NookMarket Data
The Independent Brands Index 2026
We looked at how 29,668 independent brands across 23 categories describe themselves. The surprise is not what they claim. It is how few claim anything at all.
Based on self-declared values tags from NookMarket's English-market catalogue. Figures reflect what brands claim, not audited certification.
Most brands say nothing
Only 24.9% of independent brands make any values claim. The other 75.1% say nothing about sustainability, sourcing or ethics. Values are not the norm. They are a signal sent by a vocal minority.
One word does the heavy lifting
Among the brands that do make a claim, 50.2% use the word sustainable, roughly as common as every other value combined. It has become the default signal.
Some shelves are greener than others
Sustainability claims cluster by category. Clothing leads at 19.5%, while Gifts, Flowers & Parties sits at 4.5%. Physical goods make the claim; electronics, travel and digital rarely do.
Cruelty-free is a beauty word
9% of health and beauty brands call themselves cruelty-free. In electronics it is 0.4%. Few claims are this category-bound.
Food, not beauty, is the handmade category
The most handmade and organic category is not beauty, it is food and drink. Ahead of the beauty aisle most would expect to own natural.
Claims come in clusters
52.9% of cruelty-free brands also call themselves vegan. Most brands that make any claim make just one (14.9%), but those that go further tend to bundle related signals. The most common pairing is Recycled plus Sustainable.
Where brands speak up
UK independents are the likeliest to make a values claim, Canadian ones the least.
What it means
Values are a differentiator, not a default. For the three quarters of brands saying nothing there is whitespace; for shoppers who care, the signal is real but uneven, concentrated in a few categories and a single word.