Consumption w/o Guilt

Consciously living and consciously consuming are trends that are no longer confined to a clichéd edge group. This new attitude to dealing with resources, oneself, and togetherness affects the individual as a private person, but also as a client, colleague, partner and entrepreneur.

In the German-speaking world, within the last few years, a packaging-free shop has joined others. Even supermarkets »without packaging« are a trend in the purchasing behaviour of more and more customers of all generations. How are retailers, manufacturers, and brands reacting to these demands?

From zero waste to concious consumption

Self-service, buying small amounts instead of preset weights – the possibilities are endless. The willingness to change without giving up consumption is a customer need that more and more brands recognise, implement, and thus put their competitors under pressure.

Who, if not a drugstore, is affected by plastic overkill? dm (a European drugstore chain) is going on the offensive, launching a twelve-month test project in Austria for  the packaging-reduced purchase of organic cleaning agents. Not completely packaging-free, because the refill bottles are made of plastic. Nevertheless, refilling the vegan and 100 per cent organic products at the store not only protects the environment, but also calms the conscience, and, by the way, increases customer loyalty.

Because »zero waste« doesn’t mean zero consumption. It‘s about »conscious consumption«.

Conscious consumption is spreading

A trend that has long since taken hold in the fashion sector. Despite the introduction of a sales commission, more ads and competitor »Zadaa«, »Kleiderkreisel« successfully entered their tenth year of business. H&M supports the WWF with ten per cent of proceeds from their specially created »Wildlife Collection«, continuing their long-standing, successful cooperation for greater sustainability despite consumption. Even used luxury brands can find their customers through pioneers such as »The RealReal« or »Vite EnVogue«. An inscreasing trend 

Conscious consumption is also an issue in more and more companies. The online comparison portal Trivago, for example, bought 1,700 drinking bottles made of glass for their staff – produced by the start-up and sustainability advocate »Doli Bottless« – and is setting an example. Thanks to the ingenious and style design of the Dolis, it has made its rounds on Instagram influencers’ pages.

Not just startups are taking sustainably seriously, even big names as well. Facebook as well as Google have set themselves for the goal to rely completely on renewable energy by the 2020s. A goal that’ll especially be felt when it comes to data centres. Everyone can contribute.

Using conscious consumption to your advantage

If you’ve got an entrepreneurial side, you might see these changes as an opportunity to do the environment a favour, but also help your image.

What opportunities brands have in the digital age in order to gain the attention of potential customers and the trust of existing customers can be found in the current trend book Handelskraft 2019 »Digital DNA«. You can download it here, right now.