The global shift towards sustainability continues to change the landscape of consumer buying behavior. As more eco-conscious customers emerge, the need to match this demand grows accordingly. How can businesses keep up?

In this article, we discuss how small business owners such as yourself can attract “green consumers” through key strategies. Learn more about them below.

Why Do We Need to Serve Eco-Conscious Customers Better?

75% of Filipinos are now actively seeking brands that have lesser negative impacts on the environment. The international market research experts at Kantar World Panel believe that this shift in preference rose especially during the pandemic as concerns for health and wellness soared. 

The growing population of these eco-conscious customers has highlighted the need for businesses, big or small, to meet this preference to keep up with the preferences of the market. 

The challenge, however, is that more than half of Filipinos still find it difficult to lead an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. The main reason? Accessibility. Alternatives are either expensive or hard to find. 

This gap is one of the major roadblocks in a country that ranks as the third largest contributor of plastic entering the ocean every year according to WorldBank.org. While Filipino consumers may desire to go green, they are rarely provided with eco-friendly options that they can seamlessly integrate into their lifestyle. 

Fortunately, there is a silver lining to this desperate situation. This national issue of sustainability can be solved—that is, if more businesses in the country step up to the call for providing more environmentally options to the market. 

How can we do this, you may ask? That is exactly what we are going to discuss here: how sustainable businesses in the Philippines can cater to eco-conscious consumers better.

3 Ways Sustainable Businesses Can Cater to Eco-Conscious Customers

There are many ways that businesses can incorporate sustainable practices into their operations. For starters, here are three, easy ways to do it.

1. Provide vegan options. 

Every food we eat and the products we use have an impact on the environment. However, depending on their manufacturing and production process, some options may have more impact than others. 

For example, meat and dairy production generates more greenhouse houses and also clears out forests to make way for pasture lands. The same goes for other products that don’t exactly fall in the food category but may also use animal-derived products for their ingredients. 

Offering vegan options is definitely a good way to help the environment. According to The Humane Society, the production process involved in plant-based meats generates 90% fewer greenhouse gases than conventional meat. That is approximately the same amount of emissions that driving across the country would have created. 

By offering vegan alternatives to the market, businesses can also do their part in lessening their carbon footprint in the process. 

2. Promoting the BYOB movement. 

Plastic packaging from grocery and shopping trips uses up a lot of plastic. Do your part as a business by encouraging customers to hop into the BYOB (“Bring Your Own Bag”) movement. 

To get people to participate, some businesses provide special discounts when a customer brings their own bags or uses eco-friendly packaging. This way, you also send the message to your market that efforts such as this are worthy to be rewarded, which in turn, can encourage them to turn this kind of thinking into a habit. 

3. Using biodegradable packaging. 

Single-use plastics are one of the biggest contributors to waste globally. In the Philippines, about 2.7 million tons of plastic are generated, 20% of which end up in the ocean. Unfortunately, the use of this type of packaging is so prevalent in the country because it is more accessible to businesses and consumers alike. On the other hand, things are also getting better now with more and more people trying to explore alternative packaging to plastic. 

Unlike before when more eco-friendly packaging options are still a lot more expensive, biodegradable packaging is now becoming more affordable because the technology of its production has already been perfected by a growing number of suppliers. Even the quality of eco-friendly packaging can now keep up with that of single-use plastics so durability and versatility are no longer a concern.

This type of packaging is what we offer here at Oikos Sustainable Solutions. As a homegrown, small business ourselves, one of our primary goals is to help other sustainable businesses in the Philippines create better impacts on the environment by creating alternative packaging to plastic that sellers and customers alike can use for everyday life. 

Earn More Eco-Conscious Customers with Oikos’ Sustainable Packaging

Our cassava and corn bags are every eco-conscious customer’s dream come true as they are 100% compostable and plant-based. More than that, our alternative packaging options are very versatile and can seamlessly fit into any lifestyle. 

Use them as supermarket buy bags, household garbage bags, clean bags for laundry, and even mailer bags for eCommerce packaging. The quality of our products can withstand any and all purposes you can think of!

Are you ready to make the big step by ditching harmful plastic? Do your part by giving your consumers more eco-friendly packaging. Get high-quality alternatives to plastic from none other than Oikos Sustainable Solutions. Check out our products here.