Article 1: What does responsible business really mean?

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Today, making a “simple” purchase has become a lot more complex and for good reason, as consumers must consider a variety of factors tied to the products they use daily. According to NEXT Data & Insights, the research arm of New Hope Network, the majority of today’s shoppers believe that purchasing products requires ethical decision making. In fact, 63% of millennials and 58% of Gen Xers believe that the act of buying a product is driven by morals. “What people eat, drink and put on their bodies is becoming a part of their identities and a reflection of their belief systems,” says Jessica Rubino, senior director of content marketing at New Hope Network. “Social and environmental issues really resonate among these consumers—and not only that, they’re willing to pay more for a company that is stepping up.” Such efforts take shape in a variety of ways, from clean formulations to detailed sustainability plans, nonprofit partnerships and robust benefits plans, according to our team of CSR experts. Here's what they had to say about building out a meaningful corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. For author and activist Alicia Silverstone, keynote of Clean.Caring.Impact session at Natural Products Expo West, values supporting social responsibility and sustainability are a driving force in life, work and nearly every decision she makes, including which brands she partners with. “Living a kind life has shaped my life immensely, from writing books to lobbying politicians on cruelty-free and plant-forward legislation to co-founding and working with companies that share similar values," she says. "My brain is always spinning with questions and ideas regarding health, ethics and the sustainability behind everything from food to beauty products to household goods. I have 'kind' goggles on and they influence every action I take."

Jackie Bowen Executive Director, Clean Label Project

Amy Jargo Senior Global Category Merchant, Beauty, Whole Foods Market

Martin Floreani CEO, French Transit Ltd.

The personal care CEO

Martin Floreani, CEO, French Transit Ltd.

How can businesses collaborate to support a more sustainable way of producing consumer products? The world is full of great ideas to improve sustainability, but the limiting factor is cost. Ironically, the economics of reducing waste and sustainable sourcing still lack the scale necessary to make better choices more affordable. Brands like ours are leading the way by absorbing those higher costs and providing value to our consumers in unique ways. Of course, increased consumer demand for less packaging and sustainably sourced ingredients has a considerable impact on costs. I believe that natural and mission-driven brands should collaborate in a more coordinated manner to promote the social and environmental benefits of minimized waste, clean science and sustainably sourced ingredients. Is there increased awareness of and appreciation for mission-driven businesses? Customers, especially millennials, care about authenticity and want to align themselves with brands that deliver a positive impact to the world. When I started with Crystal deodorant and MyChelle Dermaceuticals three years ago, the brands had nearly 35 and 20 years, respectively, of tangible socially responsible business models. Since their inception, these brands have gone above and beyond with clean, conscientious and caring business practices. Today, we continue supporting cancer foundations and clinics by being cruelty-free and working diligently to reduce carbon footprints and by improving the sustainability of every product. These efforts are what I thrive on as the CEO. In the past three years, we've increased the number of charitable organizations and non-profits we work with and our financial donations, along with the amount of time we spend on community projects. We have also made substantial efforts and investments to reduce plastics in our packaging. How are you are using business as a force for good? Being a force for good starts at home, so we feel it is essential to offer meaningful benefits, growth-oriented organizational structures and compensation opportunities to help improve the lives of our employees. These benefits include increased paid time off to volunteer with local community projects like Habitat for Humanity, Good Life Refuge and locally in Denver Metro Caring. We have also redirected holiday spending to donate to The Women's Bean Project, a Colorado non-profit that's dedicated to helping women's lives through social enterprise. Ultimately, our brands have the power to yield the highest impact to scale our mission, so we've committed to supporting great charitable organizations that truly make a difference in our communities and the environment. Reflecting on 2019, I am extremely proud of our sponsorships of The Gentle Barn, an animal sanctuary that promotes a cruelty-free and vegan lifestyle; Coral Restoration Foundation, the world's largest non-profit marine-conservation organization dedicated to restoring coral reefs to a healthy state; and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, the leading science-based policy and advocacy organization working to prevent breast cancer by eliminating our exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation. What is one creative business model you've put into place that has proven to have a positive impact on people, planet and profits? Our model is best described by our mantra of "Clean & Caring." "Clean" speaks to our formulations, the source of our ingredients and the scientific proof that we invest in to ensure it meets the highest quality and safety standards. It’s why we work with the Environmental Working Group and The Clean Label Project to continually improve. "Caring" speaks to the choices we make in our packaging to reduce waste and environmental impact. It's about the organizations we support like The Gentle Barn, Coral Restoration Foundation, BCPP and Women's Bean Project. We share the stories of our progress on our website, social platforms and with the media, so people see the positive impact of our "Clean & Caring" brands. What is the future of CSR, and how will you help drive this? Ultimately, the future of CSR will be defined by consumers. It's evolutionary and revolutionary at the same time. If consumers insist on change, it will happen. Companies will source cleaner ingredients and seek out sustainable packaging despite the higher costs. They'll support more social causes if they know consumers care. Consumers yield the most significant power in their purchasing decisions. Fortunately, consumers are smart, and I have a great deal of faith in the younger generations. They seem more aware of the looming environmental and social problems facing the planet than their ancestors. They understand the need for radical solutions and the cumulative impact of many small solutions. A series of small changes in the right direction will, at one point, amount to a pivotal turning point. Our CSR efforts may represent just a tiny change concerning what is ultimately needed, but perhaps a significant contributor to a larger turning point.

