Eco-dating – favouring dates with people who share our ecological convictions – is a growing concern when dating, according to various polls gathered by RTBF.
For example, a recent YouGov poll conducted for the online dating app Bumble showed that 59% of respondents placed environmental attitudes high on their list of partner attributes.
More than half of respondents consider someone who cares about the environment to be "more attractive". And just over one in three (36%) think that environmentally-conscious individuals make "better life partners because it shows that they are not only considerate and sensitive but also share the same values".
Women specifically are more categorical: 51% "would prefer not to date someone who doesn't care about the environment."
What turns us off
While sharing values and commitment is seen as a strong indicator of intellectual alignment, caring about our environmental impact is widely seen as an important personality trait.
More than one in three singles see failing to recycle as the main turn-off (38%); 23% of respondents think that people who use home delivery services unnecessarily is unattractive.
Other unappealing behaviours include: choosing a more comfortable means of transport despite it having a higher carbon footprint (21%); eating a lot of meat (20%); not wanting to change habits that harm the environment (18%).
Naturally, "eco-dating" doesn't always lead to nature-loving soulmates, despite the Canadian dating application Plenty of Fish identifying it as "one of the great love trends of 2023".
When things go bad or a partner doesn't live up to environmental expectations, "eco-dumping" is the term used for when a date ends because someone is not committed enough to the planet's wellbeing. Plenty of Fish estimates that 20% of singles have already ended a potential relationship based on this criteria.
