Greenwashing was a hot topic at the recent Naturally Good health and wellness expo, with AOL CEO, Niki Ford, highlighting the lack of regulation for the use of 'organic' a major issue.
The two-day event, held from 3-4 June, brought together suppliers, retailers, and consumers looking to explore the latest innovations in the organic food and beverage market. Naturally Good also hosted a Summit, featuring panel discussions on critical issues in the industry, such as sustaining business growth.
These included a panel on truth in labelling, following recent increased scrutiny around language used to describe sustainable and organic products. Particularly prevalent have been a recent investigation by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission investigation, and a Senate inquiry into greenwashing.
The panel was facilitated by journalist and health marketing specialist, Lisa Crawford Jones, and also included Soulfresh founder and organic advocate, Didi Lo, and Edge Impact principal sustainability consultant, Sarah Day.
During the panel, Day’s focus was on helping businesses identify the levers within their value chain to execute and manage a sustainable future, through clear communication of their work to consumers.
“It is so important for the organics industry to have a strong brand that appropriately represents the effort and outcomes associated with organic products,” said Day.
“On top of avoiding mislabelling, it’s also important brands effectively convey their great sustainability credentials to consumers who can sometimes be unsure what they’re looking at.”
Australian Organic Limited CEO, Niki Ford, represented the certified organic industry on the panel, after her call for harsher penalties around corporate greenwashing at the latest Senate inquiry public hearing in Canberra on 24 May.
“We’re constantly fighting against greenwashing. With no regulation on the use of the word ‘organic’ in Australia, unfortunately there is some deceptive labelling out there, which undermines the hard work of more than 3,000 organic operators who undergo rigorous product certification to back up their claims,” said Ford.
“We want to help educate businesses around sustainability claims. You can’t just say words, you have to back them up.
“Consumers are asking the deeper questions around what sustainability means and how the products they buy fit in with that. Greenwashing not only damages individual brands, but it can impact the entire sector.”
Ford also participated on the judging panel for this year’s Naturally Good Awards, celebrating the brands and innovations championing sustainability.
