The Power of Marketing: How Too Much or Too Little Information Can Harm Business and Hurt Consumers
by Lauren Terry
Within the past decade, sustainability has been an increasingly significant priority in America. A recent study by Arabella Ruiz, senior researcher at The Roundup, revealed that 78% of consumers feel that sustainability is important, and 84% of customers say that poor environmental practices will alienate them from a brand or company. Due to this increasing consumer interest in sustainability, businesses have taken many steps to ensure that they are matching consumers’ drive to be better. However, some efforts are more genuine than others.
While many businesses that strive to become more sustainable throughout their network, others fall short but act as if they are doing more. According to a study by ProfileTree, 90% of business leaders believe in the cause to “Go Green,” but only 60% of this percentage implement true sustainability measures. Most businesses agree that they should encourage sustainable business practices. However, many struggle due to its tradeoffs, such as added costs and its impact on employees and consumers. As a result, some companies opt to appear “green” to lure consumers to their products/services, rather than actually making the investments to be truly green.
Study by ProfileTree
Companies that want to maintain their current business practices but also appear to be more sustainable may try to market themselves as a more “green” company. This is known as greenwashing—the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice. An example of a company that has greenwashed is Keurig Green Mountain. This company came out with an ad that claimed that 100% of their K-cup pods were recyclable. In reality, the K-cups were only recyclable in very few specific communities, creating a misleading statement. In the end, Keurig wasted people’s time and money with this marketing and have been going against a $10 million settlement. Another that was exposed for greenwashing was Starbucks, in which they were called out for releasing a lid that did not require a straw. This seemed like a good idea and was promoted as if they were being more environmentally friendly, when in reality the new lids actually contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combined. Both Keurig and Starbucks knew that many of their consumers felt guilty about the amount of plastic involved with their products. These strategies were attempts to make the customers feel better about their purchase, as well as make the business look better. As more and more companies are being exposed for their misleading marketing, the strive for transparency has grown. Many consumers simply want companies to have realistic sustainability goals and benchmarks on their progress towards those goals. Releasing unrealistic but flashy sustainability goals comes off as uninspiring and (to many people) fake.
Due to this backlash, other companies have now resulted to the opposite of greenwashing, which is greenhushing. This term refers to the practice where companies undersell or deliberately withhold information about their environmental efforts and achievements. This could be done to avoid attention on their efforts until they achieve results they are proud of. BlackRock, for example, has removed its references to its commitment of helping reach net zero emissions by 2050 from its website even though their CEO said the firm will continue to discuss climate issues. It could also be done to keep a company’s target market happy. While some employees and consumers appreciate the steps to become more sustainable, not everyone always agrees with the added effort. Another company exposed for greenhushing is Tractor Supply, which scrapped their climate change and DEI goals after receiving backlash from their customers that led to a decrease in sales. Companies that are greenhushing are setting good goals towards improving their business for the people, planet, and profit, but hide or ditch their efforts to avoid disappointing their customers, which can be even more frustrating than greenwashing.
For every company, marketing can make or break the business. While sustainability has become a growing priority for consumers, the way businesses respond to these demands is crucial and can vary significantly depending on its target market. Failing to follow through with sustainability initiatives can result in greenwashing allegations, which have caused other companies to downplay their efforts through greenhushing. Ultimately, companies need to be transparent in their efforts towards these sustainability initiatives by setting realistic goals and balancing their specific consumer expectations to become successful in the long-term.
