86% of Spaniards prefer to buy products from companies who are committed to the circular economy, before others that are not, according to a study by the Capterra platform. In it, the company has analyzed purchasing habits in Spain in relation to the circular economy in a study and one of the main conclusions drawn is that this issue plays a key role in current consumption.
The survey also shows that 69% of consumers would stop buying from a company if they discover that it does nothing to support or make the shift to a greener economy. Transparency is a fundamental element: nine out of ten Spanish consumers want more information from brands about the efforts they make to adopt sustainable measures.
Various sectors continue to transform themselves to implement a circular economy model in their processes, and consumers seem willing to reward this effort. 58% say they would pay more for a product made using circular economy practices. But how much more? 38% of those who would pay more would spend between 10% and 20% more, while 51% of this same segment confirms that they would not pay more than 10%.
In addition to financial support in their purchase decisions, the study participants believe that these are the four most admirable or effective efforts what companies could do to stimulate the circular economy: recycle waste (70%); manufacture products with a longer useful life (68%); reuse materials in the production process (63%); and use renewable energies (62%).
Companies do not invest enough
How do Spaniards value the current commitment of companies to the circular economy? The survey reveals that 72% believe that companies are not investing enough in anti-waste measures. Therefore, the impression of consumers is that there is a pending issue.
41% of respondents believe that companies invest in the circular economy for marketing purposes; for example, for greenwashing, a practice whereby an organization appears to be environmentally friendly, but only does so to improve its image. Against this data, 43% consider that the motivation of companies to invest in the circular economy is a sincere belief in the need to apply practices related to this model.
According to consumer perception, the three sectors that invest the most in circular economy are textiles (61%), electronics (61%) and technology (60%). Meanwhile, the impression of consumers is that the construction industries (56%), the chemical industry (54%) and the food industry (49%) are the ones that make the least effort.
81% of those surveyed say they regularly use reusable grocery bags, 75% tend to separate waste with the aim of recycling and 58% tend to dispose of electronic devices in designated recycling areas, such as green points. Three actions that Spaniards never or hardly ever do are: selling second-hand products to the producers themselves (65%), carpooling (56%) and composting (53%).
