Over half of Australians concerned about legitimacy of green claims

WARC’s latest Spotlight Australia infographic shows high consumer scepticism about environmental claims made by businesses across sectors, with claims from energy retailers (72%), clothing and fashion brands (71%), and household cleaning brands (71%) causing the biggest concern.

Why green legitimacy matters

Climate concerns have hit a record high in the country, and consumers are becoming increasingly attuned to deceptive marketing around sustainability. In order to regain their trust, brands must align communications with their own environmental efforts with what consumers find most important and meaningful.

Key findings

• Three-quarters (75%) of Australians report feeling either very or fairly concerned about climate change.
• 56% say they are likely to trust green claims from local, small, or Australian businesses compared to only 29% who said the same about international businesses.
• Nearly three-quarters say claims about products (74%) or packaging (72%) being made of biodegradable, compostable, or natural materials would influence their decision-making process.
• Over half (69%) say having a trust mark would increase their confidence that an environmental claim is true.

Go deeper

This edition of the WARC Spotlight Australia series focuses on the topic of sustainability in practice and provides a curation of case studies and tangible examples of what’s working in the Australian market. See all articles in this Spotlight here.

As part of the Spotlight series, the infographic analyses consumer data from ongoing surveys of internet users in Australia, provided by GWI, and is supported by knowledge and opinion from industry experts.