Sustainability-minded shoppers need to know where to go and what to buy.

McKinsey recently published a report on sharp the rise of sustainability concerns in Asia’s emerging markets. The report concluded that consumers in China, India, and Indonesia are the most concerned and interested in issues of sustainability, and have “the highest willingness to pay for green.” Even so, according to the report, consumers in those countries still care more about water and air pollution rather than waste production, which suggests that consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers alike need to step up their messaging around eco-packaging, energy efficiency, materials, and recycling.

A separate McKinsey report looked at what different jurisdictions around the world have done to reduce the problem of packaging waste. China, for instance, has proposed to ban single-use plastic bags by 2022, while India has pushed for both more awareness campaigns and more recycling collection points.

As for retailers, an article in Jing Daily, published in the summer of 2020, looked at whether retailers in China are doing enough regarding environmentally-friendly practices, honing in on the fairly low-hanging fruit of messaging to consumers on how to shop sustainably. “While digital innovation is key to stimulating the recycling and preloved sector among luxury Chinese consumers, such initiatives need to be marketed effectively,” the article said. “And, given consumer interest is still difficult to gauge, it is vital to keep customers aware of such plans. In order to make a real impact, strategies must go deeper.” – SS