April 16th, 2024, Bhavika Bansal
A recent YouGov survey of consumers across 17 international markets reveals that more than half of consumers globally would be willing to pay more for sustainable versions of their chosen clothing and accessories (53%). A similar proportion (47%) of consumers say the same about cosmetics and beauty products.
When it comes to paying a premium for sustainable clothing, roughly a quarter of consumers across 17 markets say they would pay up to 10% more (26%), and 13% say they would pay up to 25% more.
Similarly, more than one out five consumers globally would pay up to 10% (23%) and 11% say they would be willing to pay up to 25% more for sustainable cosmetics and beauty products.
How much more are consumers willing to pay for sustainable clothing and accessories?
Looking at market-specific data reveals notable differences in how much more of a premium people are willing to pay for sustainable clothing. More than a third of consumers in Mexico (36%) and 28% of consumers in Great Britain and India say they’re willing to pay up to 10% more for sustainable versions of clothing and accessories, compared to just 18% of Americans.
Though a substantial share of consumers across all six markets are willing to pay up to 10% more, the similarities end there. Consumers in India and the UAE are far likelier than in any other market to pay a greater premium for sustainable clothing and accessories.
Compared to one in five consumers in India and the UAE who are willing to pay up to 25% more for sustainable accessories (22% and 20% respectively), only slightly more than a tenth of Swedes (11%) and Britons (13%) would do the same.
As for those willing to pay up to half the price more, a fifth of respondents in the UAE (20%) and 16% of respondents in India say they would do so.
How much more are consumers willing to pay for sustainable cosmetics and beauty products?
Much like in the case of sustainable accessories, consumers in Mexico are the likeliest of all to be willing to pay only up to 10% more for sustainable versions of beauty products (31%).
While a quarter of consumers in Great Britain are willing to pay up to 10% more (23%), this proportion falls significantly when it comes to paying higher premiums for sustainable beauty products. Less than a tenth of Britons are willing to pay up to or more than 50% (4% for both), a sentiment that can be seen among the Swedes and Americans as well.
Notably, nearly a fifth of consumers in the UAE are willing to pay a premium of more than 50% for their choice of sustainable cosmetics and beauty products.
Explore our living data – for free
Discover more retail content here
Want to run your own research? Run a survey now
YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 501 and 2,023 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in December 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.