chains.
