Customers Increasingly Embrace Eco-Friendly Products: New Research Insights

Challenging the “Sustainability Liability” Myth

For years, many consumers—and consequently companies—believed that eco-friendly products compromised on effectiveness compared to their traditional counterparts. This assumption, coined as the “sustainability liability,” suggested that sustainable alternatives sacrificed performance when incorporating environmentally friendly features. This perception often discouraged firms from investing in greener product innovations.

However, recently published research from marketing experts Alexander Chernev, Sean Blair, Ulf Böckenholt, and Himanshu Mishra, affiliated with Kellogg School of Management and the University of Utah, provides compelling evidence that this bias is largely outdated.

Key Findings: Eco-Friendly Equals Effective

In a comprehensive online study involving over 3,300 participants evaluating 10 hypothetical product categories—from mouthwash to tires—researchers presented two groups with product descriptions differing only by the presence or absence of an eco-friendly claim. Participants rated the products’ performance on a 7-point scale.

• Performance ratings for eco-friendly and standard products were nearly identical.
• Only one category, drain cleaner, showed a slight dip in perceived eco-friendly product performance.
• When product strength was a priority (e.g., heavy-duty cleaners), slight preferences for traditional versions emerged, but overall differences remained minimal.

A subsequent study amid the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on crucial items like hand sanitizers, reaffirmed these findings. Even during heightened demand for effectiveness, consumers did not significantly downgrade their assessment of eco-friendly options.

Changing Consumer Perceptions Over Time

Further linguistic analysis of massive datasets from Google News (up to 2013) and Wikipedia (up to 2021) revealed an evolving association between sustainability-related terms (e.g., “ecological,” “recycled”) and positive performance descriptors (“efficient,” “reliable”). Importantly, this positive linkage strengthened over time, indicating growing consumer acceptance and trust in green products.

Implications for Businesses and Sustainability

Professor Alexander Chernev highlights that the fallen sustainability liability barrier could embolden companies to accelerate sustainable product development without fearing consumer rejection. This shift plays a critical role in addressing climate change by leveraging consumer purchasing power to drive corporate sustainability actions.

“Understanding that sustainability is no longer seen as a liability changes the game for marketers and innovators eager to promote greener technologies,” Chernev notes.

Conclusion

This groundbreaking research signals a turning point in consumer attitudes towards eco-friendly products. It dispels long-held doubts about their effectiveness and opens pathways for wider adoption and investment in sustainable product innovations.

Consumers today recognize that “green” can mean “good” — a mindset crucial for advancing the organic and sustainable products market.

References

Chernev, A., Blair, S., Böckenholt, U., & Mishra, H. (2024). Is Sustainability a Liability? Green Marketing and Consumer Beliefs About Eco-Friendly Products. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

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