\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet,\u201d Luna Maya said. On a Tuesday morning a few\nmonths ago, she was sitting at a table outside a caf\u00e9 in Jakarta\u2019s\nMenteng district. Luna has a keen instinct for spotting what is wrong\nwith branding and marketing.<\/p>\n
As we talked about sustainability, however, one question kept coming\nto mind: why are consumers so quick to believe environmental claims that\nmay not be substantiated?<\/p>\n
I met the Indonesian model and actress because of her concern for\nenvironmental issues. Luna is an investor and a vocal advocate for\ntackling the waste crisis.<\/p>\n
We met to make an episode of RICE, a documentary series on my YouTube\nchannel, BuleSampah. In the episode, I wanted to investigate why\nconsumers across Asia, particularly in Indonesia, are so vulnerable to\ngreenwashing.<\/p>\n
Luna pointed to a simple reality: many Indonesian consumers have more\npressing needs. When household budgets are tight, price and convenience\noften take priority over sustainability. A product promising\nenvironmental benefits may be appealing, but it still has to be\naffordable.<\/p>\n
Is it really that simple?<\/p>\n
I have spent years investigating the plastics industry and its\nenvironmental claims. What concerns me is not that consumers prioritise\nprice. That is entirely understandable.<\/p>\n
The problem is that companies can exploit those circumstances by\nmarketing their products as sustainable without proving that they\ndeliver genuine environmental benefits.<\/p>\n
Greenwashing is not simply a matter of putting a green label on\nplastic packaging. It shapes how people understand a product, often by\nhighlighting one supposedly positive feature while concealing the bigger\npicture.<\/p>\n
Environmental promises have become a powerful marketing tool for the\nglobal fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The problem arises\nwhen marketing advances faster than real environmental improvements.<\/p>\n
In our RICE investigation, we found a striking example: drinking\nstraws marketed as both recyclable and biodegradable. At first glance,\nthe two claims sound like environmental advantages.<\/p>\n
But without adequate explanation, consumers may be confused about the\nproduct\u2019s properties and how to dispose of it properly.<\/p>\n
Recyclability and biodegradability are different properties and\nprocesses. Neither necessarily guarantees that a product has a lower\nenvironmental impact.<\/p>\n
Without clear evidence and information about the conditions required,\nclaims of this kind can mislead consumers and amount to\ngreenwashing.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dont-blindly-trust-eco-friendly-labels-1792554678", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }