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

Sustainable products are increasingly favored by consumers, yet consumer product companies often face challenges in capitalizing on this demand. Effective marketing of sustainable goods requires a strategic approach founded on clear business cases, credible messaging, and an understanding of customer priorities.

The Business Case for Sustainable Product Marketing

Research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) and PwC underscores the robust growth and pricing advantages tied to sustainability-marketed consumer products:

• Sales Growth: From 2019 to 2024, sustainability-marketed items grew at an impressive annual rate of 12.3%—more than double the growth rate of conventional products. By 2024, these products accounted for nearly 24% of sales within 36 major consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, covering about 40% of the market (excluding alcohol and tobacco).
• Price Premiums: A 2024 PwC survey of 20,000 consumers showed a willingness to pay nearly 10% more for sustainably produced or sourced items. Actual market data indicates sustainable goods can command an average price premium of 26.6%, peaking above 100% in categories like paper products and roughly 50% in coffee, cereal, and chocolate.

Key Strategies to Amplify Sustainable Products’ Appeal

1. Target the Right Customer Groups:
Millennials, college-educated consumers, urban dwellers, and high-income earners disproportionately purchase sustainability-marketed products. However, categories like dairy see sustainable product purchases across all demographics. Tailoring marketing efforts to these segments enhances effectiveness.

2. Integrate Sustainability with Core Product Qualities:
Marketing sustainability should complement, not overshadow, the product’s primary benefits. For example, describing skincare items as “formulated with sustainable ingredients that are good for your skin” closely aligns sustainability with consumers’ foremost concerns—product performance and health.

3. Use a Balanced Mix of Messages:
CSB and Edelman research reveals that combining one core attribute claim with one or two sustainability claims boosts product appeal by 30 percentage points on average. Overloading slogans or making sustainability the sole focus can weaken brand appeal.

Building Credibility with Precise and Trusted Claims

Not all sustainability claims resonate equally with consumers. The most persuasive messages emphasize tangible consumer benefits, including:

• Protecting human health (no harmful ingredients)
• Saving money
• Supporting local farms and food systems
• Benefiting children and future generations
• Preserving animal health
• Using local or sustainable sources

Conversely, less effective claims involve abstract scientific properties (like biodegradability or climate neutrality), traceability, and generic certifications—unless supplemented with clear evidence.

Legal and regulatory scrutiny around sustainability claims is intensifying globally. Ambiguous claims such as “clean” or “natural” are vulnerable to legal challenges, especially for products used by children or applied to the skin. Companies should invest in robust value chain analysis and regularly monitor evolving laws, such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and forthcoming Green Claims Directive, to ensure scientific substantiation of claims.

Conclusion

Marketing sustainable products successfully hinges on:

• Leveraging solid data that confirms growth potential and pricing power
• Targeting receptive customer groups and product categories
• Crafting clear, relatable messaging that connects sustainability to core product benefits
• Prioritizing credible, evidence-backed claims to build consumer trust and comply with regulations

Following these principles will help brands unlock the full value of sustainability, foster consumer trust, and drive meaningful growth in a competitive market.

Authors:
Tensie Whelan – Distinguished Professor of Practice at NYU Stern and Founding Director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business
David Linich – Principal at PwC US, expert in decarbonization and sustainable operations

For more insights on sustainable marketing and business strategy, explore related research and expert commentary at NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business and PwC.

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.