Responsible Consumption Trends in Latin America

What is happening with responsible consumption?

The month of responsible consumption invites us to reflect on the way we consume, the decisions we make every day, and, at the same time, the lifestyle we lead. It is an invitation to review what our relationship is like with ourselves, with others and with nature.

A sustainable lifestyle is one in which you are aware of the impact of your decisions, habits and behaviors, and you take action to reduce those with a negative impact and reinforce those with a positive impact. Seeks to be Sustainable Over Time: one feels in balance with oneself, with others and with nature; understanding the interrelation and interdependence that exists between the parts.


The purpose of this article is to publicize what is happening today in relation to responsible consumption in Latin America and the world, and what are the main trends observed: we believe that as decision makers, from our different roles, we can transform our actions to enhance the positive impact.

Who are the main sustainable consumers?

The month of responsible consumption invites us to reflect on the way we consume, the decisions we make every day, and, at the same time, the lifestyle we lead. It is an invitation to review what our relationship is like with ourselves, with others and with nature.

The quality

The EcoActivo segment is the focus community to analyze in order to learn how to innovate for the rest of the population: they have proven to be open to more innovative formats - they lead early adoption (early-adopters) in aspects such as refillable containers, and support for start-ups and local brands that seek to positively impact the planet and people (2).

The design

The study “Online consumption trends with a positive impact in Latin America” by Mercado Libre (2022) conducts a survey of users of the platform: in the region, more than half of sustainable consumers are between 25-44 years old, 9 out of 10 agree that the current environmental situation is very worrying - with global warming and pollution and water scarcity as the main concerns.

The functionality

As for the main consumers, it can be said that they are those people who are looking for more sustainable lifestyles, in harmony with the planet, aspiring not only to reduce the negative environmental impact with their consumption, but also to begin to generate a positive impact. They are consumers who are willing to change their way of consumption through, for example, the purchase of second-hand or reusable products that avoid the use of disposable products, what is produced locally by communities, among others, and reflect on whether they really need what they want to buy.

How important is biodiversity to our economy and well-being?

The term Ecosystem Services has gained great popularity, and refers to all the “services” provided by nature (that is, natural ecosystems functioning healthily) free of charge. If, on the other hand, it were a company that offered them, we would most likely be willing to pay for them. As a general rule, these services fall into 4 categories: support, supply, regulatory and cultural services. Healthy ecosystems provide the oxygen we breathe and are even key to our mental health. In several cases, the connection is distant: forests in a mountain range are the water suppliers of a town hundreds of kilometers away, because they capture rainwater or moisture from the air, store it and dose it to aquifers and other bodies of water. How much is that service worth?

In this sense, there are numerical estimates of the magnitude of nature's contribution to the economy. Some are around 125 trillion of dollars a year. In it, there are key players such as bees and other pollinators whose services are extremely obvious and crucial. Some estimates suggest that pollinators contribute $217 billion to the economy each year.

Other voices argue that nature is so valuable that assigning an economic amount to it is a futile attempt to reduce something sacred to our mechanical-material plane. However, this Conversation at least encourages more people Think of the countless contributions that ecosystems make to our daily lives, which are both omnipresent and unnoticed.