Eco-friendly products have created a lot of buzz in recent years, but are environmental benefits a bonus or a necessity for consumers? Survey results suggest that for brands in the food and drink industry, a sustainable approach is now a must-have in order to please ethical shoppers.

Academics from NYU’s business school undertook a study to pinpoint how much more people are willing to pay for socially responsible products. The answer? 16%. They also found that consumers prefer products that benefit people, before the environment or animals.

Whether people identify as Christian, feminist or vegetarian, in a landscape that celebrates transparency, brands that share people's values tend to come out on top. Glia makes it even easier for people to find out which brands' morals mirror their own, meaning they'll never buy anything mindlessly again.

As green consumers continue to fill the high streets, brands are taking measures to please these everyday eco-warriors. But it’s not as simple as slapping on low-emission tags. New research suggests that eco-friendly labels must to be easy to understand in order to be effective.