CSR and brands
However, opting for a speech on a CSR commitment means exposing oneself to the risk of media bashing : eco-money laundering, image greening, greenwashing, ecological masquerade… the terms abound to describe the opportunism of certain brands to take up the ecological theme.
But then, which posture to adopt ?
Brands are lost in a ‘double bind’ of meaning without seeming to be promoting. Indeed, having a CSR commitment means adopting a paradoxically non-marketed marketing register to be credible ! Whether so-and-so brakes on plastic or palm oil, supports farmers or digs wells in Africa is no longer enough, this promotion must be anticipated by concrete actions around the product and a silent but profound transformation of brand values.
Thus, it is common that despite all the good actions of brands, we hear consumers hammering at us their demand for the “cleanliness” and traceability of the products they consume/use : “perhaps we should start by having a recyclable pack, no? ” “Made in France but where do the ingredients come from ?” “Isn’t that lab the one that has phenoxyethanol in some of its products?”. And above all : let’s talk a little, let’s talk well with packaging whose codes are being revised to make them more simple and transparent. The power of the low position : no longer trying to be the best but demonstrating the essential.
The result is a consumer who has the feeling of making a responsible choice and for whom consumption is an addition of small political acts that enhance his status as an eco-citizen on a daily basis.
“Il n’y a pas d’amour il n’y a que des preuves.d’amour” Pierre Reverdy, french poet (
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