A Sustainable Brand Lost Me as a Customer

Lori Stem

loristemou@gmail.com (lstem603219@ohio.edu)

Ethical principles do, and should, exist in advertising

Are advertisers ethical? Do we inherently trust or distrust the ads we see?

The IAE, Institute for Advertising Ethics, spells out its principles and practices for ethical advertising, "New media, new ideas, new challenges, new culture opportunities are swirling around the industry and impacting the way it does business. The one constant is transparency, and the need to conduct ourselves, our business, and our relationships with consumers in a fair, honest, and forthright manner."

Unfortunately, my experience with a sustainable consumer brand did not feel transparent. 

Hopping on the sustainability movement

My younger sister works in conservation. She is always looking for the latest products or hacks to live a more sustainable lifestyle. 

We were just talking the other day and she was telling me she wants to try shampoo and conditioner bars to ditch the plastic bottles she keeps buying. 

She felt unsure of what brand to try. Needless to say, she turned to social media to look for ideas.

My relationship, or lack thereof (mostly), with social media

I'll admit I am not much of a social media user. I have an Instagram account only because I needed to create one for a class for school, and I've never made a post. This does not mean I have not succumbed to watching endless dog videos or falling victim to impulse shopping because of an eye-catching ad that was thrown my way.

I have a LinkedIn account for professional networking. I've never created a Facebook or Twitter account. I don't use Snapchat or any of the other countless popular apps. I get all the gossip I need from my family and friends that use these apps thank you very much!

Maybe I live in the stone age a bit (ironically I work in a software development team). I do recognize the positives to social media, and I do recognize all of the negatives. Personally, not being on these platforms is incredibly freeing.

Instagram targeted the right consumer - me!

Credit: freepik

Back to the sustainable brand I tried. My sister already purchased from this company and I trusted their judgment. Mix her review with some flashy eye-catching ads I saw on Instagram and I was suckered in - I bought the hand soap and dish soap with refillable bottles. 

I was excited when my shipment arrived. I carefully opened the recyclable packaging and immediately started coughing. 

This was not a little tickle in your throat cough - this was a full-fledged choking and gasping for breath cough that felt like it lasted forever. 

Seeing as I have asthma, I was immediately nervous. What did I just inhale?!

The dust inside the packaging and from the dish soap itself was immense. This was nothing like any of their videos or images of someone sprinkling the dish soap powder onto a wet sponge, giving a nice squeeze for suds, and happily scrubbing their bowl clean. 

There was no wayyy I could use this product, and I couldn't imagine it was safe for anyone else. 

Lies from customer service

I went to the company website to see how to get a refund. Normally, I don't bother. Returning items can be such a hassle sometimes, but this seemed worth it and I wanted to explain why to the company. 

A customer service rep emailed me back pretty quickly. She apologized for any inconveniences and my poor experience, promised to send my feedback to the product team, and started the return and refund process.

She also included this message in her email, "We'd like to share that all of our ingredients go through extreme vetting through our partnership with Cradle to Cradle where we have Platinum Material Health Certificates (the highest rating) for all of our formulations. The certificate indicates that we "go beyond restricted substances to encourage healthier and safer materials in packaging and cleaning solutions optimized for human and environmental health"." 

I looked at their website "Ingredient Philosophy" page. Their dish soap does NOT have this certificate. Full stop.

Credit: Blueland.com

Digging further, I see so many reviews similar to my experience when using this dish soap. Consumers who could not stop coughing were worried for their safety. Some say they feel duped.

One consumer said her lungs burned after inhaling the dust and she was surprised there was not a warning. 

Transparency matters

I understand companies are trying to sell their products. I understand marketing. I understand there is endless data on us to target the right people.

But companies I have faith in and am loyal to are the brands that are transparent and truthful. If a health hazard is found, I will be loyal to companies that own it, are honest, and take action to correct the problem. 

This sustainable company did not live up to its images, videos, and advertising. Their customer service messages were misleading and dishonest. 

Ethical advertising and messaging can make or break customer experience and retention, revenue, and reputation. 

Learn about the lack of transparency in the Volkswagon Scandal and fallout. 

 

Tell me your thoughts. Were you misled by unethical consumer advertising? Drop me a comment. Thanks!