Responsibility must be concrete for brands to stand out
Research on responsible and on digital business are important areas of research at Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics (JSBE). Young consumers' attitudes and shopping behaviour are the subject of research in research groups led by Professor Outi Uusitalo and Associate Professor Joel Mero, among others.
- Associate Professor Joel Mero leads a research team on digital marketing and communication. He investigates especially the management of digital marketing in business-to-business commerce. With relation to young people’s attitudes to consumption, he is currently analysing a large consumer survey conducted by the Retail Research Foundation (Vähittäiskaupan Tutkimussäätiö).
- Outi Uusitalo works as a professor of marketing at JSBE. She is specialised in consumer marketing. She explores consumer behaviour in the market, changes in consumption environments, and responsible marketing and consumption. She leads the Sustainable Business research team.
- Niko Varjola is a doctoral researcher at JSBE. He is preparing his doctoral dissertation relating to young people’s sustainable marketing and consumption. His research data includes, among other things, interview data collected from lower secondary school students.
Uusitalo, Mero and Varjola answered topical questions on young people's consumption attitudes. What does responsible consumption mean for young people in these times?
Have young people’s views on responsible consumption changed in recent years?
Joel Mero: According to our recent analysis based on a consumer survey by the Retail Research Foundation, young people are more interested in responsible consumption than older age groups, but the significance of responsibility as a purchase criterion has weakened. This may be explained by the fact that, according to the survey, young consumers are in a tight financial situation so they cannot always afford to make responsible purchase decisions even if they wanted to do so.
The procurement of second-hand goods is an increasingly popular trend and a way to save money.
Even around half of young people say that they primarily look for second-hand products to buy.
Outi Uusitalo: My own studies from over a decade ago suggest that young people have actually been aware of the meaning of responsibility in consumption for long. However, they have used their poor financial situation as an excuse for not making responsible purchase decisions.
Environmental crises are currently strongly on the agenda in society, in the media and in politics, and responsibility is now more visibly present in corporate communication and advertising.
These aspects can be reflected in young people’s increased awareness as well. Young people are by no means a homogenous group, and attitudes towards responsibility can vary significantly between different subgroups.
Niko Varjola: According to research findings, young people are now more aware of environmental issues and deeply concerned about the state of the environment. We can see polarisation in consumption behaviour and choices.
In the first group, young people don’t stop to think about, for example, the challenges that companies such as Temu and Shein pose for the environment and the social dimension. Instead, they are attracted by inexpensive prices and Temu’s game-like interface, and some are susceptible to influencers in social media. The second group of young people stops to think the responsibility of these companies but may still make occasional purchases from them. The third group is conscious of responsibility issues, boycotts these companies actively and resists the throw-away culture.
What does responsible consumption mean to young people today?
Joel Mero: According to our analysis, the key purchase decision criteria in Finland today are functional, irrespective of age group: price, convenience, product quality, brand reputation, speed and reliability of delivery are clearly the most important criteria. Responsibility-related factors are generally less important, but it should be noted that especially privacy protection and environmental friendliness are more important among young people to some degree.
Young people are less concerned about the domestic origin of the product than other Finns.
Outi Uusitalo: Responsible consumption can be seen as a form of influence. The results of the Youth Barometer in spring 2025 indicate that young people’s interest in politics and influencing has grown in recent decades.
Alongside voting, young people are increasingly favouring other methods of influence, for example, making responsible purchasing decisions.
Responsible consumption can involve both private actions, such as purchasing decisions, and public actions, such as participating in demonstrations and supporting environmental NGOs.
Niko Varjola: Lower secondary school students primarily perceive sustainable consumption as environmentally friendly action that takes into account the limits of nature and the needs of future generations. Young people associate sustainable consumption with various things:
Housing, electricity and energy, manufacturing processes, product quality, transport, the locality of products, food, the social dimension, animal rights, reuse and recycling.
Overall, the data suggests that students can largely describe the essence of sustainable consumption.
What background factors do influence young people’s attitudes to consumption?
Outi Uusitalo: Values are a significant factor in explaining attitudes towards responsibility among younger and older age groups alike. Biospheric values, which prioritise the wellbeing of nature and the environment, promote positive environmental attitudes. Conversely, altruistic values, which prioritise human wellbeing, encourage positive attitudes towards social responsibility.
Believing that one can influence things through one’s own actions also encourages environmental action and turns attitudes into deeds among young consumers.
This feeling is enhanced by education, for example.
Niko Varjola: According to research findings, age and gender are significant factors. Girls and women often demonstrate greater environmental awareness and empathy than boys and men. Attitudes, knowledge and personal norms predict positive environmental behaviour, whereas financial resources and social norms can either support or prevent sustainable choices.
Emotional factors, such as empathy, can enhance environmental behaviour, while frustration or apathy can hinder it.
Additionally, education and exposure to environmental issues can increase awareness and readiness for action.
How does social media impact on young people’s attitudes to responsibility and consumption?
Joel Mero: Our analysis generally shows that young people are clearly more susceptible to the impact of social media and external influences in general. They also actively seek information on social media to inform their purchasing decisions.
Niko Varjola: According to my research data, young people see social media as one of the most effective channels for raising environmental awareness. They do not accept all social media content uncritically.
Influencers who promote sustainability on one platform but whose lifestyle elsewhere on social media does not align with the values they present were especially criticised.
Furthermore, young people also saw social media as a platform through which they could influence societal issues, such as environmental awareness. They did not perceive it as a one-way information channel, but rather as a channel for two-way interaction.
Is encouraging responsible consumption among young people important for corporations' digital marketing?
Joel Mero: Yes, it is, particularly for brands seeking to stand out through their commitment to responsibility.
However, the problem is that almost all brands claim to be responsible, so it is difficult to stand out without offering something concrete.
ResQ Club’s scheme to reduce food waste, for example, is straightforward and easy to relate to. Responsibility often remains a vague statement that does not distinguish a company or brand from competitors, and it can easily be interpreted as greenwashing. In order to stand out for their commitment to responsibility, brands need to take concrete action.
Niko Varjola: Although I am no expert in digital marketing, I see corporations as important agents in consumer socialisation. I would strongly argue that they would benefit greatly from targeting consumption education and sustainable marketing at younger customer groups.
In what ways can digital marketing support responsible consumption, and which methods have been found to be effective?
Joel Mero: Concreteness works, and the brand story should be easy to identify with, ideally arousing emotions too.
The fundamental issue is that the only genuinely responsible marketing act would be to encourage consumers not to buy unless it is absolutely necessary.
However, this would conflict with the owners’ interests. As far as I know, Patagonia is the only company to have done this, with a campaign featuring the slogan ‘Don’t buy this jacket’. The world will hardly be saved by buying products that are less harmful to the environment; it will be saved by reducing unnecessary consumption.
Outi Uusitalo: It is important to recognise the main sources of consumption-related harm to the environment and to people. Marketing efforts should focus on these areas. It is essential to reduce unnecessary consumption.
The most important areas of responsible consumption include housing, transport, food and other goods such as clothes and electronics.
These sectors place a significant burden on the planet. Digital marketing and services can significantly promote responsible consumption. Digital tools could be used to measure the environmental impact of one’s consumption habits (e.g., carbon and nature footprints) and encourage more responsible consumption. Digitalisation also enables the sharing economy, meaning that you don’t need to own everything because items can be recycled, borrowed or leased.
