Finland is the best European country for sustainable shopping, with Slovenia in third place

Excluding the fact that Shein is the most popular brand due to its trendy and inexpensive clothing, most (younger) consumers are still trying to reduce their environmental impact and shop more responsibly by choosing more eco-friendly brands. As an increasing number of brands and countries adapt to a more sustainable lifestyle, the research company Savoo decided to investigate which countries, or consumers, are the most aware in Europe.

In their new report, 30 European countries were ranked based on their ratings in the Sustainable Development Report, recycling rates, consumption footprints, waste per capita, and the number of flea markets, antique shops, and second-hand stores. Finland has proven to be the best European country for sustainable consumers, scoring 86.51 out of a total of one hundred points according to the Sustainable Development Report.

Croatia underperformed

This Nordic country reduced its consumption footprint by an impressive 20.37 percent between 2010 and 2020, which is the fourth largest reduction after Italy (26.03 percent), Sweden (21.99 percent), and Greece (20.75 percent). Of the mentioned criteria, they only lag behind in the number of second-hand stores and antique shops with 53 for its 5.5 million inhabitants.

Denmark, second on the list, reduced its consumption footprint by 14.26 percent, while Slovenia reached third place, mainly due to its low waste production – 34 kilograms per capita annually, which is the lowest figure among all 30 countries covered by the research.

The United Kingdom is in sixth place, and it ‘defeated’ other countries in the number of available flea markets and second-hand stores: with nearly 68 million inhabitants, there are 1.3 thousand of them.

Savoo also highlighted ten countries that are home to the least sustainable consumers, and unfortunately, Croatia found itself among them in tenth place. Malta ranks first among the worst, followed by Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg, Romania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Lithuania.