In a recent LendingTree survey of 1,048 Americans, 55% said they are willing to spend more on sustainable and eco-friendly products, while 4 in 10 are willing to go a step further and boycott companies that aren’t so keen on going green.

Key findings

• A majority (55%) of consumers are willing to spend extra money in order to purchase environmentally friendly products, though at differing amounts. Younger shoppers are the most willing to spend more to go “green,” while women are more on board with sustainable spending than men (61% versus 49%).
• Nearly 40% of consumers would boycott a company for not being eco-conscious; and of that group, 18% have done so. Gen Z and millennials are most willing to boycott, at 58% and 50%, respectively, compared to 29% of Gen X and 27% of baby boomers.
• More than a quarter (28%) of consumers said they’re spending more on environmentally friendly products than ever before. For millennials, the percentage is even higher at 41%. The same goes for consumers with household incomes of $100,000+ (40%).
• Consumers are most focused on food (50%), cleaning products (39%), clothing (33%) and water bottles/coffee cups (33%) when it comes to seeking out eco-friendly options. “Clean” cosmetics were also a priority for more than a third (34%) of women.
• About 1 in 7 Americans have a credit card in which rewards earned are donated to nonprofit organizations, including those that protect the environment. A further 43% said they’d consider opening such a card.
• When shopping for new credit cards, 62% of consumers would rather choose an issuer that’s pledged to fight climate change versus one that hasn’t made environmental issues a priority.

“Today’s consumers are leveraging their buying power to support eco-conscious products and the companies that make them — and in many cases, they are willing to spend more on sustainable goods,” said LendingTree’s Chief Credit Analyst, Matt Schulz. “In addition, consumers are paying closer attention to which companies are stepping up with climate change commitments to decide which ones are worthy of their brand loyalty.”

To view the full report, visit: https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/consumers-would-spend-more-on-eco-friendly-products/.

Methodology
LendingTree commissioned Qualtrics to field an online survey of 1,048 Americans, conducted March 18-24, 2021. The survey was administered using a non-probability-based sample, and quotas were used to ensure the sample base represented the overall population. All responses were reviewed by researchers for quality control.