A Better Way to Market Sustainable Products: Insights from NYU Stern and PwC

Consumers now demand sustainable products. Businesses face the challenge to show what these products do. NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and PwC studied ideas. Their work shows clear ways to make sustainability work in the market.

The Business Case for Sustainability

Sustainable goods grow fast and sell well.
• Sales grew 12.3% each year from 2019 to 2024. These goods made up nearly 24% of all consumer packaged goods in 2024 (Circana data via CSB).
• Shoppers pay 9.7% more for these items on surveys. Real premiums reached 26.6% on average. For some items, like paper, premiums rose over 100%.

Key idea: Companies earn growth and profit when they invest in sustainable product design.

Targeting the Right Consumer Groups

Marketers must know who buys sustainable goods.
• Younger people, college graduates, urban residents, and high-income buyers often lead these purchases.
• Even products like dairy show strong sustainable sales across all ages.

Action point: Use data to focus your marketing on groups who value sustainability.

Amplifying Product Appeal: The Art of the Pitch

A clear message works best.
• Research from CSB and Edelman shows that a product’s main benefit—its taste, its cleaning power—and one or two sustainability points can boost appeal by 30 points.
• Messages that join the core benefit with sustainability, like “made with sustainable ingredients for better skin,” connect well with consumers.

Recommendation: Build short, clear messages that tie sustainability directly to what the product does best.

Credible and Impactful Sustainability Claims

Certain words work better with buyers.
• Strong claims stress health, saving money, helping local farms, protecting animals, and caring for future generations.
• Technical words alone like “biodegradable” or “traceable” do not work as well, except when they note recycled content or use other clear evidence.

Advice: Use clear facts and familiar ideas to build trust and avoid legal issues.

Navigating Regulatory and Legal Landscapes

Rules guide the way claims can be made.
• Words like “clean” or “natural” can cause legal trouble, especially for children’s or skin products.
• New EU rules like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Green Claims Directive need proof of claims.
• Companies must track their value chains well to meet these new rules.

Conclusion

Marketers must blend a firm business case with clear, honest messages. They must know their audience and link sustainability to the features that matter most. By using clear claims and following new laws, companies can grow, gain trust, and build loyal brands.

About the Authors:
Tensie Whelan is a Distinguished Professor of Practice at NYU Stern. She also founded the Stern Center for Sustainable Business. David Linich is a principal at PwC US. He focuses on decarbonization and sustainable operations.

For those who create or market sustainable products, these ideas from NYU Stern and PwC give clear steps for success in a fast-changing green market.

Design Delight Studio curates high-impact, authoritative insights into sustainable and organic product trends, helping conscious consumers and innovative brands stay ahead in a fast-evolving green economy.