blog posts

• Research: Products Labeled as Sustainable Sell Better

  Jul 22, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Harvard Business Review, 6/23/25

  A comprehensive analysis of Amazon sales data reveals that sustainability labels like “Climate Pledge Friendly” increase consumer demand by 13–14% for up to eight weeks after adoption. This sales boost is not driven by pricing or advertising, nor by improved search rankings or filter usage. Instead, consumers engage in passive search—opting for labeled products when given the choice, even if they’re not actively looking for sustainable options. Labels that highlight specific features, such as carbon neutrality or reduced harmful ingredients, are especially effective. For brands and platforms, this underscores the commercial value of clear, credible sustainability messaging. 

• Gen Z and the sustainability paradox: Why ideals and shopping habits don’t always align

  Jul 17, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 6/4/25

  As the summer shopping season kicks off, all eyes are on Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 and whose purchasing power wields significant influence over market trends. Often lauded as the “sustainability generation,” a closer look reveals a complex internal struggle: despite their strong desire for eco-conscious living, many Gen Z consumers find themselves drawn to the allure of fast, affordable, trend-driven consumption. 

• The power of storytelling to boost resale and reuse

  Jul 16, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 6/23/25

  Stories can help build emotion and meaning and brands have used them for decades, but not as successfully with resale or circular products. Too often, circularity stories end on cold, emotionless or even patronizing tone. By following a three-act narrative structure that’s time-tested, brands can add value and meaning to their circular efforts.

• What behavioral strategies motivate environmental action?

  Jun 10, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Pennsylvania, 5/13/25

  Survey data show that most people believe climate change is happening, but many don’t act, and as a postdoctoral fellow in Annenberg School for Communication Professor Emily Falk’s Communication Neuroscience Lab, Alyssa (Allie) Sinclair has thought a lot about why that might be. Building off health behavior studies and other literature in psychology, neuroscience, and communication, Sinclair led an interdisciplinary team of researchers examining how to overcome these barriers to climate action. In an “intervention tournament” with 7,624 U.S. adults, Penn researchers including Sinclair, Falk, and Mann tested 17 interventions targeting the themes of relevance, future thinking, and response efficacy to see which were most effective for motivating action. Their findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

• How to break through climate apathy

  Jun 6, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: UCLA, 4/24/25

  A new study finds that presenting the same continuous climate data, such as incremental changes in temperature, in binary form -- such as whether a lake did or did not freeze in the winter -- significantly increases people's ability to see the impact of climate change.

• Personality traits shape our prosocial behavior

  Jun 3, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Zurich, 4/28/25

  Why do some people do more for the community than others? A new study now shows that personality traits such as extraversion and agreeableness correlate with volunteering and charitable giving.

• Climate Connection: Libraries host climate cafés to help patrons process feelings about a changing world

  Mar 3, 2025 3:00 pm

  Source: American Libraries, 3/3/25

  The Kansas City Public Library and a local non-profit organization began facilitating virtual climate cafés to help communities express their anxieties about climate change and connect with like-minded individuals without the pressure to turn sessions into activism.