More than 60% of businesses around the world have implemented a sustainability strategy this year, but only 10% believe that they are communicating it effectively, a new report from Euromonitor International has found.
The research firm’s latest Passport Sustainability report found that last year, a fifth (20%) of all item sales last year were of products that featured sustainable claims.
Euromonitor International also noted that products featuring sustainable claims have achieved, on average, 1.5% higher sales growth over the past four years.
However, the effectiveness of such claims depends on ‘clear and honest communication to guard against claims of greenwashing‘, it added.
‘Vague nature’
“While ‘natural’ remains the leading sustainability claim in value sales, its vague nature has raised concerns about greenwashing, particularly in the Beauty, Personal Care and Pet Care industries, where 39% and 37% of products respectively, feature ‘natural’ claims in 2023,” said Maria Bogdanova, senior product manager for Sustainability at Euromonitor International.
“Regulatory bodies in the EU and several US states are responding with bans on unsubstantiated sustainability claims.”
As well as the term ‘natural’, other popular terms used by products include ‘organic‘, ‘non-GMO’, ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’, particularly in packaged food, beauty and personal care, pet care and consumer health.
“Breakfast Cereal leads the way, with over 20% of all products featuring a vegetarian claim followed by Sweet Biscuits, Snack Bars and Fruit Snacks with only 9%,” added Bogdanova. “The share of these clean products is expected to grow, driven by aggressive investments from global retailers like Tesco, Walmart, Albert Heijn, Carrefour, and Lidl. “
‘Zero waste’ and ‘B Corp’
‘Zero waste‘ and ‘B Corp’ are the two most prominent claims among the fastest-growing sustainable business value sales claims.
In the beauty industry, brands like The Body Shop, Dr. Hauschka, and Elemis are leading the way with B Corp certified products. Other sectors are also seeing growth in B Corp claims, particularly in staple foods and snacks, where the number of SKUs featuring the B Corp certification has increased by 49% and 40% respectively over the past two years. Euromonitor International noted.
