Sustainability 2025: Do Consumers Care?
In today’s economically pressured and uncertain environment, many companies are reevaluating, if not outright pulling back from sustainability commitments. Are we witnessing a cultural recalibration—one where consumers are shifting from collective 'we' values to more individualistic 'me' priorities? If so, how must brands evolve their messaging and strategies to stay relevant?
Sustainability 2025 seeks to understand consumers’ priorities and values in a time when almost everything is being questioned. Drawing on Hartman Group’s deep legacy of decoding consumer values, this study will provide an invaluable perspective on whether sustainability still motivates behavior, moving beyond ideals to expose new dimensions of value and determine if brand signals still resonate.
Available for pre-purchase now | Publishing September 2025 | U.S. market coverage
- Executive summary
- General report (PowerPoint and PDF)
- Demographic data tables (Excel)
- Quantitative research: Nationally representative online survey of U.S. food shoppers aged 18-78, with a minimum total sample of n=2,000 and readable samples of demographic audiences such as age cohorts, race/ethnicity and income tiers. Where possible, data will be trended against similar questions fielded in 2023, 2021 and 2019.
- Qualitative research: Literature review of marketing, consumer publications and discourse on food and beverage sourcing and quality; engagement with writings/podcasts by cultural informants; social listening on key consumer platforms; virtual interviews with consumers as well as benchmarking against prior research.
- Proprietary segmentation: Hartman Group’s proprietary World of Sustainability segmentation is grounded in both consumer attitudes and behaviors, enabling food and beverage companies to efficiently target and communicate with key consumer groups. All data will be run by segment, empowering study purchasers to take strategic direction aligned with their priority audiences.
- Methodology
- Executive summary
- Primary report content, including charts, graphs and in-depth analysis of key findings
- Implications and recommendations
- Should companies still talk about sustainability explicitly? Or has the term lost power?
- How can brands signal trust as perceptions of quality and corporate integrity evolve?
- Are certifications—such as Fair Trade, B Corp, and Certified Regenerative—gaining or losing traction with consumers?
- Is cost a primary barrier or is the gap now more about belief and trust?
- What happens when companies shift sustainability policies? How do consumers interpret those moves, and what does it say about quality and brand credibility?
- Which consumer segments demonstrate engagement with values-based attributes, and which do not?
- Have more consumers moved outside of participation in the World of Sustainability? Or have segments within the World shifted?
