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Consumer Goods
Sustainability & the Consumer & Household Goods Industry The manufacturers and marketers of retail products have come under increasing scrutiny for their labor practices, the health impacts of their products, and the impact of manufacturing on communities, particularly in the developing world. More recently, attention has turned to their environmental impacts, including material sourcing, energy intensity and waste generation. A number of firms, such as Levi’s, Unilever, Patagonia, and Tom’s of Maine have committed to significantly reducing the environmental impacts of their operations, which opens new risks for those who have not.
Increasingly, consumers and retailers demand products with higher environmental performance, which may translate into removing higher toxicity ingredients and sourcing materials from more sustainable suppliers. Today there is far more supply chain scrutiny of pulp/paper, cotton and rare earth metals, to name a few. Walmart, and other retailers, are also pushing consumer goods manufacturers to reduce other impacts, such as minimizing packaging, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water use, and generating less waste. However, consumer preference for green products is still modest, so the most successful companies will deliver products that perform better environmentally while still competing on price and functionality.
Opportunities
Competing against corporate giants is challenging to all smaller businesses. MSP can help level the playing field between your company and industry behemoths, by helping you create an effective plan to address industry changes and pressures related to sustainability.
We can help you:
- Address the rising environmental performance bar being set by retailers
- Understand how to meet or exceed consumer expectations for product design
- Develop and communicate policies that address sourcing, packaging, greenhouse gas emissions and waste in a manner that increases the desirability of your product and strengthens your brand
- Develop strategies to minimize supplier impacts on the environment and the risk of these impacts to your value chain
- Collaborate with industry peers to raise standards and transform the market