Marketing fashion products made from recycled materials

The world's oceans contain all kinds of rubbish, particularly plastic that pollutes and never decomposes--and fishing nets that have been thrown away. Now companies are turning ocean rubbish into 'green' clothing and accessories, stylish as well as a good path to sustainability. Consumers appreciate being able to make a difference through their purchases, the companies seek to accomplish societal objectives and the planet gets a little cleaner in the process.

Some brands are working with the nonprofit Parley for the Oceans to build awareness of the threats to ocean life and reuse discarded plastic in new products. Stella McCartney created a fashion collection based on recycled ocean plastics, for example, and also uses recycled nylon and polyester in fashion items. The sunglass brand Clean Waves markets products made from recycled ocean plastics, again in partnership with Parley for the Oceans.

The fast-fashion retailer H&M is buying nylon made from recycled fishing nets (from Aquafil) and turning it into stylish clothing. This partnership increases education about the challenges of ocean pollution and also showcases H&M as a firm actively working to improve sustainability.

Watch for more such partnerships as consumers increasingly seek out brands that are transparent about ethical sourcing and active in pursuing societal objectives.

L'Occitane teams with TerraCycle for sustainability

Group L'Occitane markets all-natural and organic personal care products through 3,200+ retail stores in 90 nations. With headquarters in Luxembourg and Switzerland, L'Occitane's annual turnover exceeds €1,300 million.

Tech-savvy L'Occitane is leveraging the trend of consumers connecting via mobile devices to personalise offers and encourage purchasing through the firm's many e-commerce sites worldwide.

Behind the scenes, the company also works with Provence-based suppliers to source sustainably-produced ingredients for its beauty products.

It's very committed to achieving goals for recycling. As this window display shows, L'Occitane stores in Canada and the US will accept empty containers from any cosmetics brand and recycle them in partnership with Terracycle, which turns the recycled and upcycled materials into eco-friendly new products for sale.

UK consumers can participate in Terracycle recycling in various ways, including bringing recyclable items to a nearby 'brigade' for free recycling.

This post offers an additional example of societal objectives as covered in Chapter 5 of my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.

Marketing Manifesto Brands

The French food giant Danone, known for yoghurt and other dairy products, as well as for Evian water, is now promoting its Manifesto, putting societal goals alongside marketing and financial goals.

Danone's website says: 'We built our Manifesto to reinforce our dual commitment to business success and social progress and to acknowledge that we cannot work for healthier choices and lifestyles without caring about the health and wellness of our communities'.

In fact, the company is planning new or repositioned products (manifesto brands) that fit with these goals of giving consumers the tools (in this case, food choices) to be healthier. Danone recently acquired the US-based White Wave company, which markets soy milks, almond milks and other products, to increase its presence in the growing American market for plant-based food products. As part of this acquisition, Danone had to divest Stonyfield Farm yoghurt, a brand known for organic ingredients and social responsibility, to satisfy regulatory concerns.

Danone's CEO explained the White Wave acquisition this way: 'By combining 100 years of dairy fermentation with plant-based technology we can reach customers all around the world through multichannels and invest in sustainable nutritious solutions for tomorrow'.

Now Danone will concentrate on its growing portfolio of healthy brands for multiple nations, advancing its financial and marketing goals as it advances its societal goals worldwide.