Meet your new consumer: the Honest Generation. Join this session to explore the emerging Gen Z consumer’s radically shifting expectations of business and brands and guidance on what it means for business. The headline? Gen Z prioritizes product honesty over brand purpose and thinks almost no brands are doing enough to meet their demand for sustainable solutions. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by change agency Futerra in partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum, this session will give leaders a glimpse into their future and equip them to prepare for the 2020s – the decade the Honest Generation, the climate strikers of today, becomes the Honest Majority, and the brand target audience, of tomorrow.

1. IMAGINE
BETTER

2. Our mission is to make
sustainability* so desirable
it becomes normal
*By sustainability, we mean brand purpose, social and environmental responsibility,
citizenship, meaningful brands and any and all efforts to change the world for the better.

3. Some moments of pride

4. 4
Can you
feel the
difference?
Photo Credit: Marc SendraMartorell, Unsplash

5. Big business is making big news

6. 6
What the
Fink?!
Photo Credit: Nick Cooper,Unsplash

7. You are either a part of our
sustainable future
or you are
future dinosaurs
7
Cartoon by JessicaOlien, TheNew Yorker

8. The question:
8
Can your business enrich, not
exploit our shared world?

9. Yeah?
Prove it.
9

10. A GUIDE
TO PRODUCT
TRANSPARENCY FOR
SUSTAINABILITY,
ETHICS AND
HEALTH
CGF
&
FUTERRA

11. It all begins with
transparency
honesty.
11

12. A new era of consumers
will demand nothing less
12
Credit: Derek Torsano,Unsplash

13. Consumers are most
interested in transparency about
the products they buy.
I am most interested in
hearing about the sustainability
impacts of the products I buy.
73%Corporate
Experts
70%Consumers
Source: CGF/Futerra expert survey, July 2018. Respondents:
Corporate experts from 70+ companies in 26 countries.
Source: CGF/Futerra consumer research, October 2018.
Respondents: 3,621 consumers in 7 countries.

14. Consumers are very satisfied
or quite satisfied with product
transparency on sustainability.
Products provide the right
amount of information
on sustainability.
86%Corporate
Experts
41%
Consumers
Source: CGF/Futerra expert survey, July 2018. Respondents:
Corporate experts from 70+ companies in 26 countries.
Source: CGF/Futerra consumer research, October 2018.
Respondents: 3,621 consumers in 7 countries.

15. Are you
honest?

16. 60% 80% 100%
How their factory
workers are treated
How environmentally-
friendly their products are
How healthy their
products are
How safe their
products are
Are brands honest?
Perception that brands are never honest, or not honest enough, about:
USA
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 615 consumers in US.

17. Are brands honest?
57%
66%
62%
55%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How their factory
workers are treated
How environmentally-
friendly their products are
How healthy their
products are
How safe their
products are
Millennials
USA
Perception that brands are never honest, or not honest enough, about:
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 615 consumers in US.

18. Are brands honest?
57%
66%
62%
55%
83%
82%
80%
72%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How their factory
workers are treated
How environmentally-
friendly their products are
How healthy their
products are
How safe their
products are
Millennials Gen Z
USA
Perception that brands are never honest, or not honest enough, about:
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 615 consumers in US.

19. Are brands honest?
69%
66%
60%
56%
84%
79%
75%
67%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How their factory
workers are treated
How environmentally-
friendly their products are
How healthy their
products are
How safe their
products are
Gen Z
Global
Millennials
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,171 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.
Perception that brands are never honest, or not honest enough, about:

20. Do you think
brands have a
responsibility
to make positive
change in
the world. 98%
SAID YES
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

21. Are you satisfied with the positive change
brands are currently making in the world?
MillennialsGenZ
USA UK India South Africa
Very Satisfied
Somewhat
Not Satisfied
Unhappy
64%
6%
36%
19%
46%
7%
23%
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.
16%

22. Are you satisfied with the positive change
brands are currently making in the world?
64%
6%
USA
36%
19%
46%
7%
23%16%
12%
27%
21%27% 31%
14% 12% 15%
UK India South Africa
MillennialsGenZ
Very Satisfied
Somewhat
Not Satisfied
Unhappy
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

23. Which type of brands do
you think are most honest?
30%
70%
MillennialsGenZ
42%
58%
11%
89%
34%
66%
Small business brands
Familiar, household name brands
USA UK India South Africa
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,171 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

24. Which type of brands do
you think are most honest?
30%
70%
MillennialsGenZ
42%
58%
11%
34%
66%
65%
35%
48%52%
89%
19%
81%
39%
61%
USA UK India South Africa
Small business brands
Familiar, household name brands
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,171 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

25. What you would do if you discovered
a product was NOT honest?
8%
6%
24%
44%
18%
10%
15%
21%
41%
14%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Buy it anyway
Choose an honest
alternative
Hold off buying and
do more research
Buy it, but get in touch
with the company
Not buy it
Millennials Gen Z
If a product was NOT honest about a social, environmental, health or safety issue, would you be most likely to:
Global
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,171 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

