Are Malaysians becoming consumers with a conscience?

Conscious consumption: Malaysian Millennials and Gen-Zers are more socially conscious about their spending and would prioritise sustainable products if they can afford it. — Photos: AFP Relaxnews

THE Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things in our lives over two long years, from attitudes towards the environment to our relationship with work.

We learned terms like “zoonotic diseases”, which are diseases that jump from animals living in a fast shrinking wilderness to humans exploiting wild game, and then the whole world. Successive lockdowns across the globe caused us to questions labour practices when it turned out that lowly-paid restaurant and delivery workers did more to help us than CEOs earning millions.

And just as we began thinking about emerging from this long night, erratic weather patterns and a slew of devastating natural disasters reminded us about that other existential crisis we are facing: climate change.

While there has been an ongoing shift over the last decade towards greener lifestyles, the pandemic has accelerated the call for sustainable transformation by highlighting the importance of ethical labour, and the links between climate change and the spread of deadly diseases.

One of the clearest examples of a shift in attitudes is in consumer behaviour. Leading this change towards more socially- and environmentally-conscious consumer habits are younger buyers: Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen-Zers (1997-2012) want to take action to reduce unsustainable consumption.

Global currents

A recent US study by experience management platform Qualtrics found that there is a growing desire among consumers to support companies that treat their employees well. Almost half of the 2,000 people surveyed – 47% – said they would trust a brand more if it took care of its employees; and 36% said they would stop spending money on a business if its stand on societal issues did not align with their personal values (“Employee well-being is now a factor in consumers’ buying decisions”, StarLifestyle, March 3; online at bit.ly/star_buying).

Research conducted in 2021 by Japan’s Hiroshima University supports these findings. It discovered that more Millennials and Gen-Zers preferred a sustainable lifestyle compared with previous generations and are willing to spend money with green companies.

Consumer trends consultancy GlobeScan’s annual Healthy & Sustainable Living survey conducted across 31 markets worldwide in 2021 found that consumers have a strong desire to make changes to the way they live, and this is especially so among younger generations. But there is a gap between aspirations and actions as affordability is a barrier. Nevertheless, these studies underline the fact that, generally, the world is moving towards more sustainable consumer habits, and it’s a movement that is led by young people.

This appears to be happening in this region too. Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd conducted the Asean Consumer Sentiment Study in 2021 and observed that more younger consumers would spend money on sustainable products to ensure a better future for their children. Are Malaysian buyers leaning the same way?

Local trends

Taylor’s University senior lecturer Dr Song Bee Lian observes that Malaysian Millennials and Gen-Zers are indeed more socially conscious in their spending, prioritising socially responsible values and displaying strong “good citizenship” behaviour.

“Based on my research, I found that, mostly, Malaysian Millennials and Gen-Zers are prone to support businesses that have good ethical values, such as fair treatment of employees,” says Song, whose expertise is in consumer behaviour and corporate social responsibility.

“Malaysian Millennials and Gen-Zers’ spending habits are different from past generations’ due to higher education levels, an increase in financial and digital literacy, and better knowledge and access to information that influences their mindsets, beliefs, behaviours and preferences,” she explains.

Song found that value congruence between customers and businesses plays an important influencing role, where customers will match their personal values – for example, social responsibility – with an organisations’ values. Therefore, an organisation’s reputation as a good and socially responsible employer is a critical factor in attracting customers.

Although Covid-19 has adversely impacted the economy and Malay-sian youth generally tend to prioritise affordability, certain categories of environmentally-friendly products are still important to them, says Song.

“Products that are organic, locally-produced and humanely raised are still in high demand among Malaysian youth due to health concerns.

“Several recent research studies done in Malaysia have shown evidence that Malaysian youth consumers still prioritise socially conscious purchases during this pandemic,” she says.

Because of this, Song predicts that local demand for sustainable products and services will increase in the future, creating more opportunities and encouragement for companies to venture into these areas.

“It is important for businesses to formulate a sustainable business model that incorporates environmental, social and consumer considerations into their core business practices,” says Song.

At the same time, the government could provide support offering subsidies, incentives and training in how to lower production costs, she suggests.

Hopefully, pressure from this increasingly vocal consumer base will drive companies that have yet to move towards ethical and sustainable business practices to change the way they operate to remain relevant and in demand.

More data neededWhile there are many overseas studies that show a changing consumer trend towards sustainability among the younger generation, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) says that there isn’t enough local data to conclusively show that the same is happening here.

“We cannot say for certain that there is also a trend here, whether it is in terms of environmental or labour conscious purchases as we do not have enough data,” says Fomca secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj.

Although Selvaraj acknowledges that there is an increasing concern for the environment among consumers, there is insufficient evidence to show whether this interest converts to a change in consumer behaviour.

“The younger generation is generally more sensitive about environmental issues and sustainable consumption. They may intend to be more socially conscious in their purchases, but whether they act on it, we do yet not know,” he says.

Selvaraj believes that for there to be meaningful change, there needs to be a national effort to make consumers more aware of the social and environmental impact of their purchasing decisions, which will then encourage businesses to improve their environmental and labour practices.

“Companies will look at the local context when running their business. If people don’t show interest in improving the situation, they will continue with their bad ways.

“Legislation and clear sentiment on the ground will impact how companies operate and whether they change,” he says.