A recent survey among young adults shows that millennials value trends, but are also keen on doing this sustainably and even paying more for sustainable items. The survey result is very encouraging news for brands and innovators developing sustainable alternatives together.
Spinnova recently had a survey made on consumer attitudes towards shopping and sustainability. 82% of replies came from European young adults between 18 and 30 years of age, so the findings can be mostly associated with this millennial and post-millennial age group.
The most interesting finding of the survey was that 61% would pay more for a sustainable piece of clothing. This is a great result, considering that the respondents were mostly young people who usually don’t have much money to spend.
As many as 41% of respondents would nonetheless be ready to pay as much as a 20-40% premium on a sustainable item. Then again, a 54% majority said they would only pay 20% or less, which means some of them would not pay premium at all.
– In any case, there is an emerging determination to make more sustainable choices. This convinces someone like us, developing sustainable alternatives, and brands who are investing time and money in comprehensive sustainability programmes. Our mission is also meaningful to the consumer, says Spinnova’s CEO Janne Poranen.
Without knowing more than a short introduction about Spinnova, 52% of respondents also said they would be interested in Spinnova’s sustainable fibre when it comes available.
Sustainable also needs to be trendy, as 51% of young adults base their buying decision on design, only 25% on price. There’s clearly willingness to make better choices, as 51% of the respondents are interested in sustainable clothes. However, only 15% know brands or shops that sell sustainable clothing.
– This looks like an all-round awareness problem, both with general environmental knowledge and how retailers support sustainable choices or promote their sustainable selections. Some brands already have separate sections for conscious items. This is a very good start, but also a challenge to all of us in the textile industry. Awareness of materials and sustainability needs to be further increased in many ways, Poranen ends.
This survey was made for Spinnova by an international group of students from the University of Applied Sciences of Jyväskylä, Finland. The survey was made online this winter, with respondents from seven European countries, mostly Czech and France. The total number of respondents was 283.