Growing conscious consumption trend will drive sustainable development

People are actively seeking products and services that are sustainable. Although 76% found it either difficult or very difficult to live sustainably in the UAE, interestingly, 77% stated that they had chosen not to buy a product in the previous six months as they did not consider it sustainable. This is great news!

In the USA and the UK, Futerra’s new survey shows that 96% of people feel their own actions, such as donating, recycling or buying ethically, can make a difference. And over half believe that they personally can make a big difference.

With sustainable living becoming an imperative, people think they can have an impact, however, they want more help from the government and businesses. Despite the fact that brands have become much more confident in trying to change the world, we can still see unethical practices everywhere. In many parts of the world, we can still find the exploitation of workers. Consumers fear that what they buy was made by slaves or children. Labelling can be unclear, misleading or incomplete. There is a shocking lack of transparency on social standards in supply chains. Plastic cutlery comes as default with food deliveries. Confectionary is positioned at the perfect level for little hands next to supermarket check-outs.

While governments and NGOs are progressing slowly in setting up new regulations and laws that will offset bad practices and switch to greener solutions, a conscious consumer has to continue saying “NO” to bad practices.