Vocal for local: Indians turn environment lovers, prioritise spending on sustainable products

Indians want to leave an impact on the planet by prioritizing spending on sustainable products and contributing to local businesses, as per the American Express Trendex report. 87% of Indian respondents always or often purchasing sustainable products and 97% interested in spending money on items that will have a positive impact on local businesses and communities, which is highest amongst all the other surveyed countries.

High spends on low carbon
The survey further reveals 98% of Indian respondents want to spend money on items that will help build low-carbon communities around the world. 97% think all products should be required to be environmentally friendly while 96% think about the impact on the planet when making purchase decisions.

Encouragingly, 92% of Indian adults surveyed are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products with growing awareness on the benefits of sustainable products. For 43% of Indian adults surveyed, increased product availability and a better understanding of the product benefits are key motivators to purchase sustainable products in the future while for 37%, it is a better price point.


What we want
Giving back to the environment - 98% Indians surveyed wish companies would make it easier for them to reduce their carbon footprint whereas 97% of surveyed Indians will be more loyal to a company/brand that works to address environmental issues.

Preferring sustainable products -92% of Indian adults surveyed are willing to pay a premium for sustainable and 94% of those Indian adults that would pay a premium say they would pay at least 10% more for sustainable products while 29% are ready to pay 50% more for sustainable products and 23% of them even higher than 50%.

In terms of categories, 96% of Indians surveyed, one of their goals in 2022 is to make more sustainable choices when purchasing clothes, tech products, eating food and while traveling and 86% of them have already started shopping at second hand or consignment retailers rather than purchasing new items to reduce environmental impact. When making decisions about where to dine out, more than half (55%) of Indians surveyed consider the number of plant-based options available at a restaurant.

Endorsing for sustainable products- About 97% of surveyed Indians would like to shop more with a company that takes action to reduce the impacts of climate change and are more likely to trust brands that work to address to environmental issues.

Awareness about sustainable issues - Indian adults surveyed have become more focused on a variety of sustainability topics this past year with air-pollution (96%) and recycling, renewable energy, and climate action (95%) gaining the most interest.

GenZ/millennials more sustainability conscious - 57% surveyed GenZ/millennials respondents are more likely to plan on purchasing sustainable products this year to help reduce their environmental impact. 72% GenZ/millennials Indians surveyed are more likely to talk to their children about environmental issues.

The American Express Trendex is a trend index that tracks how consumers, small businesses, and merchants are feeling about spending, saving, travelling and more. Data is sourced monthly in the United States and biannually globally, including in the UK, Australia, Japan, Mexico, India, and Canada. This study has an overall sample of 7,996 Global Adults.