Marketing for Sustainability and the Circular Economy

Exciting Companies in This Space

1. Zero-waste retailers like Nada, Jarr, Livlite, and the Tare Shop have made it possible for brands like TruEarth laundry strips, Make Nice dish soap, and Abeego beeswax wraps to thrive in the consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) market.

2. Meanwhile, many other brands have figured out how to provide a “second life” for materials, thereby reducing the need to produce something new for market demand.

3. Companies like FABCYCLE, the deadstock fabric store, and Collective Will, the fashionable clothing consignment store, exist to reduce textile waste, while Susgrainable and The Rotten Fruit Box upcycle whole foods and food byproducts to make something special.

Unique Selling Position (USP)

What makes these brands so marketable is that their unique selling position (USP) is 100% baked into how they source, finish, and sell their products to customers. Here are three common marketing objectives that these brands accomplish using their digital marketing channels: 

1. Instead of using the product’s packaging to convey brand aesthetic, they demonstrate sustainability by showcasing their lack of packaging. Visual-heavy marketing channels like social media are great for this.

2. These brands are looking to position themselves as the #1 alternative to what consumers already know is a non-environmentally friendly choice. SEO marketing that help brands rank high for eco-conscious keywords accomplish this.

3. Educating consumers who are new to sustainable shopping practices by providing them with easy-to-understand instructions and lifestyle creative help shoppers purchase with confidence. Using email marketing to reach past and prospective customers offers a great way to encourage sustainable purchasing.

Exciting Companies in This Space

1. Companies like RainStick Shower and CarbinX have revolutionized the way we think about energy consumption with their innovative technology. The RainStick shower recirculates water that goes down the drain through a triple filtered system that allows for both an 80% reduction in water usage as well as an 80% reduction in energy usage.

2. Meanwhile, the CarbinX is the world's first carbon capture device for facilities and residential buildings alike. Their tower-like machine sits inside your typical boiler room area, pulling CO2 from the air and transforming it into pearl ash, a key ingredient for soap, which they sell through their secondary company, CleanO2.

3. Other companies like Growing Greener Innovations, Solstice, and DJ Bikes are expanding what the definition of what solar energy and battery-powered technology can do in our daily lives.

Translating Complexity

What all of the above brands share, when it comes to digital marketing, is how they reduce the complexity of adopting new technologies. Here are three examples:

1. Illustrate what the customer is undertaking after the point-of-purchase in three, easy-to-understand steps. Bonus points for use of videos, gifs, and interactive media.

2. Cost-to-benefit calculators are fun tools that show people how the money they invest in renewable energy systems will come back to them in earned savings, down the line.

3. Leverage the Founder’s voice, on social media and in email marketing, to sell the story of a brighter future. After all, people buy from people, not amorphous brands, so a personal approach to marketing and selling is easier to understand when complexity is high.

Exciting Organizations in This Space

1. The importance of collaboration and cross-affiliated efforts is at the root of organizations like the Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia as seen by their constant dedication to raising the voices of members of local Indigenous communities who hold multi-generational knowledge and insights about natural preservation and sustenance.

2. Meanwhile, the Surfrider Foundation’s work to normalize ocean preservation by way of lifestyle has offered the public a way to participate in a culture of conservation through everyday activities.

3 Marketing Examples

Both new and well established goodwill organizations like the above are looking to update or even lead a cause that is important to their community. Below are three must-do’s for any wildlife preservation and natural conservation brand:

1. Signing up for Google Grants and/or other non-profit and charity specific benefits (such as those available through TechSoup), opens up a lot of efficiencies and marketing channel opportunities that would otherwise go unused.

2. Hosting frequent events, whether in-person or online, is a great way to keep patrons, members or any other group of subscribing people continuously interested and engaged with your brand, at a relatively low cost of production.

3. Publishing periodical content, such as a magazine, blog, or newsletter, helps ensure you have frequent access to the attention of people who are most likely to support your cause.