Behavior Change
The latest developments supporting a shift toward sustainable consumption, as well as specific ways brands are encouraging less wasteful behaviors.
Campaign Tackling Plastic Microfibres Prompts Consumers to Ask #WhatsInMyWash
New research released by environmental charity Hubbub reveals that 44 percent of people in the UK don’t realize that synthetic fibres such as polyester, acrylic or nylon are actually plastic. Despite that synthetic clothing is on the rise – it now accounts for an estimated 60 percent of all clothing produced – many are unaware of what the microfibres they release and the resulting threats to the environment.
Behaviour Change: The Power of Simple Messaging
Consumers want simple solutions. They need simple messages. And yet when it comes to truly sustainable products and packaging, the reality is quite complex and often requires consumer behaviour change. Leading brands are increasingly investing significant resources to develop and implement innovative solutions that ensure a sustainable lifecycle for products and packaging. The same brands then face a communication challenge: How should they effectively tell their story of progress and innovation in a simple and compelling way that both informs and leads to behaviour change?
Wales Aims to Become First ‘Refill Nation,’ Teach Residents ‘Value of Tap Water’
The Welsh Government and City to Sea, a group campaigning against single-use plastics, are collaborating on the development of campaigns to encourage refills and change residents’ behavior to make tap water their first choice for hydration. While the campaigns will help people ‘see the value of water,’ the government has also announced an additional £15 million of capital funding to further improve Local Authority recycling collection systems and infrastructure, including for plastics.
P&G: 'Long Live Fashion Formula' Can Quadruple Life of Clothes
An announcement today from Procter & Gamble’s laundry brands, Ariel and Lenor (the European sister brands of Tide and Downy, here in the States), revealed that their ‘Long Live Fashion Formula’ could extend the life of clothes by four times, keeping them looking new for longer. By switching from a powder to liquid or single-unit-dose format such as Ariel pods; adding a Fabric Conditioner, such as Lenor; and washing on a cold and quick cycle, consumers can quadruple the life of their clothes.
How LG Is Teaching Teens the Science, Skills to ‘Experience Happiness’
One in four children are affected by anxiety disorders, putting our next generation of leaders and innovators at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences and engage in substance abuse.
Diageo VR Series Gives Consumers First-Person Perspective on Dangers of Binge Drinking
A night of celebration for a friend moving for a new job turns to tragedy in a new virtual reality (VR) experience from Diageo about the dangers of binge drinking. In a follow-up to 2016's "Decisions," which placed viewers in the front seat of a fatal drunk driving crash, "Decisions: Party's Over" immerses consumers in a first-person, interactive story.
Embracing Blockchain to Empower Consumers to Address Their Climate Impacts
Imagine buying a pair of shoes and being able to address the carbon emissions from those shoes’ production and transportation right when you buy them. To date, this hasn’t been possible: We didn’t have blockchain to immutably and transparently track the carbon; point-of-sale integrations were cumbersome, and the carbon market has only worked in tonnes while a pair of shoes is around 12kg of carbon.
Bangladeshi Garment Suppliers Can Now Evaluate Their Corporate Buyers
Just over a week ahead of the five-year anniversary of the devastating Rana Plaza factory collapse, Better Buying and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) have announced an 18-month partnership in Bangladesh to support and promote responsible buying practices within garment industry supply chains. The two NGOs will invite Bangladeshi garment factories to anonymously evaluate their buyers using the Better Buying online rating platform, which gives buyers anonymized ratings from suppliers on seven key aspects of purchasing practices:
Canadian Municipalities Struggling with Costs of Contamination, Markets for Recyclables
The world’s first curbside recycling program started where I live. Ontario, Canada’s Blue Box program made its official debut in the City of Kitchener in 1981 and became a blueprint for recycling programs in more than 150 countries around the world. Many Canadians don’t realize recycling “started” here in the Great White North, and unfortunately, many also don’t know what can go in their blue boxes these days.
80% of Brits Would Give Up Meat Over Their Car to Help the Environment
2018 has already seen a number of environmentally conscious trends — such as a switch to electric vehicles and plant-based diets — make the headlines.
Overcoming Complexity: The Perennial Challenge in Sustainability-Led Behaviour Change
We’re increasingly living in a world of purpose-led brands, as growing numbers of consumers are more interested than ever in the “big world” issues related to the products they buy, and how they use them. And yet, when it comes to the sustainability sector, we still struggle to apply some of the most basic communications principles to the issues we are trying to solve.
Humana Addressing Social Determinants of Health through Bold Goals, Community Investments
2017 was a particularly challenging year for health in the United States.
Hubbub's ‘Meat Your Match’ Campaign Challenges Preconceptions Around Plant-Based Diets
Environmental charity Hubbub has launched a campaign that challenges male gym-goers to replace half of their animal-based protein with plant-based alternatives.
Trending: How Retailers, NGOs Can Engage Consumers to Catalyze Circular Economy
Businesses have a critical role to play in cleaning up the global economy, but it is consumers whole truly hold the key to achieving a more sustainable future. In a new report, PA Consulting Group shows that retailers can build customer loyalty — and grow sales — by providing customers with reasons to stay engaged by returning to stores to resell, recycle and donate clothing and electronics.
UK Sustainability Sector Outstrips National Average for Job Satisfaction, Pay, Growth
Last week, new analysis from B Corp determined that companies using business as a force for good outperform those who don’t. Now, a study from the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), an international professional body for environmental practitioners, has revealed that sustainability professionals report higher job satisfaction than the UK average.
Why ‘Green’ Consumerism Isn’t Taking Off
If sustainability is so “in,” why aren’t more people buying ethically made clothes? The past few decades have changed the shape of the apparel industry. A few iconic media scandals over child labor and sweatshop labor have made Western shoppers sensitive to certain social responsibility topics.
Pride, Not Guilt Biggest Driver of Pro-Environmental Actions
A lot of pro-environmental messages suggest that people will feel guilty if they don’t make an effort to live more sustainably or takes steps to ameliorate climate change. But a recent study from Princeton University finds that highlighting the pride people will feel if they take such actions may be a better way to change environmental behaviors.
Want Economic Equality? Change Your Shopping Habits
The more mature you get, the more you start to understand that the little, normal things you do and the routines you follow make a big impact over time. Leave the water running while you’re brushing your teeth, and you’re wasting up to 200 gallons of water each month. Bike to work every day, and you’re cutting down on household emissions by at least 6 percent while lessening vehicular pollution by about .97 pounds per mile.
Tesco, Nestlé Poised to Benefit Most from Impending Plant-Based Protein Surge
Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. A shift in consumer awareness around sustainability is causing a surge in demand for plant-based proteins — an emerging market opportunity that global food companies won’t want to miss.
Patagonia Launches Digital Platform to Connect Customers with Grassroots Activism
Patagonia is back at it — the outdoor gear company has launched a new digital platform connecting customers with local environmental organizations. The aim of the new platform, Patagonia Action Works, is to encourage Patagonia customers to learn more about local environmental issues and get involved with events, petitions, fundraising and volunteering in their area.
