Summary & Analysis

As a leading hygiene and health company, Essity has produced this report to enhance our understanding of how the coronavirus pandemic has affected consumers’ ability and ambition to lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle. The multi-market survey that underpins this report has produced valuable insights into the ways consumers around the globe have been spurred on by lockdowns and restrictions to adopt new sustainable habits and what actions they prioritize in the desire for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Most notably, this report has uncovered the following key findings, essential for the work that lies ahead:

Optimism prevails – 58% of respondents feel that the actions they are able to take as individuals can have a positive impact on the environment and help slow down global warming.

The pandemic has brought on a shift to a more sustainable lifestyle for almost every other person surveyed, and more than 9 out of 10 of these will continue living this way after the pandemic.

Health and hygiene will play a larger role in consumers’ everyday lives – 68% of respondents say that their personal hygiene has become more important to them since the start of the pandemic. Health and hygiene products also top the charts when it comes to consumers’ willingness to spend more on environmentally friendly options.