Are you really a Conscious Brand, or just stuck in a cycle of Greenwashing?

Over the past decade, Millennials and Gen-Z’s have been spear-heading environmental campaigns across the world, pushing for change in the common stakeholder mindset of ‘ignorance is bliss.’

People were just tired of settling. Those in positions of power had no choice but to finally acknowledge that, 'yes! there was a problem.'

A problem with the system in place, the priorities established and the self-absorbed culture followed by most having authority.

According to a survey done on Indian consumers by AT Kearny, 70% of the respondents were looking for brands that were sustainable and ethical. Indian consumers have been showing a high willingness to shift to brands with a holistic outlook if offered a choice.

In order to survive through the changing mindset over the long run, brands must begin re-strategizing their operations- focusing more on cleaning up their act and taking responsibility.

To Be or Not To Be?

Companies looking to change faced a choice - to restructure the entire organisation as one, that is more ethical, sustainable and people-centric, or, to just rebrand itself superficially, creating a facade in an attempt to save money.

And of course, most chose the latter. It was the easy way out - hoodwink the customers, further profits and face nobody.

This entire process of deceiving customers about one’s products and policies as being environmentally sound is what we refer to as greenwashing.

Stemming from the term ‘white-wash’, greenwashing had begun during the 1960s, around the same time as the initiation of the environmental movement in the USA. With the public revolting against environmentally degrading and unethical practices, greenwashed brands jumped into the picture, offering a ray of hope to those in the movement- before they were found out, of course.

A very common green-washing method could be attributed to something called the ‘negative spillover effect.’

According to this, entities believe that for every negative action they take, they can neutralise it with positive action (or vice-versa). Unsurprisingly, this approach is highly common among most brands, and may just be the leading psychological factor contributing to the existence of greenwashing in the first place.

H&M’s 'Conscious' Campaigns

Taking the example of H&M, a fast-fashion apparel company that had re-branded itself as green in 2018-19, with the introduction of its ‘conscious collection.’ The collection is said to be using sustainable, recycled materials for the production of their apparel. They’ve set up recycle bins across all their stores which would later be used to fuel the conscious collection.

On the face of it, the initiative seemed like a great one, however, numerous reports and narratives started making rounds claiming that the company’s exploitation of workers in third-world countries, rapid generation of non-biodegradable waste caused due to the fast-fashion segment, and of course, greenwashing was the truth behind the 'conscious' facade.

Since then, HnM's Marketing team seem to have worked overtime to squash the claims and roll out initiatives that back the brand's mission.

The Volkswagen Dieselgate Scandal

The 2019 Volkswagen scandal is one of the most extreme examples of Greenwashing. The company, Volkswagen AG, had relentlessly tried to brand itself as a leader in the environmental sector, claiming that its cars were highly fuel-efficient and produced astoundingly low emissions.

Their ‘eco-friendly’ diesel car eventually became the talk of the town, with their company attracting a great amount of investment and positive publicity thanks to its ‘ground-breaking’ initiative. They had raised millions of dollars by issuing securities at premium rates- a benefit they had received thanks to the massive amount of goodwill generated around them.

However, the automaker had used a programme designed to dupe the emissions test (called the ‘defeat device’) that gave false readings showcasing low emissions. In real-time, the cars had contributed up to 40 times more than the permissible limit of emissions according to the US EPA Standards.

They had done the exact opposite of their ‘clean diesel’ claims. The repercussions of this were fatal to the company- with huge fines levied against them, unreliable reputation and of course, a loss of massive brand loyalty and a sense of distrust hovering around the brand.

More and more companies, both big and small, have begun to adopt this self-destructive approach. Desperate for more profits, they fail to realise that they are playing a game of high stakes, risking their brand image and customer loyalty in the long run.

The road less taken: Building a Conscious Brand

Building a fundamentally conscious brand is a route seldom opted for by brands.

