Author: Natalie Long Instagram: @globalsamaritan
Have you noticed a rise in ecofriendly trends? I know I have!
Eco-friendly businesses are rising parallel to changing consumer trends. I spoke to Brianne West founder and CEO of eco conscious brand Ethique on what it is like to be a part of the trend and what this means for business.
Ethique is one of the world’s most sustainable lifestyles brands (https://ethiqueworld.com). The brand started in 2012 when Brianne West noticed a significant issue with plastic pollution. She began making natural beauty bars in her kitchen with a mission to find an alternative to the 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles thrown out globally each year. Since then, Ethique has grown out of a Kiwi kitchen into a fully-fledged, award-winning international beauty brand that maintains its strong commitments to the environment, animals and people. Ethique is not just soap, their products range from shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, moisturisers and more!
Consumer awareness is pushing change towards more eco friendly products. There is a particular rise changing preferences for more natural and plastic-free personal care products. In addition to these products being plastic free, Ethique are also certified palm oil free by the Orangutan Alliance, certified cruelty free and vegan and all packaging is certified compostable. “Our certifications back up our companies core values and helps to build brand loyalty and trust.” On top of this, Ethique donates 20% of profits to conservation, animal welfare and environmental groups, is ranked in the top 10% of BCorp’s globally and is living wage accredited.
Consumers are becoming conscious and are acknowledging the difference they can make with their purchases. New certification labelling choices are providing consumers with transparent and reliable choice when they shop. This is resulting in a push for manufacturers and businesses to follow the consumer demands. “Consumers are definitely educating themselves on the issue of plastic consumption and the volume of waste piling up around the world, alongside other environmental issues such as mass deforestation and habitat loss. The pace of change in that awareness is growing exponentially.” Purchase power is a consumer’s most significant influence and we are beginning to understand the value behind how we spend money. This coupled with new labels to provide consumer options is creating a change in the way individuals shop and therefore the way businesses run.
Previously, creating a business came with a misconception that a choice must be made between an ecofriendly business and economic growth. Ethique has discredited this misconception through their incredibly successful environmentally friendly brand “The growth of Ethique since its conception has been rapid. For the past three years, the rate has been 300% annually and this is forecasted to continue.” Although we often speak as nature and economy as competitors Ethique has very successfully proven otherwise in creating a high quality, eco-friendly brand. This misconception can sometimes be supported by another myth that choosing an eco conscious product is connected to lower quality or less effective products “most people won’t buy a product just because it is eco-friendly. I have always set out to create high-quality products that actually work, and the fact our bars don’t contribute to plastic waste or deforestation as a result of palm is a huge bonus.”
As labelling and certification programs grow, they will play an important role in helping consumers become educated while guiding them to make decisions that support their values. Ethique highlights the realistic goal of being an eco-conscious and successful brand, while producing a high quality, eco-friendly product that actually works!
So far, plastic free Ethique have rid the world of over 4.3 million plastic bottles through the sale of their soap bars with amazing reviews for their products. Through embracing these changing trends towards eco conscious living they have created opportunity for growth and development to align with consumer demands. So what’s next? Ethique tells us “We have to stop transferring responsibility for saving our environment onto consumers – businesses need to lead the way and become accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products. People are sick of feeling guilty for something they have no control over. Not only is this important for packaging, but also for the ingredients in their products.”
With demands for labelling on the rise and consumers making choices based on this, it is now time for brands to step up and offer consumers a way to help save the environment.
Join the Ethique revolution and #giveupthebottle! https://ethiqueworld.com/
