A brief article we came across on www.environmentalleader.com, discusses consumer preferences for verification of company claims regarding social and environmental issues.
In research conducted by the National Marketing Institute, results show that 45% of Lohas consumers surveyed look for some sort of proof behind a claim of social or environmental responsibility, while 41% say they like to see third party verification of those claims.
Unfortunately, there is no data on which third-party verifiers consumers trust versus which ones they feel less comfortable believing. The research does indicate that consumers in the study would prefer that these verifiers be non-profits though. Perhaps a concern here is lack of trust of the companies and the government regulators or maybe a belief that a non-profit would have the least biased and most objective measurements.
Clearly, we are missing important pieces of our decision making puzzle. We have much more information available to us to make choices than ever before and yet, that also means there is far more information to sift through. Visionary Values believes that consumers must take control of how these measurements are developed and applied and lay the burden of proof at the feet of those making the claims and hold them to it. As we all move forward in establishing acceptable and trustworthy standards for measuring the adherence of companies to triple bottom line business practices, the opportunity for greenwashing will diminish greatly and eventually disappear.
Let us know what you think about our current options of third party verification. Which ones do you look for?
