What does sustainability mean to your customers?

Imagine the dream. Every product lasts forever. Every supply chain spotless. Every boardroom powered by renewable energy and good intentions. Vans run on sunlight, customers recycle with pride and greenwashing is ancient history. In this perfectly sustainable world, everything’s ethical and affordable.

But we know that world doesn’t exist.

In reality, most ‘green’ options cost more. Organic cotton. Recycled packaging. Carbon-neutral delivery. All great in theory, all pricier in practice. And in a stretched economy, many people are cutting back, choosing cheaper alternatives and having to dial down on their ideals. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean sustainability has lost its pull completely but it does mean eCommerce brands need to think differently about how they deliver sustainability and what they promise. After all, more than 60% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products but most draw the line at around a 10% premium.

Sustainability can still add value. It can still be the point of difference to make people choose you over a lower priced competitor. 

But how? 

All or nothing

The thing with sustainability is that once you declare it, you invite scrutiny – and rightly so.

That means you have to be absolutely sure you can back up every claim. Consumers can spot greenwashing faster than you can say ‘biodegradable mailer’, so sustainability has to run through everything you do – your product, your process, your purpose. It’s not a campaign angle.

Keep it real, keep it achievable

Although life feels expensive for many people, most aren’t giving up on sustainability. They still care, but they’re choosing options that fit their lives and budgets. That’s something brands like yours can lean into. The key is finding a version of sustainability which feels right for your customers but also realistic for you as a brand. That’s where you add value – in the overlap between what they care about and what you can deliver.

You don’t have to be flawless in everything, just genuine in what you do do. Choose one or two things and do them really well. There’s more integrity in that than overreaching and being caught out. Defining your own sustainability could look like:

  • Shorter supply chains and local production
  • Better working conditions in factories
  • Repair schemes, trade-ins or refill models
  • Donating to causes that reflect your customers’ values

When eco adds extra

Brands that build sustainability into what makes the product better are the ones less likely to struggle with higher prices or lose customers to cheaper competitors. It could look like incorporating higher quality materials which last longer, designing products to be repaired rather than replaced or offering services which make reuse easy and worthwhile.

When people can see the benefit of a higher cost – better quality, longer life, lower cost over time – to them it feels like money well spent.

McKinsey’s 2024 research found that when sustainability features are clear, visible and practical – things like repair services, bundled deliveries or eco-friendly packaging they can increase the likelihood to buy by up to 25%. But when they’re vague, inconvenient or hard to understand, such as unclear carbon offsets or delayed ‘green’ delivery options, that impact can drop to as little as 3%.

Instead of treating sustainability as a virtue signal, make it the smarter choice. Prove it makes the product better and the purchase more worthwhile. Customers feel good about buying from you and good about what they get.

When sustainability creates value for everyone

It’s easy to treat sustainability as a feel-good extra, but as we’ve said before, when it’s built into what makes your product better, it becomes more desirable.

Take Immaculate Vegan. Their mission is simple: extraordinary style, extraordinary ethics. They’ve built a premium fashion marketplace around vegan, sustainable, and ethically made products which align with what their customers care about – looking good and doing good.

By leading with quality, innovation and transparency, they’ve created a model where ethics aren’t limiting growth. Their audience is buying a product but they’re also buying into shared values and verified standards which make sustainability worth paying for.

Slow lessons from fast fashion

People still need affordable clothing, and that’s not going to change. But they also want to feel their choices aren’t harming the planet. Fast fashion might never be truly sustainable, but it’s not going anywhere which means the opportunity is in making it better, not perfect.

H&M is showcasing this. It’s not pretending to be the most sustainable brand out there – it’s a mass-market retailer selling accessible clothes. What it has done is recognise that its customers care about sustainability and want to feel they’re making a better choice, even on a budget.

Recycling schemes, conscious collections and store drop-offs might not make H&M a sustainability leader, but they do make it relevant. The brand has found a version of sustainability that fits its customers and its business model.

And that’s a balance smaller eCom brands can learn from. You don’t have to reinvent your entire supply chain to make progress. Choose the parts where you can make achievable gains and authentic claims for example fairer working conditions, more durable materials or a simple take-back scheme which lets customers return used items to be recycled, repaired or resold instead of thrown away.

Rewarding responsibility

H&M also shows how sustainability can be rewarded in ways that make sense to everyday shoppers. But it’s worth noting that schemes like this still place much of the responsibility on consumers. The onus is on them to return, recycle or rewear, while the brand collects the credit for being ‘conscious’.

It doesn’t make efforts meaningless. They can work because they align with what customers want and can realistically do. But smaller eCom brands can go further by sharing that responsibility, designing systems which make sustainable choices the effortless choice.

Encouraging sustainable behaviour only works when the reward feels worthwhile.

H&M’s approach shows how it can work. Return a bag of clothes, get £5 off your next shop. It’s simple but it means old clothes stay out of landfill and customers have a reason to come back. Compare that to Lush’s £2 bottle return. It’s a nice idea that’s lost its spark. The reward hasn’t kept up with inflation or customer expectation, so it feels more symbolic than motivating.

Your local edge 

Buying local isn’t a new idea, but it’s one of the most practical ways to approach sustainability and one that’s often overlooked. Plus it feels good and makes commercial sense!

Many smaller brands already work with local suppliers or manufacturers for practical reasons like cost, speed or quality control but perhaps it’s overlooked as a sustainability strength. 

However, it does matter. Fewer miles mean fewer emissions. Local production supports jobs and communities; it makes sustainability feel close, visible and real.

People still want affordable options, and local sourcing helps with that too; less transport, less waste and faster turnaround. 

So if you’re already doing it, say it. 

The age of fatigue

Sustainability can start to feel distant when it’s abstract, corporate or disconnected from people’s day-to-day choices, especially when budgets are tight. Big pledges don’t mean much to someone comparing prices at checkout. They know buying your product isn’t going to solve world hunger or fix the climate crisis but they do want to feel their money’s going somewhere that matters.

Add global crises, rising costs and general burnout and it’s no surprise people are tired. It’s not that they don’t care about sustainability, they just need it to make sense in their lives and in their budgets.

If you’re going to make sustainability claims, make them relevant; making products which last longer or perform better. Small, visible actions help too. Planting trees, sharing progress, being transparent about what’s working and what isn’t. 

And that’s a wrap! This post marks the final chapter in our Beyond Bargains series – exploring how eCommerce brands can drive long-term value without relying on discounts. From customer service, subscriptions, loyalty and VIP programmes, we’ve shown how adding value can protect your margins and your brand.

If you’re not competing on price, compete on performance. Talk to our team about building an eCommerce strategy that wins customers and keeps them coming back.