Brands have to be authentic about sustainability

I was casually browsing through my Twitter feed recently and came across an article that explained why Keurig Canada is being fined by the Competition Bureau. The gist of the story is that Keurig had been claiming that their coffee pods are recyclable, when in fact they are not.

We have a professor at the University of Victoria to thank (in part) for double-checking Keurig’s claims — his efforts ultimately led to the action now being taken to penalize the company. Here is some more colour on the sequence of events and the impact of the verdict: 

"Portraying products or services as having more environmental benefits than they truly have is an illegal practice in Canada.” https://t.co/ilqMm0QyqI

— Jennifer Hollett (@jenniferhollett) January 7, 2022

Reading this got me thinking about the rampant greenwashing that still exists in the consumer brand economy today. We must do better and be honest with ourselves — and each other — about the level of impact that all consumer products have on the environment. 

I went deep on the topic of greenwashing by brands at a CAFA event a few years ago. Although the focus of the event was to specifically discuss the impact of fashion brands on the environment, the themes discussed are just as relevant today when contemplating the responsibility of ALL consumer brands – regardless of the product categories that they focus on – to be truthful about any claims they make related to their sustainability practices. 

With permission from my dear friend Vicky Milner, the President of CAFA, I pulled the recording of the event from our secret CAFA vault. Excited to share it publicly for the first time right here. It covers a lot of ground on what brands can do to be more sustainable, and more importantly, what they should NOT do if they still have a long way to go in terms of reducing their impact on the environment.

The discussion was so special because of the panellists that I had the privilege of moderating that day. I’ve linked to their bios below in case you are interested in learning more about their backgrounds and the organizations that they currently represent:

• Elizabeth Peyton-Jones, CEO & Founder of Models Trust
• Brandi Leifso, CEO & Founder of Evio Beauty Group
• Burak Cakmak, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Fashion Commission 

//