‘Environmentally friendly”, “biodegradable”, “fair trade”, “lower emissions”, “locally sourced” – if you feel overwhelmed by the new marketing lexicon used by companies trying to secure your business on the back of their ethical credentials then you are not alone.
Products that make consumers feel good about their purchase are now big business and according to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) it is a growth area for advertisers. “It’s not just the climate that is hotting up, so is the race to be seen as the greenest,” the agency says. The ASA refers to green marketing claims as a “key commercial battleground”.
But how does the would-be ethical consumer know who to believe? “Don’t take a company’s word for it,” says Rob Harrison, editor of Ethical Consumer magazine. “Look for who is supporting their claims and ask, ‘is it someone you trust’. Everyone knows it is in a company’s interest to spin the story its own way and not look at the problematic stuff.”
One of the best known independent marks of a product’s ethical credentials is the Fairtrade label, administered by the Fairtrade Foundation. And its popularity has grown massively since the first three Fairtrade products appeared in shops in 1994. There are now more than 4,500 products carrying the label. In 2008, UK shoppers spent more than £700m on Fairtrade goods – up 42% on 2007.
“Fairtrade is definitely moving towards the mainstream,” said a spokesperson for the Fairtrade Foundation. “Over the past 15 years, we have seen Fairtrade spread through the business world, with pioneer, dedicated Fairtrade companies first taking the lead, retailers taking the baton and now major multinationals joining the race.”
In recent years Sainsbury’s has made all its bananas, red label tea, coffee and own-brand sugar Fairtrade; M&S has done the same with its tea and coffee, and Waitrose with its bananas. Cadbury has also made Dairy Milk Fairtrade, although not other lines, while Starbucks is using Fairtrade beans for its espresso-based drinks.
Buying Fairtrade is some guarantee of minimum social, ethical and environmental standards but there is still a blizzard of “ethical” marketing claims to negotiate. In some cases, it appears that marketing campaigns are set up to appear ethical or green while in reality the product is far from it. EasyJet, for example, claims that flying with them is greener than travelling in a hybrid car. But their maths only works out if they take the most favourable scenario possible for them (a completely full plane and a car with just one occupant). But all British official stats on car emissions reckon on an average of 1.6 passengers in a car. Feeding that into the calculation means that an easyJet flight emits 47% more per passenger kilometre. Navigating this kind of greenwash is tricky for most consumers without the time or necessary background information to assess the claims.
Perhaps the most comprehensive rating system is Ethiscore. Run by the Ethical Consumer Research Organisation, a not-for-profit workers’ cooperative founded in 1988 and funded by subscriptions. Ethiscore gives a rating out of 20, based on a company’s effect on the environment, people and wildlife, as well as its political activities and the sustainability of its products.
Ethiscore rates everything from bank accounts to bicycles, with a score of 15 or higher considered good, 10 to 14 average, 5 to 9 poor, and 0 to 4 very poor. Of course, encapsulating something as complicated as a company’s ethical and environmental activities in one number is very difficult and an oversimplification, but at worst the score gives some indication of a company’s commitment to the issues.
Ethiscore’s top-rated chocolate bar, for example, is Plamil organic with 17 and its lowest is Nestlé’s Yorkie on 0.5. Of the car manufacturers, Kia, Peugeot and Citroën top the list with 9, while Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover prop up the bottom of the table with 3.
Ultimately, though, the truly ethical consumer is someone who buys less, not more, stuff with a feelgood marketing tinge. Reuse what you can and buy secondhand. And when you are about to walk to the checkout ask yourself do I need this? Will I use it? What will happen to it when I’m done with it?
Source: guardian.co.uk/environment/series/greenwash
Continuous education around green/sustainable claims will be needed as more and more green products/ services are introduced to the market. A valuable resource for businesses communicating their green products and services is BSR’s report Understanding and Preventing Greenwash:A Business Guide http://bit.ly/4Ijh48