Over the last decade, consumers have become more conscious and self-aware about the impact of human product consumption on the environment. As a result, consumers have placed high expectations of sustainability that brands now have to meet.
Eco-friendly, biodegradable, and sustainable are keywords consumers now look for when shopping. Many brands have had to jump on the bandwagon or risk falling behind their competitors. Brands have had to pivot their focus on aligning their mission, vision, and values with their consumers’.
However, it is not only the product’s sustainability that consumers are concerned about; they are equally as worried about the internal processes of the brands. They want brands to start paying employees fair wages; they want manufacturers and suppliers to uphold non-exploitative employment practices.
The premise of a good brand image, identity, or story will depend on how consumers perceive your brand. Implementing the tips listed below will assist you in your journey of adding sustainability to your brand.
Source Eco-Friendly Materials
A reasonably straightforward place to start on your brand’s journey to sustainability is the sourcing of eco-friendly materials. Only purchase organic and ethically-sourced material to create and package your products.
Take note of the responsible disposal methods of the organic material to ensure that they do not negatively affect the environment.
Use Reusable Or Biodegradable Packaging
When choosing packaging materials, you’ll need to consider things like quality, versatility, and your budget.
Reusable packaging has gained popularity in the past couple of years. Consumers like the idea of buying products with durable packaging because they can later reuse the packaging in their households creatively and innovatively.
Using recyclable packaging gives you access to unlimited custom packaging supplies. The custom packaging also serves as a souvenir that the customer can keep to remember your brand.
Explore Green Marketing Strategies
Digital marketing, or green marketing as of recent, is the primary model for sustainable advertising. Before the internet, people used to get all their advertisements from newspapers and, more recently, from magazines. With Gen-Z’s at their prime age of social media use and Millennials trying to keep up with them, more and more companies have resorted to online marketing.
There are several aspects of digital marketing. Advertising your brand on social media platforms and using Google Ads are the most popular.
Over the years, digital marketing has proved to be cheaper than traditional marketing. Traditional marketing consists of printed posters, flyers, or banners in newspapers and magazines.
Although digital marketing saves trees and makes the world more sustainable, digital migration has left the printing industry in complete disarray and many unemployed.
Start Your Recycling Initiative
Recycling initiatives may be the least disruptive way of achieving sustainability, but they are effective. Recycling reduces pollution by preventing product packaging from ending up in landfills and dumpsters. Recycling contributes to creating a circular economy while simultaneously empowering people to develop a source of income for themselves.
H&M has a similar initiative in the clothing industry that incentives consumers to recycle their old or unwanted clothes in three easy steps. First, pack up all your unwanted clothes and then drop them off at the store. Lastly, you’ll receive vouchers to use at the store.
H&M incentivizes its customers with clothing vouchers in return for their assistance in the recycling process. The best thing is that the unwanted clothes are not required to be from H&M.
Educate Consumers On Real Sustainability
Although consumers are primarily concerned about brands’ sustainability, real sustainability is a lifestyle that consumers should live holistically. Educating your customer about sustainability across the board will set your brand apart as an industry leader in all things sustainability.
The United Nations has earmarked 17 sustainable development goals as part of the Agenda 2020. Create content based on each one of the goals. Share tips on how your customer can implement each one of the goals on an individual level.
E.g, an easy goal to tackle first is the “No Hunger” goal; if you are not in the food industry, that is, you can encourage your customer to start a home garden or small-scale farm. For city dwellers, patches of urban farms on rooftops and balconies have sprung up all over the world’s biggest cities.
Engage In Conversation With Consumers
Create a forum to engage with your consumers regularly. Social media is the most accessible platform, and its functionality allows for sharing opinions and discussions amongst users.
However, to make a more significant leap towards brand image sustainability, you will have to host these conversations on a platform that you own. This initiative will further establish your position as an expert in brand sustainability.
Affiliate With Green Manufactures And Suppliers
Affiliation is one significant aspect of your brand that your consumer will constantly monitor. Consumers are very concerned about the working and wage conditions of your manufacturers’ and suppliers’ employees.
Investigative journalists discovered that these manufacturers practice and uphold exploitative working conditions, unfair wages, and the use of child labor.
To further improve your brand’s sustainability, approach manufacturers that eliminate excessive waste material-producing processes. Conduct regular visits to your manufacturers’ facilities to ensure that they uphold sustainability goals.
Avoid Greenwashing Consumers
Do not oversell your green initiatives to your consumers. Create initiatives that speak to the consumer’s values and morality. Involve your consumers in your green initiatives so that they may take ownership of them.
Do not create and perpetuate false narratives about your brand sustainability goals for the sake of fitting in. Take your time to develop feasible sustainability awareness programs that are on-brand and beneficial to your consumer, and ultimately the environment.
Create Your Own Sustainability Goals
As previously mentioned, the UN has a selected set of what it identified as the most imminent sustainability goals for the planet.
Create your own sustainability goals and programs with more local or regional impact. Launch a simple program that requires a small group of volunteers to go around collecting recyclable rubbish or waste. The team can then take the contents to a recycling plant, most likely to be reimbursed in cash.
Then finally, the team may choose to use the funds from recycling to endorse sustainability in their unique way further.
As people continue to be conscious about product sustainability, there will be a sharp increase in eco-conscious brands soon.
