We've all been there, we take a companies word for it, we buy something we think is sustainable, we feel good and that we've made an ethical choice.
Then the product arrives... it's packaged in excessive plastic packaging, or later someone tells you something about the companies ethics you didn't know.
You are not to blame. Sustainability claims for the most part are unregulated, so any company can claim to be 'green', 'ethical' or 'sustainable'. This contributes to a huge greenwashing problem that ultimately misleads consumers into thinking they're making eco-friendly choices when they are not.
That's why we created this list. 4 red flags to look out for when you're trying to shop sustainably.
Here's how to spot sustainability red flags before you order.
1. Sweeping statements with no back up.
So they say all the right things, sustainable, ethically made, people before profit... but where is the evidence?
If companies have these claims at the very least they should have a page discussing their practices. Look out for pages on their website called, Sustainability or Impact.
There should always be a way to find out more about a businesses practices and ideally you shouldn't have to search endlessly to find it.
That's why our sustainability page is on our homepage.
We would also argue that it's a bit of a beige flag if they do have these pages but they're difficult to find or hard to access.
You the shopper shouldn't have to spend ages trying to verify their claims, the information should be readily available.
2. Encouraging overconsumption.
Let's face it we all love a bargain and marketers know this, so they will often use the perception of a bargain to encourage you to buy more and buy regularly.
Unsure of what overconsumption marketing tactics look like? Here are some examples:
- Having your inbox bombarded by sales emails. (daily or even mulptiple times a day.)
- There's a big sale every other week.
- Deals look less like 10% off and more like buy 10 and get 1 free.
3. Special edition versions of a re-usable products.
While this point is an extension of overconsumption, it's rise in popularity led us to give it it's own section.
Part of the goal with sustainability is that we reduce what we consume, so if we buy a water bottle to avoid plastic bottles, we must use that bottle repeatedly and avoid buying more than we need.
When companies produce an item, but then every 2 months create a new 'special edition' related to a film drop, current events, or even new colours, we would begin to question if they are on a sustainability mission.
For example, a few years ago a prominent sustainable deodrant brand started making limited edition versions of their cases. This meant even in their marketing there was an uptick in influencers who were promoting having 2-3 cases as the norm.
The problem with this is that the sustainable option is only the sustainable option if it's used enough to offset it's production when compared to buying non reusable alternatives.
That's not to say companies shouldn't provide different versions of their products. We get that every coffee cup in the world shouldn't have to be the same colour or shape or size. There is value in individuality and personalisation.
But encouragement to overconsume with everyday products and sustainable products is - ironically - not sustainable.
4. No Packaging Transparency
Packaging shouldn't be a suprise.
Especially if the company has extensive sustainability claims.
No company is perfect when it comes to sustainability and personally our ethos is that we'd rather have 100 businesses trying their best to limit their emissions and plastic use than 1 company doing it perfectly and the other 99 not trying at all.
With that in mind we think it's important for companies to disclose where they aren't quite there yet, and if that is in their packaging, they should be upfront. This gives consumers choice.
You should be able to find information on this in the sustainability section of their website.
At the very least we would expect to see this information in FAQ's or recieve a direct answer if you contact the company.
To Summarise:
- Check if a company has a sustainability page that is transparent about what they are doing and what they want to improve.
- Ask yourself are they encouraging overconsumption?
- Do they have a regularly limited edition drops?
- Are they transparent about their packaging?
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