“Sustainability” means different things to different people. Asked to identify what the term means to them, consumers most frequently respond “the ability to last over time” (53 percent). Yet as part of a growing cultural “eco-consciousness,” this view has broadened over the years to include environmentally-linked definitions like “conserving natural resources” (42 percent) and “reduce, reuse, recycle” (42 percent).
As consumers become more educated about the environmental, social and economic implications of their shopping habits, their health and wellness motivations dovetail with societal concerns, such that four zones of sustainability become relevant to purchasing choices. All four zones have characteristics that relate to key beliefs shared by consumers when it comes to making sustainable purchases. In fact, many of the attributes that generally describe quality eating experiences, including freshness, organic and local, also resonate as sustainable in the food category: