The issue of sustainability has been a hot topic for a number of years. But recently, it’s shifted from a discussion to a trend. There is no getting away from the fact that it is cool to be sustainable in 2024. Consumers, particularly younger ones, want to lead sustainable lives and subsequently demand sustainable options. As a result, it’s profitable for brands to be sustainable or, at the very least, offer sustainable options.
Are brands being sustainable to make money or because they care about the planet? Some would also wonder if it even matters. No matter what their motives are, it’s a common thought that brands looking out for the planet can never be a bad thing. Unfortunately, not all is as it seems when it comes to sustainability claims from brands. This article will explore if sustainability efforts from big brands are a genuine move that’s good for the planet or they are nothing more than the latest marketing gimmick.
Related: 6 Marketing Strategies to Help Your Brand
The Sustainability Trend
The increase in sustainability efforts that we now see from brands is driven by a general desire from people to be more sustainable in their everyday lives, a shift that is evidenced by our own behaviours. An impressive 85% of consumers believe they are acting greener compared to previous times.
Small changes include recycling, something almost half of us in the UK now do, opting to take a reusable cup to our favourite coffee shop, a product that 69% of people now own, or consuming less meat. Bigger changes include home renovations to minimise central heating usage which include things like adding solar panels or a tiled roof conservatories to ensure your living spaces stay warmer in the winter.
Sustainability or Greenwashing
As already pointed out, it’s not uncommon for brands to broadcast their sustainability efforts to consumers. Unfortunately though, there are many examples of brands that have been accused of greenwashing – when a company makes misleading statements about being environmentally friendly.
Volkswagen
In 2015, Volkswagen was found to be cheating on emission tests. This allowed the car manufacturer to make bolder claims around their commitment to sustainability and consequently appeal to more environmentally friendly consumers. The scandal cost the company $30 billion and massively impacted people’s trust in the brand.
Nestle
In 2018, Nestle announced its ambition to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 to improve their identity. While this move was bound to go down well with consumers, fast forward to 2023 and a report found the same brand was voted one of the world’s biggest corporate polluters.
H&M
In 2024, fashion giant H&M was sued for false and misleading sustainability claims in their marketing. While H&M communicated an increased focus on recycling and reusing, the brand relied on unfounded assumptions about where clothes would end up in terms of being recycled.
The above highlights just a handful of brands using sustainability to drive sales. This leads to the question, can a non-sustainable brand ever truly be concerned with the environment? In companies like fast fashion brands, the business model is built off convincing customers to buy items they don’t need, a strategy employed in many more industries.
In these industries, messaging with a focus on sustainability is done to drive more purchases of items we don’t need, a practice that in itself is terrible for the environment. So regardless of how “sustainable” they are – could it ever be argued that they have a genuine interest in saving the planet?
Can Sustainability Be Genuine?
So is every mention of sustainability a marketing gimmick that’s designed purely to drive sales? Of course not. There are brands that were genuinely set up with the aim of saving the planet, these are brands that the planet is better for their existence.
Others have pivoted to be more sustainable as consumer behaviour has changed. How early they pivoted generally gives an idea of how genuine their sustainability efforts are.
Patagonia
Patagonia is one of the best-known brands for sustainability. After committing to help the planet back in 1986, Patagonia has gone on to donate a percentage of profits to environmental causes with the aim of making their clothing items from 100% recycled materials by 2025.
Innocent Drinks
Innocent is aiming to be net zero by 2040. Their commitments include an all-electric factory and sourcing ingredients from farmers who grow their fruit in a way that is good for the planet. Their unique product pages now show a collection of products that have locally-sourced ingredients.
Tentree
Tentree is an apparel brand that takes the unique approach of planting ten trees for every purchase with a focus on areas most in need. To date, tentree has planted over 100 million trees and provided hundreds of thousands of days worth of employment within deprived communities.
Final Thoughts
Whether their sustainability journey is a true transformation or a temporary facade will ultimately be determined not just by their intentions, but by their measurable impact and the unwavering demand for authenticity from a world increasingly aware of the stakes. The ongoing challenge for big brands is to prove that their commitment to a sustainable future is not just good business, but truly a good move for their future.