When it comes to sustainability, Democrats and Republicans agree on more than you might think.

The last installment of our three-part series, “I just wanted to buy some milk,” is coming out this week. It digs into how difficult it actually is for consumers to put their wallets where their values are. And given how often the phrase “the midterms” comes up in my news feeds, I’m pulling out a section of that report here related to the differences — and similarities — we see by party on a range of sustainability issues.  

Let’s look at the elephant and donkey in the room. 

We know that politics play a huge role in the type of messaging we receive and the issues we care about. Let’s take a quick look at how that impacts the perception of environmental and social issues, according to data from our 2025 Global Eco Pulse® survey. 

What are they concerned about? 

As you would expect, Democrats show much more concern about environmental and social issues than Republicans. The only issue Republicans care about more than Democrats is refugees and immigration (Republicans 58%, Democrats, 49%). Two topics do emerge as areas of mutual concern for people in both parties, though: inflation and plastics.  

When we asked, “How concerned are you about the following issues right now” and then sliced the data by party, here’s what the top concerns were: 

• Republicans: 
  • Inflation (61%)
  • Refugees and immigrants (58%)
  • Plastics in waterways (53%)
  • Harmful chemicals (53%) 
• Democrats: 
  • Climate change (78%)
  • Political unrest/war (75%)
  • Extreme heat waves (73%)
  • Extreme weather events (71%)
  • Inflation (71%)
  • Plastics in the ocean, rivers and streams (71%)  

As we can see by the numbers, the top concerns of Democrats score higher than the top concerns of Republicans. But it’s important to note that there is common ground here — we can’t make the assumption that the only people who care about sustainability-related issues are liberal. 

What do they think companies should be doing? 

When it comes to selecting the top three things companies should be doing, Republicans take a “home first” point of view and look for comfort in their purchases. Democrats choose the environment over comfort or convenience and take a wellbeing-first point of view. 

• Republicans say companies should: 
  • Manufacture in the U.S. (28%)
  • Recycle (17%)
  • Remove chemicals of concern (17%) 
• Democrats say companies should: 
  • Treat employees well (24%)
  • Remove chemicals of concern (21%)
  • Eliminate human rights violations (17%) 

And what about climate change? Yes, there is a big difference between the two parties, but we should be happy to know that Republicans aren’t denying climate change in the way we are led to believe. 50% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats believe in human-made climate change.  

Winning Messages, Winning Messengers 

We’ve seen a range of concerns from our various age groups, but the recurring themes are plastic pollution, chemicals of concern and treating people well. Recycling stands out as something companies should be doing, and it makes sense. We’ve messaged for years on recycling, and many identify it as the number one thing that people can do to be more sustainable.  

Biodiversity loss, use of regenerative agriculture practices and soil degradation are some of the lowest concerns across generations and parties. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about these things. It means you have to find a different way to talk about them. Focusing on the impacts and human benefits of these initiatives is the key. Since understanding of these topics isn’t common knowledge, communicators need to bridge the expertise gap to make their importance tangible. For example, biodiversity loss, regenerative agriculture practices and soil degradation can all impact our global food supply. Even if someone has no specific knowledge on agriculture, they’re certainly concerned about putting food on the table. 

Clearly, there’s a lot to unravel when it comes to friction in the marketplace and the differences across U.S. political party lines. But based on our research, it’s also clear to me that there’s common ground brands can tap into to communicate sustainability and build trust across the aisles. If you want to deepen your understanding of consumer expectations and get some research-backed tips on how you can apply it to your company, check out the “I just wanted to buy some milk” series. It’s available for free here.