Sustainability in Japan 2022

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Our annual consumer study

Sustainability in Japan 2022 is Fabric’s annual research study into how consumers and brands are responding to shifts in sustainability consciousness, with data from 6800 participants across Japan.

The primary theme from the 2022 report is how conscious consumers are driving brand futures, with changes in mass audiences as brands start to incorporate sustainability into their value propositions.

We’ve also explored how food brands are leading the way with these conscious consumers, creating a new set of expectations that will shift into other categories in the coming years – from regenerative thinking to provenance, transparency, and circular systems.

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Introduction

For most companies, business as usual is based on a fundamentally unsustainable model, with linear definitions of growth that are making way for new imperatives around sustainability. This is why we made sustainability a critical part of Fabric’s mission.

With this 2022 report we share our second annual study into Sustainability in Japan. Our goal is to enable organisations to rethink their approaches to sustainability – aligning to Japanese principles like sanpo-yoshi, an Edo-era idea of creating shared value between the business, their customers, and society.

We know that brands are already bringing sustainable value propositions to consumers, with business leaders interviewed in our 2021 report sharing a belief that all of their products and services will take part in a sustainable transition, although many organisations are only at the start of this journey.

The decisions made in this transition will determine which brands and businesses succeed in future, adapting to a new model around sustainable growth.

Each category transition will be shaped by a unique set of factors, and we have already conducted category specific studies with clients in lifestyle, food, technology, and financial services to help develop their sustainability and brand strategies. This overall Sustainability in Japan 2022 report is a broader study with outcomes for brands across categories.

The study focuses on the role of consumers in Japan, as understanding their key enablers, drivers, and barriers will support sustainable transitions across all categories, while providing longitudinal trends around the pace of change.

By putting people at the centre of the study, we’re able to identify critical insights into sustainability behaviours in Japan that can fill a key insight gap for brands and businesses, as well as government, not-for-profits, academics, and all stakeholders in Japan’s future.

We’ve also applied a systems thinking approach, looking at systemic social and environmental challenges in Japan, and working with experts in key areas like food to explore the underlying problems in their industries.

Throughout the report we refer to people as consumers, not to play into narratives around consumerism, but because it’s the clearest descriptor when looking at the relationships between businesses and their customers.

People are critical for achieving a sustainable future, but these futures are still unclear, which is why it’s important to enable shared value creation between all stakeholders in society.