26. Please rank products based on how
honest they they are about social,
environmental, health and safety issues
25%
27%
13%
12%
10%
12%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Baby/Personal Care
Food
Phones & Tech
Household Cleaning
Beauty & Cosmetics
Clothes & Fashion
This data shows the % of each generation who choose to rank an industry as MOST honest.
Millennials
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

27. Please rank products based on how
honest they they are about social,
environmental, health and safety issues
25%
27%
13%
12%
10%
12%
32%
25%
11%
11%
11%
10%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Baby/Personal Care
Food
Phones & Tech
Household Cleaning
Beauty & Cosmetics
Clothes & Fashion
Gen Z
This data shows the % of each generation who choose to rank an industry as MOST honest.
Millennials
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

28. How much do you care about honesty?
89%
89%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Millennials
GenZ
Percentage of people ranking 7 or above on a scale of 1 (care the least) to 10 (care the most).
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

29. How much do you care, and how much
do you think brands care, about honesty?
89%
89%
66%
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Millennials
GenZ
Percentage of people ranking 7 or above on a scale of 1 (care the least) to 10 (care the most).
How much do you care?
How much do brands care?
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,400 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.

30. What’s
going on?

31. Photo Credit: Glen Carrie,Unsplash
Millennials31

32. The
Honest
Generation Photo Credit: MarkusSpisk

33. 33
Millennials drove brands to be purposeful,
but Gen Z are demanding proof.
This generation were raised to question fake news,
be suspicious of secrecy and hold sincerity as sacred.
They are the Honest Generation and they don’t expect brands
to be perfect, but they do expect them to be truthful.
Photo Credit: Vincent M.A. Janssen,Pexel

34. How do we
reach this
Honest Gen?

37. Being honest, even about
problems, increases trust
13%
42%
45%
11%
40%
49%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Trust less
Trust the same
Trust more
Source: Futerra consumer research, June 2019. Respondents: 2,171 consumers in UK, US, South Africa and India.
Gen Z
How would it affect your trust of a brand if they were honest about a current issue they have with
a product, such as the impact on the environment or the way their factory workers are treated?
Millennials

40. The
Honest Generation
is here. Get Ready

41. 41
1. Really see them and where they’re
coming from
The largest generation yet is coming of age in a world
that is post-truth, post-privacy and highly fraught
Photo Credit: Siyuan,Unsplash

42. Scepticism is their survival instinct:
they require more than purpose; they require proof

43. 43
2. Honesty isn’t a trait; it’s a skillset
Honesty may be the next disruptor, but it requires upskilling
beyond transparency training
Photo Credit: Nicola Fioravanti,Unsplash

44. 44
The building blocks of honest products

45. 45
3. Transparency is corporate;
honesty is human
Building trust requires vulnerability
Photo Credit: Cottonbro,Pexel

46. 46
Less posturing, more personing

47. 47
4.Trust isn’t gone; it’s just been
reassigne
d
Know your place on the influence curve
Photo Credit: Gianandrea Villa, Unsplash

48. 48
Defensible intent Believable impact
Crossing the Honesty Gap

49. 49
Consumers are looking for evidence and consistent
results, not just a glossy marketing campaign
5. Brand purpose must translate to
product proof
Photo Credit: PublicGoods

50. 50
Native
Arla Everlane
Mercedes-Benz

51. 51
6. Turn crisis into change
It takes courage to be vulnerable, but Gen Z values the ability to change
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske,Unsplash

52. 52
The marketing skillset in action
Embrace changeMaster the corporate culpa

53. 53
7. Honesty isn’t passive, it’s active
“Get the suits out of the office”
-Temple Grandin

54. 54
But it’s not a substitute for action.
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske,Unsplash

55. A few
provocations

56. 5
6
How can you build trust, which
is a key factor in success with
this generation, in a post-truth
world?
Photo Credit: Rodion Kutsaev,Unsplash

57. 5
7
Challenger brands are pushing
the edge, how can you self-disrupt
before you self-destruct?
Photo Credit: Rodion Kutsaev,Unsplash

58. 5
8
How can you counter the rise of
fake news and deepfakes with
deep verification?
Is there a third party for truth?
Photo Credit: Rodion Kutsaev,Unsplash

59. 5
9
Where are you seeing evidence
of these shifts in your own
business, experience or
personal life?
Photo Credit: Rodion Kutsaev,Unsplash

60. Notes on the research:
This research was conducted in conjunction with The Consumer Goods Forum.
There were 2000+ respondents across the UK, USA, South Africa and
India. (approx. 500 per each region).
Age ranges across markets included Gen Z (18-22), Millennials (23-38), Gen X
(39-54) and Boomers (55-73).
Please contact Emily.Viola@wearefuterra.com for more information.

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