SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a group of about 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other global industry stakeholders, sent out two calls to action this month. The CGF is rallying the industry to fight forced labor – which affects 21 million people globally – in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The CGF also plans to ramp up its implementation of low-carbon refrigeration equipment among its members’ stores.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
The consistent rise in responsibly made consumer products — and growth of a market that says it prefers, seeks out or will even pay more for them — keeps us plenty busy here at Sustainable Brands. And while a majority of consumers arguably doesn’t fit into this category, it’s generally safe to assume even they wouldn’t like to knowingly buy products made with child labor or that harm the environment.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, hundreds of innovators, large and small, will showcase thousands of their latest potentially game-changing technologies in the world of electronics.A CES staple, appliance giant Whirlpool will showcase its Whirlpool® Every day, care™ interactive experience, where attendees can experience the latest product innovations and future design concepts:
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Colgate toothpastes and toothbrushes will not be the focus of the brand’s first-ever Super Bowl advertisement. Rather, it will be using its airtime to remind viewers to turn off the tap when brushing their teeth.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The future is uncertain — especially when it comes to food. As the need to transition to a more sustainable food system becomes apparent, many have speculated on what the future of food will hold. Will we consume crickets for protein, or stick with something more familiar, like drought-resistant beans and plant-based burgers?
COLLABORATION -
As evidenced by the unprecedented private-sector engagement in COP21 earlier this month, businesses globally get that they need to innovate (and improve!) their products, services and business models to combat climate change, resource scarcity and unpredictable futures. Aside from the alignment of 195 nations on a climate-action agreement, what did all the talk at COP21 amount to from a business perspective? A lot of initiatives that push forward change and collaboration. But is it all smoke and mirrors, and toothless pledges, or is there real action brewing?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A new documentary is racking up awards across the United States, exposing the dangers hidden in the products found on store shelves. Director Jon Whelan stumbled across the issue of undisclosed chemicals when he noticed a foul smell from a pair of pajamas he purchased for his daughter. The film, aptly titled STINK!, follows his journey to uncover the source of products’ odors and what “fragrance” on a label really means.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Workshops often vary in their composition of speaker insights, Q&As and practical activities, but Monday afternoon’s SB’15 London session with Chris Sherwin, Head of Sustainability at design firm Seymourpowell, was all about active participation. You’d expect a workshop focused on product design and innovation to be a hub for brewing and evolving ideas (from the obvious to the most far-fetched) and it lived up to expectations.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
In the lead-up to COP21, the UN conference on climate change, we asked our global community of Millennials at BetheChance.com how they feel about climate change. 250 Millennials (18- to 30-year-olds) from Canada, China, Denmark, India, Poland, United States, United Kingdom and beyond shared a remarkably similar voice: They are deeply concerned about the climate, disappointed in our collective past behavior and desperate for change.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
DIY retailer Kingfisher and Swedish housewares giant IKEA both recently told edie of the potential to incorporate elements of the sharing economy and servitization, in what they see as a "natural progression" of their business models.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Core to Avery Dennison’s long-term success is developing products and solutions that are sustainable for years to come. With the volume of materials it produces, how does the company deliver a positive environmental and social impact for its customers and the communities in which it operates? For Avery Dennison, it’s a core responsibility — and it all starts with sustainability.
BLOG -
The global Sustainable Brands community continues to impress and inspire with the growing levels of creativity companies are applying in their sustainability efforts, especially when it comes to elevating the level of priority of environmental and social criteria in product innovation processes. Products with a purpose are popping up in many shapes and forms, and many of them are proving they can perform really well financially.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Target has improved its sustainable product standard by beginning to test category-specific criteria and consider more toxic chemicals. The retailer’s Sustainable Product Index evaluates products based on a points system and the highest-scoring options are promoted under its “Made to Matter” banner.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In a time when water conservation increasingly is becoming a top-of-mind issue, showers remain a guilty pleasure even for many of the eco-conscious. After toilets and clothes washers, showers are the third-largest water hogs in an average U.S. home — a typical eight-minute shower uses around 20 gallons of water, according to the Alliance for Water Efficiency.
COLLABORATION -
Award-winning British designer Christopher Raeburn showcased his new Spring/Summer 2016 SARAWAK collection on Tuesday at London Fashion Week. Raeburn worked closely with apparel branding, labeling, packaging and embellishments company Avery Dennison RBIS (Retail Branding and Information Solutions) to explore sustainability throughout the design process, from mood board to the runway.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Package labels that clearly detail food product ingredients have become the norm, thanks in large part to demand from consumers who want to be able to make informed decisions about their purchases. But what about other information related to sustainability and how product packaging is sourced?Current product labels do not offer a sufficient or clear explanation of sourcing and sustainability information. We need to recognize, across all industries, that the materials used to develop the packaging of a product is equally as important as the ingredients that go inside a product. Consumers are demanding greater transparency and it is the responsibility of all of us, including manufacturers, regulators and third-party groups, to fulfill this obligation.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Today is the launch of the second annual Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge, which calls upon designers to innovate products for the circular economy. Participants will be awarded up to $6,000 for their designs that creatively eliminate the concept of waste.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
A new study from the University of Bonn finds that consumers are willing to pay more for products with a Fair Trade logo, and they also perceive them to taste better. Published last week in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the research identifies potential neural mechanisms that explain why Fair Trade products are evaluated more positively.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Recent studies suggest consumers are increasingly motivated to buy sustainable products, especially the rising generation of socially motivated millennials — that’s the headline in the sustainable business community. But we also know that it’s difficult to motivate consumers to act upon their best intentions. They may state their preference to buy organic, ethically produced products in the abstract, but their actual choice may be different at the point of purchase.
COLLABORATION -
For years, the answer to the question “Do people really want to buy more sustainable products?” was a profound “sort of.” Surveys consistently show that we aspire to buy responsibly, and we even say we’ll pay more for environmental or socially preferable products. But purchase intent does not always translate to real sales, and companies have often struggled to make sustainable products more mainstream.