A conscious brand refers to those companies proactively making an effort to nurture and uplift positive and conscious actions among their stakeholders. This mode of business is relatively less preferred due to the high amount of effort, consistency and cost investment required by a company over its initial stages. However, the long-term impact of implementing this approach is tremendous.

On its implementation, companies would no longer cater to random customers, rather they’d be supported by a large community of like-minded followers harbouring a unanimous vision and sense of loyalty that could potentially go unbeaten. The return on investment is huge-

• The company retains customers, a process almost 7 times cheaper than attracting new ones.

• It earns a positive brand image and facilitates trust and collaboration not just among the public, but also among all its stakeholders.

• Its change-making approach helps build a better planet with a brighter future for humanity.

Maintaining a social mission, using resources for good and endorsing best practices within its industry could lead to success much bigger than one could ever imagine.

Patagonia’s Vision for the Future

A great example of a conscious brand is Patagonia- an apparel brand based in the U.S., that regularly donates millions towards global sustainability initiatives and conducts large-scale green campaigns across the world.

The company consciously tries to use sustainable materials such as recycled plastic, organic cotton, and so on for the production of their apparel. They were also involved in countless initiatives, proactively trying to create a change, not just in its vicinity, but across the globe.

In fact, Patagonia’s profits have quadrupled since 2014, with its net worth estimated to be around $1 billion. This was mainly thanks to the effort of their current CEO, Rose Marcario, who has been leading the company’s orientation towards sustainability and greater consciousness.

They’ve also been the receivers of many awards and widespread recognition for their commendable work, one of them being the ‘Champion of the Earth’ award from the UN for its dynamic, thorough policies on sustainability (2019). They were also placed 6th in the World’s Most Innovative Companies List, in 2018.

What’s truly different about the brand is their honesty- they admit that their products may not be completely green, however, they also make it a point to look for solutions for the same.

In fact, recently, the company had also partnered with ‘Tersus’- a tech company functioning with the objective to create a circular economy. This very propensity to change for the better, instils a sense of confidence in their community- just knowing that the brand strives hard to make a difference, is enough for the community to have complete faith in them.

Snacking Healthy, Happy and Hip- The Whole Truth Foods

The Whole Truth Foods (TWTF) - a snack brand originating in Mumbai, India, offers healthy snacks with absolutely no artificial, fast or junk ingredients.

This initiative stemmed out of the growing need exhibited by the general population in India for healthy alternatives to what they snack on (leading to binge eating).

Many do want to make a shift towards healthier options, but are apprehensive due to false claims by multiple so-called ‘nutritious’ brands all over the place, along with a lack of information about the ingredients they use. Apart from being lied to, consumers also tied ‘healthy’ food with distasteful and bland edibles.

The objective of TWTF is to provide 100% clean, tasty and healthy snacks, with pure transparency of its ingredients as a whole. Its long-term vision is to essentially bring in more consciousness among consumers about the choice of food they consume.

Within a year, the company sold over 3 lakhs bars and won over 90,000 customers- gaining widespread consumer trust, all thanks to their straightforward approach to actually meeting and solving the needs of the consumers.

Their interaction with respected influencers like former Miss India and actress, Gul Panag, helped raise their brand awareness and contributed to cementing a conscious brand image for itself among its consumers.

Food for thought...

The choice between greenwashing and forming a conscious brand with a social mission is what determines a company’s road to the future.

Forming a system where businesses are forced to make more conscious choices in terms of the raw material they use and the manufacturing processes while rewarding those maintaining best practices could transform the very course of not just the market, but also the future.

Only with demand, comes change and with choice comes the shift. Consumers need to put a conscious effort into staying informed and fact-checking sustainable initiatives taken up by brands- whether they truly make an impact or just exist for clout.

As consumers, it’s our responsibility to fight for the change we’d like to see, prioritize and reward sustainable practices, and pressurize companies into being as transparent as possible. Only then, will we be able to see a holistic transformation in market practices and eventually, the world.