TL;DR
The Good Trade says more than 300 readers responded to a survey about shopping habits and sustainable brands. Nearly 75% said at least half of their purchases come from sustainable brands, compared with 61% in the previous year’s survey; respondents also named favorite brands and said they often prefer secondhand shopping.
The Good Trade has published responses from more than 300 readers about their shopping habits and favorite sustainable brands, reporting that nearly three-quarters said at least half of their purchases come from sustainable brands. That share was 61% in the prior year’s survey, according to the publication; the responses also point to interest in buying less, shopping secondhand and choosing products for the kitchen and bathroom.
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The survey was sent to subscribers of The Daily Good, The Good Trade’s newsletter, a few weeks before the article’s mid-November publication. The publication said respondents ranged in age from 18 to 75 and older, with an average age of about 40. Most lived in North America, though the editors also acknowledged responses from readers elsewhere. The article does not provide a survey sample breakdown beyond those details.
Nearly 75% of respondents said at least half of their purchases were from sustainable brands, The Good Trade reported. The publication said most respondents shopped for sustainable alternatives only once or twice a month. Many write-in responses described buying only items respondents expected to use, shopping locally or secondhand, and avoiding new purchases where possible. The article presents these as reader-reported habits, not independently verified purchasing data.
Readers named a range of brands and product types. The Good Trade reported that Lodge was the most frequently favored cookware and bakeware brand in the responses it summarized. Readers also recommended supplements from Garden of Life, MaryRuth Organics and Thorne, named Thrive Market as a source for organic groceries, and cited Grove Collaborative for cleaning products. Stainless steel and cast iron cookware, homemade cleaners, shampoo bars and plastic-free personal-care products also appeared in responses.
Readers Favor Fewer and Secondhand Purchases
The responses offer a snapshot of how a group of sustainability-minded readers says it shops as the holiday season approaches. The reported increase in the share who say at least half their purchases are sustainable may be relevant to retailers and product makers, but the survey does not show whether the same pattern holds among shoppers more broadly. It also does not establish why the share changed from the previous year.
Reader preferences point to a practical emphasis on durability, reuse and everyday household goods, rather than buying more items simply because they carry a sustainability label. Respondents’ stated interest in thrifting and vintage shopping suggests that buying used is part of how some aim to reduce new purchases. The publication also noted that secondhand shopping can be difficult for people seeking plus-size clothing and for shoppers in rural areas or places where thrift prices are high.
For consumers, the survey’s brand suggestions can serve as leads for further research, but they are reader recommendations rather than independent product assessments. The Good Trade says its editors recommend products they have researched, tested and genuinely like; the survey findings themselves reflect respondents’ preferences. Readers still need to assess price, availability, product claims and personal needs before buying.
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How The Good Trade Collected Responses
The Good Trade described the project as a reader survey about feelings toward shopping in 2026 and plans for the holiday season. The editors said they wanted to learn how subscribers approach sustainability in their lives and used both survey questions and open-ended write-in responses. The article’s headline refers to hundreds of readers, while its account specifies that it heard from more than 300 people.
The article compares one result with the previous year: nearly 75% of respondents said at least half their purchases came from sustainable brands, up from 61% last year. It does not give the exact survey dates, total number of subscribers invited, response rate, question wording, or the number of respondents who answered each question. Those omissions limit how precisely readers can compare the annual figures or apply them beyond the publication’s audience.
The publication also placed its findings alongside a reference to Business of Fashion, saying sustainability was less top-of-mind for fashion executives than emerging artificial-intelligence technologies. That is the article’s characterization of the external report; it does not provide additional survey evidence about the wider fashion industry. The reader survey is focused on consumer responses, not executive priorities or a representative measure of the retail market.
Survey Limits and Missing Details
The Good Trade does not publish the survey questionnaire, field dates, invitation count, response rate, or a full breakdown of responses. It is therefore unclear how respondents interpreted “sustainable brands,” whether the same people participated in both years, or how much the audience’s makeup changed. The reported shift from 61% to nearly 75% is a comparison of the survey results as presented by the publication, not proof of a broader change in consumer behavior.
The article also does not give counts for individual brand mentions or explain how it selected the brands highlighted. Its recommendations should not be read as rankings of environmental performance. The piece provides no comparative lifecycle assessments, certification review, or verification of the environmental claims associated with the brands named.
Availability and affordability remain issues raised by respondents themselves. The Good Trade says readers described barriers to thrifting related to sizing, location and price, but it does not quantify how common those barriers were. It is also unclear whether the shopping habits reported in the survey will continue into 2026 or change during the holiday season.
Further Findings and Holiday Shopping
The Good Trade said it plans to continue publishing sustainability, slow-living and self-care content as it approaches 2026. Its article directs readers to the full collection of survey takeaways and brand recommendations, including household-product suggestions. No additional survey release date or follow-up research plan was stated.
For now, the next practical milestone discussed in the article is the holiday shopping period, including the publication’s mention of upcoming Black Friday sales on bedding and mattresses. The survey does not report what readers ultimately bought, whether the featured brands changed their practices, or whether sale prices affected respondents’ decisions. Any assessment of those outcomes would require new information beyond the responses summarized here.
Key Questions
How many readers took part in the survey?
The Good Trade said it heard from more than 300 readers who subscribe to The Daily Good. It did not publish an exact total in the article.
The publication reported that nearly 75% of respondents said at least half their purchases came from sustainable brands. It compared that with 61% in the previous year’s survey.
Which brands did respondents recommend?
The article highlighted Lodge for cookware and bakeware; Garden of Life, MaryRuth Organics and Thorne for supplements; Thrive Market for organic grocery items; and Grove Collaborative for cleaning products. These were reader recommendations reported by The Good Trade, not an independent ranking.
Did the survey show that most shoppers prefer sustainable brands?
No. The findings describe responses from The Good Trade’s newsletter audience, not a representative survey of all shoppers. The article does not provide the response rate or enough methodology details to determine how well the results reflect the wider public.
What shopping practices did readers mention?
Respondents described buying only what they expected to use, shopping locally, thrifting, buying vintage, and avoiding new purchases when possible. The article also reported interest in durable kitchen goods and lower-plastic personal-care products.
Source: thegoodtrade.com
