Bite-Sized Insights: Parents Say They Could Do Better When It Comes to Conscious Consumerism

Each week we ask our trusted Insights panel of parents a key question. This week we were interested in finding out how parents are embracing the recent market trend towards a more eco-conscious way of making purchases. Take a quick read of this week’s bite-sized insights to find out what parents are saying about conscious consumerism.

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We asked our Insights panel of parents to tell us to what level they have embraced the concept of conscious consumerism in recent months. Here’s how they answered:

We also asked parents what conscious consumerism means to them. Comments from our panel members included:

“Not being wasteful, particularly in relation to packaging and recycling but also other things like the carbon footprint of a product and also sustainable clothing.”

“Thinking about what you are buying and where you are shopping.”

“We have tried to be sustainable by ourselves: reusing, collecting our own wood for the fire and so on, since the pandemic started back in 2020.”

“Not buying fast fashion and buying pieces that will last.”

“Being more aware of what you buy and from where. How far does the good have to travel before it gets to you? And I would guess special offers apply, just because it’s reduced, doesn’t mean it’s a saving if you didn’t need it to begin with.”

“Not buying unnecessary items. Minimising the amount of plastic brought into the house. Buying things that will last as opposed to “fast fashion” etc.”

“Buying less (I need instead of I want), being sustainable when purchasing any item and thinking of long term value for money instead of cheap and short lived.”

“Only purchasing items that are really needed, using items you already have if you can, swapping with friends (especially baby items and clothes etc.). Buying from smaller Irish businesses. Trying to avoid fast fashion when possible.”

“Not buying for the sake of it and buying fair trade where possible and not from companies that exploit their staff or the country they produce in.”

“I am careful of what I buy checking that I need for the house before I go shopping and using my current wardrobe to its full capacity and not buying new clothes. I notice that I have had a little blip recently buying some luxuries for Christmas just hope we eat them all.”

“Like kind of ethical consumerism, I believe if I shop in right way my action will have positive impact on environment and economy.”

“Means buying less, buying more thoughtfully. Buying things that we need rather than just buying for the sake of it.”

Key insights from parents on conscious consumerism

Parents are highly aware of, and have a good grasp of what ‘conscious consumerism’ entails. There’s a strong focus to buy for needs rather than wants when making ‘conscious’ purchasing decisions.
Over half of the parents we asked feel that they “could do better” when it comes to conscious consumerism. There’s an opportunity here to find out what would prompt parents to make that extra effort. ParentsandBrands can help provide bespoke insights reports to find out how parents think and feel when shopping.
Across consumer sectors, it was ‘fast fashion’ that was mentioned the most among parents when asked about conscious consumerism. Awareness doesn’t seem to be as high across other popular consumer markets. Is there an opportunity here for other types of retailers?