Communicating actionable sustainability information to consumers

Abstract

There is growing information about sustainability and growing consumer awareness about these issues, but none of these are readily translating into action. In this paper we look at why the information provided to consumers on sustainability issues and their solutions are not sufficiently actionable, and propose an alternative method of communicating product-related sustainability information to consumers. Our Shades of Green (SoG) instrument is designed to help and support consumers in their decision-making by providing simple yet comprehensive information about the environmental and social sustainability impacts of products. It brings clarity to sustainability communication on the consumer-company interface by incorporating a set of key sustainability issues over the product's life-cycle by dividing these issues into three levels from minimum through advanced integration of sustainability to innovation for sustainability. Additionally, the SoG instrument makes it easier for companies to structure their sustainability communication into a more actionable form. We illustrate the operationalization of the SoG instrument for the textile domain.