HOW TO SPOT A SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT
Fighting Greenwashing practices

It is undeniable that environmental and social sustainability values are becoming mainstream. However, truly sustainable business practices go well beyond the consolidated activities of large corporates - such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability reporting.

But what makes a brand sustainable? Following the definition of sustainable development, it’s about having People, Planet and Profit perfectly aligned and equally balanced in the business strategy. As it often happens though, if there’s an opportunity to win new markets there is a company ready to take an unfair advantage. In fact, some companies, leveraging on aspects such as consumers naivety and lack of supply chain transparency, are misusing these values to attract consumers. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most used, and unfair, marketing strategies to  help recognise a transparent communication and the real commitment of brands.

Want to know more about ethical approaches for business practitioners?

Conscious Consumers: is awareness pushing the shift in brand values?

Millennials Generation only in the US reaches $2.45 trillion in spending power, representing today the world most important consumer segment.

Roughly 70% of millennial consumers spend more on brands that support a cause they care about. These consumers today want more. They want to be actively involved in the global transition towards a better planet. They want their actions to have positive consequences; and support companies – big, small, and in between – that demonstrate a strong ethical commitment to take care of the planet and its people.

With a global increasing awareness on Environmental Issues, Millennials and Gen Z ask for more transparency and are eager to support brands that share a real environmental commitment. This growing green demand has inevitably started a race between corporates, small businesses and startups to make the most appealing products for this new conscious market segment. That’s where marketing comes into play: the business card for any brand and the instrument to sell more than other competitors.

In 1920 Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s nephew and inventor of the public relations, said: “We are governed, our minds are moulded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of“.

Nowadays, consumers - especially native digital generations - are overwhelmed by marketing promotions. All brands are fighting in the same competitive arena, trying to constantly evolve their marketing strategies to maintain long-lasting and ever-present relationships with their audience.

With sustainability becoming a trend, marketing strategists have been on fire providing consumers with the Greenest brands possible, forging what is now known as green marketing.

“Green marketing is the practice of giving a product or service a sustainable dress; making it more appealing to conscious consumer by promoting the sustainability efforts that the company claim to put in place.”

On the other side, when these claims aren’t backed with a real commitment and effort in making a product sustainable, companies fall into the unethical practice of Greenwashing. Since Greenwashing is not regulated by the law and the concept of sustainability is subject to interpretation, a growing number of companies (not always voluntarily we must say) slip into it. Here we report some of the most common examples of marketing campaigns that may hide some fresh greenwashing: