Please, Do Not Be Greenwashed
Sustainability has received more attention throughout the years. What was once a “feel good” word, has now turned in to a major discussion about how we, as individuals and organizations operate for better or worse.
The market has shifted to having sustainability at the forefront to the way we do things and in turn, forcing change in business operations. A notable study by Nielson in 2015 pointed to a shift in consumer thought behavior. The report found that 66% of global consumers say that they’re willing to pay more for sustainable brands — up 55% from 2014.
This notable shift in ethical consumerism has caused many businesses to respond, after all, it is about supply and demand. It is clear, that sustainability and social impact in business practices have become more of a mainstream concept especially with its growth over the last decade.
However, there is a fear that the term, sustainability along with social impact is garnering more of a PR label designed to attract consumers without questioning its underlying origins.
There are ways to educate yourself as an ethical consumer.
What Are Sustainable Products Anyway?
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and the environment over their whole life cycle. They are extracted from raw materials until the final disposal.
Although the definition, as well as the market for sustainable products, continues to grow, the application of what a truly sustainable product is still not really well defined. Measuring the benefits towards public health, the environment and on an economic level is where the true solution lies, but how it is measured is the real question.
In turn, this responsibility was left to businesses to define what a “sustainable product” is, which raises more questions.
Corporate Public Relations
Brand trust is also a key pillar in consumer behavior. We buy products from brands that we are familiar with and trust. Established brands have a strong advantage because they are able to leverage decades of consumer loyalty and trust to put a public relations spin into many of their products and services without answering the real question towards sustainability.
Essentially, they could slap a “sustainable” label on the product to influence purchasing decisions. This “feel good” term again could cause consumers to feel like they are doing the right thing by buying a needed product without questioning how that “sustainable” product is different from its “non-sustainable” unlabeled counterpart.
Greenwashing Scheme
This danger is known as being greenwashed, which essentially is a smokescreen.
Greenwashing is the corporate practice of using clever PR and marketing terms and phrases to mislead customers into thinking a company and its products are ethical, sustainable, or environmentally friendly among others. Unfortunately, the rise in ethical consumerism seems to be marked by the rise of this tactic by big corporate brands.
From a consumer point of view, identifying being greenwashed is not easy to spot and especially when there is high loyalty to a brand.
7 Sins Claimed By Organizations To Be Aware Of
The UL environment identified seven sins claimed by organizations when it comes to the PR front, with an educational info-graphic:
As always, consumers have to do a bit more research to ensure that honesty and transparency is occurring between them and organizations. If we truly want to charge towards a more sustainable future, then holding organizations accountable is a must.
This starts with education and awareness so that we are not greenwashed.
Questions to Ask
To make more informed decisions as a more ethical consumer here are some helpful questions to ask yourself and the respective organization moving forward.
Find out what we are building at 1 Million 1 Love. Share your photo and spread your message! Full launch in the Fall.
