Luxury goes Green

Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and prepared to do research when it comes to their favorite brands’ environmental efforts. Nowadays, the consumer looking to go green is progressively more likely to be an affluent professional woman wearing an eco-friendly and animal-free Stella McCartney suit and satin shoes. Furthermore, if a brand wants that consumers dollars and her loyalty, they need to pay attention to the priorities she finds important when making her selection of luxury goods and services. Luxury consumers are also looking beyond their pocketbooks to larger issues, like protecting the environment, global warming, and avoiding water and air pollution. Going green, though, is not as easy as just presenting an all natural, animal-friendly, or eco-sustainable line for their audience.

"Many marketers are skeptical about the green trend,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience. “They don't know whether it has legs or is just a fad of the moment. I am convinced that this issue is only going to gain momentum in the future, with the affluent consumers in particular taking the lead as early adopters of green living. So the call is for luxury brands to connect with their customers who are increasingly green aware and eco-conscious by making green marketing a part of their strategy. Luxury marketers can learn by studying trend-setters who are creating a dedicated following among green- living luxury consumers,"

As I continued to research strategies for going green, I found that in order for a brand to truly appeal to their eco-friendly consumers, they must adopt several characteristics to market and represent the brand.

First of all, the brand should be accountable. Companies should acknowledge that environmental issues such as climate change are real and that, despite good intentions, they are a part of the problem. They can be, though, a big part of the solution. At this point, businesses are likely to alienate few consumers with such a statement and can begin to attract the growing number of consumers looking for green brand leadership. Additionally, businesses, such as Burberry, could audit their own operations and the lifecycle of their products – including sourcing, use, and disposal – to determine their environmental impact and track these metrics over time.

Luxury companies should also be credible. Today, brand efforts can be questionable; too many companies have tried to “go green” yet failed at actual environmental efforts. As such, companies must work hard to build credibility and earn consumer trust over time. One way for a company to do so is to first green its internal operations, followed by its products and services, and then its marketing communications. This way, companies ensure that they take responsibility for their own actions before encouraging consumers to do so with their products or through their brand message.

Another important factor in going green is to be a visionary. Visionaries are willing to make bold decisions that redefine their strategy or reshape industry dynamics. For example, Rose Marie Bravo entire repositioning of Burberry, as previously discussed in this blog. Although, her efforts were not necessarily about the environment, it takes leadership and visions like hers to completely upgrade a brand.

Smart brand marketers should think twice about simply focusing on near-term green revenue and cost savings opportunities; the path for sustaining growth needs to start with greening the entire brand.