There’s a paradigm shift happening in regard to what people expect from brands. As the new post-pandemic normal settles in and people adapt to a context of uncertainty, constant adversities, and lingering pessimism, we are moving away from a moment in which consumers expected brands to rise up to society's challenges and into one when they’re demandinggenuine allyshipfrom businesses. However, the concept of ‘shared values’ is no longer embodied by the idea of globalised aspirations and ideals. The current landscape is one where multicultural, liberal, and democratic ideals are being deeply questioned, and belief systems are shifting inwards and becoming more individualised. Entrenched value sets of smaller social collectives now jostle among each other for dominance in a destabilised cultural and political order. With people spending more time navigating echo chambers, which reproduce the same perspectives, the increasing cognitive biases of those groups turn the notion of a polarised world into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The stakes are high for brands. People are more vocal than ever about shopping based on their values, rejectingassociations with companiesthat don't share their world-view and political ideals. For instance,90%of Britons say brand loyalty is a matter of shared values, and the numbers increase if we look at young people – 96% are more likely to be loyal to brands that share their values. Unsurprisingly, people are becoming acutely aware ofvirtue-signallingandtokenistic communications, leaving no room forneutral brandswith universal appeal – and if the potential of Web3 comes to fruition, we might even see a new era of accountability. With expectations rising for businesses to share and advocate for people’s belief systems, brands will need to demonstrate the mission-driven nature of their activities. However, they must also be conscious of a polarised landscape in which taking a stand will almost certainly be politicised. People now wantsincere,genuine allyship, but without a consensus on a moral framework, what that means to individuals differs vastly at a global, national, and local level.

Media coverage of plastic waste has made the problem impossible to ignore, leading many Britons to seek ways of avoiding unnecessary packaging. With its 52% paperboard bottles, Just Water has emerged as a disruptive force in an industry under pressure to adopt sustainable practices.

As more plastic, paper and cardboard ends up in our rivers, oceans and landfill, people are looking at ways that they can cut back on packaging. How can shoppers achieve this and what is the grocery industry doing about it?

In a bid to combat plastic pollution, The Body Shop has teamed up with TerraCycle to launch an in-store plastic recycling scheme. As environmental awareness grows, people are increasingly attracted to brands that enable them to use product packaging in ways that benefit the planet.