Only 20 Percent of Consumers Trust Brand Sustainability Claims

Just one fifth of shoppers trust sustainability claims made by brands, according to new research from The Knowledge is Power – Consumer Trust in Sustainability Report. The research, commissioned by Compare Ethics, the Trust and Accountability Forum by Data-based Sustainable Product Verification, investigates the customer confidence crisis and pushes the retail industry towards sustainability. It indicates that confidence is now the secret to decision-making in consumer buying, but that consumers are becoming more skeptical that high street retailers claim to sustainability. The study reveals that, after a third party has tested a product’s sustainability assertion, a whopping 83 per cent of customers will be more likely to trust the critical value of supply chain evidence in increasing customer interest on the validity of product statements. The study reveals that brands alone have to be willing to justify their sustainable policies in order to capture those consumers, with the responsible business industry standing in Britain at over £82 billion.