Last week, the UN Climate Committee sent a dramatic message to the world – we are close to a point of no return, and it is solely humanity’s fault. Instead of talking about climate change, we are now discussing climate chaos, and if we do not act this second, we will witness disasters the world has never seen before. This pessimistic warning primarily concerns political structures, then the corporate sector, but also end consumers, who must introduce some serious changes into their daily lives. In recent years, brands have been talking about reducing their environmental impact, but many only address the topic in principle. Consumers do not know whether they have given their money to the real fighters against climate change or greenwashers, i.e., brands that merely exploit the ‘green’ trend.
It is therefore not surprising that they expect companies to prove their ‘green’ commitment through actions, not just words, which is why, as trendwatchers claim, the consumer trend label-led is gaining strength. The team behind Trendwatching recently published a report stating that more and more brands realize that they must elevate their environmental responsibility and demonstrate to their customers, in black and white, that they truly live what they promote. They have understood that there is no easier, better, and more transparent way to do this than through labeling on product packaging (eng. label), which is why the trend has been named label-led.
Good Arguments
As trendwatchers explained, in these modern times, brands have realized that they must have a purpose, a social benefit, to attract conscious consumers. There is probably not a single brand that values itself that has not highlighted its concern for, for example, sustainability or workers’ rights in its communication. Conscious consumers have found it quite difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff; pure PR from authentic values, so it is high time to help them in their choices. Labels on brands (whether on packaging, apps, or websites) greatly facilitate this task, but also yield good results for truly ethical brands. For instance, a project was recently launched in Sweden that labeled the carbon footprint of individual products (a measure of total greenhouse gas emissions). It turned out that consumers choose products that pollute the environment 25 percent less than those they previously purchased. Consumers are, therefore, highly motivated to buy ‘greener’ brands, and it seems that after recent warnings from the Climate Committee, they will become even more active in the sustainability of their consumption. Recent research conducted in 16 countries showed that more than half of consumers believe that collective action can help reduce climate change or, pardon, climate chaos.
This ‘instant activism’ should be taken seriously by brands because as many as 79 percent of consumers worldwide change their purchasing decisions and choose brands that are socially responsible, inclusive, and care about their environmental impact. In addition to this ‘instant activism’ and proving the true values of the brand, the label-led trend is fueled by the fact that there are more and more independent companies or non-profit organizations measuring the impact of brands on the environment. Companies have assessed that it is better for them to take control of their products, measure them, and label them than to have someone else do it. Unilever, for example, is developing its own labeling scheme and has promised to label the carbon footprint on the packaging of 70,000 products because, as they stated, ‘the label for greenhouse gas emissions today is what the calorie count label used to be.’ This practice is also being adopted by Logitech, Oatly, Allbirds, Cocokind, and many others.
Successful Applications
To show that labeling is not an unfeasible idea and that there are already tools available to measure environmental data, trendwatchers provided several examples. For instance, the Swedish company Klimato developed a special app for restaurants that allows them to measure the environmental impact of every dish served. The app measures the carbon dioxide emissions and other gases of each served ingredient (its production) and the preparation of the dish itself. Besides allowing guests to gain insight into how the food on their plate affects the environment, the app provides restaurant owners with monthly and annual reports on their progress in environmental protection.
