How brands are evolving in the area of sustainability marketing and communications — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences.
Last week, just as TOMS Shoes began enabling socially conscious shoppers to make an impact — for free — through its One Day Without Shoes campaign, WWF launched its first ever emoji-based crowdfunding campaign to help support the organization’s work to protect endangered species and their habitats.
Climate change is literally killing us, according to some of the nation’s leading medical practitioners, who have found direct and indirect links between it and an increase in respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease and heat-related deaths. Americans also face increased risks to their health and well-being from injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events.
Beekeepers across the United States lost more than 40 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2014 to April 2015, according to the latest results of an annual nationwide survey led by a University of Maryland professor.While winter loss rates improved slightly compared to last year, summer losses and total annual losses were more severe. Commercial beekeepers were hit hardest by the high rate of summer losses, which surpassed winter losses for the first time in five years, intensifying concerns over the long-term trend of poor health in honey bee colonies.
Engaging and winning loyalty from consumers has always been the Holy Grail for brands. And with a growing contingent of socially conscious — and socially connected — shoppers expressing a growing preference for responsibly made products from authentically values-driven companies, winning and maintaining that loyalty has become a whole new ballgame.
The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing the global public health issue of harmful drinking, today launched ResponsibleDrinking.org. The consumer-friendly website provides easily accessible information about key issues related to drinking and will be promoted on the packaging of alcoholic beverages of the dozen signatory brands — including Bacardi, Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors and more.
Those of you in the English-speaking world may not realise just how massively famous Brazilian soap-opera stars have become around the world. For example Avenida Brasil broke records in 2012 after being sold by Rede Globo (Globo Network) to 130 countries and reaching 50 million viewers.While Brazilian soaps often glamourise ostentatious consumerism, in 2013 the soap opera Joia Rara (Rare Jewel) launched; set in 1940s Rio de Janeiro, its plot centred around Buddhism, compassion, forgiveness and redemption — an incredible foundation for a genre not commonly associated with ethics, spirituality or more philosophical issues.
In September, The United Nations will launch its post-2015 Development Agenda, which outlines ambitious targets that include ending extreme poverty, promoting equity within and among countries, and addressing climate change on a global scale by 2030.
In their latest reports, two major companies are being forthcoming about respective shortfalls in terms of expected progress toward their long-term sustainability goals.In its latest annual report, released last week, British department store group the John Lewis Partnership — parent company of John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose grocery chain — says it will review its sustainability goals after seeing its absolute emissions grow by almost 7 percent last year.
Bulging biceps, spray-tans, beer bongs, and a plea to save a sub-culture enshrined on the Jersey Shore: This is not your typical dairy ad. And yet that is what made Organic Valley’s "Save the Bros" campaign so breakthrough when it launched last month.
Heineken has teamed up with Blippar — the augmented reality smartphone app — to launch a new digital campaign that taps into increasing consumer interest into sustainability and a desire to understand more about the ingredients of beer.To highlight the beer giant’s commitment to buying 50 percent of its main raw materials from sustainable sources by 2020, the “Legendary 7” campaign tells the story of seven farmers from France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the UK who produce the sustainable barley and hops used to brew Heineken beer.
Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. On Friday, the second annual Fashion Revolution Day, people in 66 countries around the world will challenge global fashion brands to demonstrate commitment to transparency across the length of the value chain, from farmers to factory workers, brands to buyers and consumers.One in six people work in the global fashion supply chain. It is the most labor-dependent industry on the planet, yet the people who make our clothes are hidden from us, often at their own expense, a symptom of the broken links across the fashion industry.
For those of us in the sustainability field, stakeholder engagement that leads to action is the Holy Grail for creating the change needed for a healthy world and future.
Woolworths CEO Ian Moir announced a partnership with Grammy Award-winning musician, record producer and philanthropist Pharrell Williams last week. The collaboration is the first of its kind for a South African retailer.Williams will become the new Style Director in a groundbreaking collaboration across a series of sustainability-focused projects. The strategic partnership is grounded in the shared values of Williams and Woolworths.
As California enters its fourth year of drought, more than 135,000 people have signed a petition to the California Water Resources Control Board to shut down Nestlé’s water bottling operations in the state.Created by the California-based Courage Campaign, the petition says Nestlé extracts water from California specifically for its Arrowhead and Pure Life brands, and bottles its product from at least a dozen natural springs. It says one such bottling plant is located on a Native American reservation “in one of California’s most drought-stricken areas that is exempt from oversight by local water agencies.”
From economists to politicians, from consumers to scientists, plenty of people agree that the current approach of many businesses is not sustainable.We’ve talked about the sheer obviousness of this point, as have many other thinkers and doers working on this challenge. But when it comes to discussing this with people responsible for key decisions within these companies, it is frankly a bit awkward. Even for consultants like us who are engaged specifically to talk about this stuff, it doesn’t always feel okay to come right out and say it.
Meijer was facing three compelling realities as it put together its recently released Simply Cook: Easy, Healthy Meals cookbook.First, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Midwestern grocery and discount chain in had committed its resources to help food pantries in its market areas and already was doing so in a major way.
After less than two intensive months of campaigning for change in the foodservice industry, The Humane League — a national nonprofit animal advocacy organization with the mission to save animals’ lives and reduce animal suffering — is proud to announce further progress. Compass Group has announced it will join Aramark and Sodexo, the nation’s largest foodservice companies, in making major changes to their animal welfare policies.
April is Earth Month, and brands are announcing programs to inspire participation in environmental activities and funding campaigns.
This week, two scorecards revealed how major brands are stacking up when it comes to living up to their commitments to improve their social and environmental stewardship, with Nestlé and Unilever apparently neck and neck for the lead in several areas.
The Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN), a non-profit organization that works with civil society and industry stakeholders to advance awareness and support for fair trade in Canada, has teamed up with Rethink Canada on a series of clothing labels highlighting the devastating conditions that persist for many workers in garment factories around the world.The powerful ad campaign, “The Label Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story,” depicts clothing tags on a suit jacket, sweater and hoodie that reveal much more than the size and fabric mix of the garments (click to enlarge images).