What happens to sustainability and ‘clean’ consumption after all this?

For example, sales at Blueland, an environmentally minded cleaning supply startup, have increased “pretty meaningfully” over the past several weeks — a “surge in demand” both from new customers and repeat buyers — to the point where demand now surpasses supply, co-founder and CEO Sarah Paiji Yoo tells The New Consumer.

Let’s call this the “paper straw” problem of many eco-first products: They’re just not very good. Perhaps there’s some margin of acceptability for trivial items, but to really replace incumbents, they should ultimately work as well or better.

Sustainability can’t just be a luxury play. Ideally, it should cost less.

And then looking forward, as we eventually exit this pandemic and slog through the economic downturn, what will convince mass consumers to move their money toward more environmentally friendly products?

First, it has to work: The most important trait is efficacy.

In the cleaning category, this shows up clearly in consumer research Blueland has conducted, Yoo says.

(An interesting side note of the current situation is that startups like Blueland can’t just radically scale up supply overnight to capitalize on the unexpected demand: Beyond production constraints, air freight costs have increased 6x, Yoo says.)

When possible, it should be cheaper because it’s green.

I think people will seek a quick return to “normal” in many aspects of life. But I expect we’ll see greater focus and interest on wellness, and I hope some on personal and collective responsibility and prevention.