Sustainability Guilt: 57% Feel Remorse at Home; 28% Fully Embrace Eco-Living, Mainly Millennials

A survey published by Seventh Generation found out that only 14% of Americans think of sustainability as their priority when shopping around. One in six Americans admitted that they are not aware of ingredients in the products they buy, and most of them were Gen-Z with 19% being least informed. The survey was conducted among 2,000 Americans to find out how important they think of sustainability and the results showed that most of them are not aware of it.

57% of the respondents said that they are not quite living in their homes guilt free because of sustainability. 40% of Americans in the survey were somewhat sure that their lifestyle and the products they buy are environmentally friendly. 28% were completely sure of living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle with most of them being millennials (42%). When asked about their definition of sustainable lifestyle, 73% of those surveyed answered that they think of sustainability as knowing the ingredients of things they buy. 79% of the millennials and 65% of the baby boomers strictly want to know the ingredients of their products before buying them.

The survey also asked the respondents about the necessities they need to care about their homes. 70% answered with trash bags, 67% answered dish wash and 65% said laundry detergent. But a quarter of Americans didn’t think of these products as something that is harmful to the environment. Respondents also weren’t aware that many common items could produce fossil fuels like toothpaste (39%), plastic dishes (35%), candles (32%), and laundry detergent (26%).

CEO of Seventh Generation, Alison Whritenour, said that many Americans aren’t aware that most of their household items are petroleum based. It is easily possible to make plant based products that are not able to harm the environment and people can use these products without any guilt. 48% of the Americans surveyed have said that consumers shouldn’t be responsible for the safety of products they buy. 45% held brands responsible for product safety. 42% of the respondents suggested that consumers shouldn’t be worried about a product's safety and do extensive research before purchasing them.

45% aren’t sure if they can completely get rid of products with fossil fuels from their homes, while 55% said that they will completely switch their products to live a complete environmentally friendly lifestyle. Some are willing to pay more for sustainable products (45%), some said that they would only watch streaming platforms on TV (23%), others promised to drink only water (18%). The top product that is hard to give up for Americans is laundry detergent (18%). They don’t want to give up on it for a sustainable lifestyle.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World