Consumer Behavior Change

5 Ways Brands Can Be Supportive Parents

Just like kids often need rewards to clean their rooms, consumers can be nudged into more sustainable choices with the right framework — without the guilt trip.

Brand Provided | By Emma Samson | Published 2 weeks ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Lush

Brands often focus on making sustainability easy, practical and affordable (and brown, for some reason). But what about making it irresistible? Some consumers need more than facts — they need a little gentle parenting.

Take reusable packaging as an example. Getting customers to adopt and stick with it can be an uphill battle. Research from the Joint Research Centre shows that financial incentives alone won’t cut it — they work best when combined with subtle behavioural nudges.

To change those ingrained shopping habits, Dutch environmental consultancy Searious Business designed a behavioural change model combining clever psychological tricks, incentives and blatant convenience to make circular choices second nature. Just like kids need rewards and encouragement to clean their rooms, consumers can be nudged into more sustainable choices with the right encouragement.

Using the PRIDE framework, brands can steer customers toward sustainable habits without the guilt trip.

P is for Praise (‘Attaboy’)

People of every age respond to positive feedback. Brands can reward consumers for sustainable choices with status symbols, recognition and public acknowledgement — basically, the adult version of a gold star. Lush gets this right — when customers return 5 of the company's signature black pots, Lush will hand over a free face mask like a proud parent rewarding a kid for finishing their veggies. A+.

R is for Reflection (‘Think about what you’ve done’)

Ever tried to make a kid feel guilty for not sharing? That’s what brands should avoid. Rather than guilting customers for making unsustainable choices, brands should highlight the positive impacts of better choices in a fun and inspiring way — think Dots.eco, where playing video games can literally plant trees. The digital platform rewards customers for “casually saving the planet” through everyday actions including leaving reviews on websites, playing games and even downloading an app. Users can then transform their everyday actions into funding real-life environmental restoration projects — such as protecting wildlife or restoring coral reefs. Users can track their impact through Dots.eco’s trackable certificates and stay updated on the impact of their contributions. This gives users a sense of accomplishment, leaving them feeling validated and motivated to do more.

I is for Imitation (‘Monkey see, monkey do’)

Kids copy what they see — adults are no different. We just call it “influencer marketing.” Patagonia nails this by making secondhand clothes look cool — proving that pre-loved gear isn’t just sustainable, it’s also a flex. The company’s Worn Wear Program uses the stories of real customers and athletes to reinforce the human connection and show how cool it can be to shop secondhand.

D is for Description (‘Let me explain why this matters’)

Good parents explain why actions matter (‘Eat your veggies so you grow big and strong!’). Brands should do the same. Too Good to Go users don’t just love it because they can get a cheap meal — the app also tells you how much CO2 is saved each time food is diverted from landfill. It also lets you know how you’ve contributed to global impact as a collective, turning getting a bargain into an empowering experience.

E is for Enjoyment (‘It’ll be fun, I promise’)

Gamification doesn’t only work on kids. Who doesn’t love levelling up? H&M’s Conscious Points Program is effectively a sustainability loyalty game: Recycle your clothes, bring your own shopping bags or buy sustainable products, and you’ll climb the membership ladder and get exclusive perks. Gaining access to the VIP section of eco-friendly shopping leverages the psychological triggers of scarcity (Ooh! It’s limited), social proof (Everyone cool is doing it) and reciprocity (I do something for you, so you should do something for me — i.e. buy more stuff).

H&M even expanded its sustainability gamification approach to the metaverse with its Loooptopia experience on Roblox — the immersive game rewards players for recycling old clothes and creating circular fashion.

The fight for sustainability isn’t just about facts — it’s about feelings. And just like good parenting, brands that use encouragement, rewards and a little positive psychology will raise not just responsible consumers but loyal ones.