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What does responsible business really mean?

Four experts weigh in...

Clean.Caring.Impact – Case studies in CSR and using your business model for positive impact

Click to read what these experts have to say about building a meaningful corporate social responsibility plan.

How do you measure a company’s mission, purpose and CSR efforts? For 40 years since Whole Foods Market first opened its doors, selling the highest quality natural and organic products and caring for our communities and the environment have been key parts of the company’s core values. These values are not only important to our organization, but also to our customers. As a category merchant responsible for our beauty assortment, I am always looking for brands and products that share our core values and meet the needs of our customers, all while meeting Whole Foods Market’s industry-leading beauty and body care standards. A company’s mission and alignment with Whole Foods Market’s core values are central to how I evaluate partnering with brands. How do you communicate not just a product’s benefits but also a company’s purpose and impact to consumers? Communicating product and brand benefits is a partnership between Whole Foods Market and the supplier. As a category merchant I expect brands to drive customer awareness and education in partnership with Whole Foods Market. We often work with our suppliers to create marketing materials, and online and in-store content to highlight brands and their stories, as well as initiatives that are important to our customers. What are some company or product attributes that consumers are seeking out today, that they maybe weren’t paying attention to in past years? Speaking from a beauty and body care standpoint, our customers are increasingly aware of the ingredients in their products. Every product we carry meets Whole Foods Market’s rigorous Quality Standards. Our body care standards ban more than 100 ingredients commonly used in conventional body care products, including phthalates, parabens, microbeads, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, triclosan, BHT, BHA and aluminum chlorohydrate. Our customers are also looking for products from companies that care about the community and the environment.

Amy Jargo, Senior Global Category Merchant, Beauty, Whole Foods Market

The retailer

Vegan beauty products While this may have always been a requirement for some of our customers, more and more beauty customers are specifically looking for product that is vegan. Regenerative agriculture Many customers are seeking out brands that practice regenerative agriculture, which generally describes farming and grazing practices that restore degraded soil, improve biodiversity and increase carbon capture to create long-lasting environmental benefits. Plastic-free packaging Some customers have moved on from seeking out recycled and recyclable plastics to eliminating it from their lives entirely. Waterless products Body care products that do not contain water help to reduce the use of natural resources and they are lighter, helping reduce the carbon footprint that comes with shipping water around the globe. Thoughtfully formulated We’re mindful of the impacts that ingredients in beauty and body care products might have on the environment. To that end, we recently became the first national retailer to ban both oxybenzone and octinoxate from all body care, two ingredients commonly found in chemical sunscreens and body care products, which are linked to damaging marine environments and ecosystems, including coral reefs.

How are companies coming together to create cleaner, more effective alternatives? Clean Label Project is excited about the growth of our certification program. We currently have 50 brands certified with another 50 brands in process. Whether it’s baby foods, protein powders, pet foods, personal care products or household cleaners, brands continue to embrace the use of data, science and transparency in their marketing. Marketing departments can do an effective job at selling comfort and security by arming consumers with the facts in terms of packaging claims that are accompanied by test reports or QR codes. Providing consumers the opportunity to pop the hood and kick the tires is now best practice. Better yet, using evidence-based benchmarks enables brands to quantitatively demonstrate superiority and have a compelling reason to win with retailers and consumers. What types of business practices and initiatives are supporting the development of cleaner products? Being honest and transparent about ingredient quality is what’s supporting development of cleaner products. We’ve treated raw agricultural ingredients as commodities for far too long. When you use analytical chemistry testing, it reveals very real differences in ingredient and finished product quality. Whether it’s contamination with pesticides or heavy metals, or certain products in a category having significantly more antioxidants in their ingredients, analytical chemistry testing reveals true product contents. Better yet, evidence-based benchmarked testing, such as the benchmarked data provided and relied on by Clean Label Project, reveals how product quality, supplier assurance, and brand risk, stacks up against your competitors. What is urging consumers to seek out clean beauty alternatives? Consumers got the message that “you are what you eat.” The growth of the organic industry is proof of this. Organic food sales in the U.S. rose 5.9% in 2018 to reach $47.9 billion, according to the 2019 Organic Industry Survey released by the Organic Trade Association. Organic food sales made up 5.7% of overall U.S. food sales, which rose 2.3% in 2018. The U.S. organic market grew 6.3% to $52.5 billion as non-food sales increased nearly 11% to reach $4.6 billion. What we are experiencing with clean beauty is that it’s no longer just about what you put in your body that has an effect on your health. It’s also a matter of what you put on your skin. How has the definition of “clean” evolved? “Clean” used to just mean an ingredient deck that didn’t contain chemical-sounding ingredients that were difficult to say and virtually impossible to spell. However, consumer expectations have evolved beyond that. Now I like to say that sometimes what’s not on a label is what’s most important. There is a growing disconnect between the court of law and the court of public opinion when it comes to what is considered “safe.” You continue to see studies hit mainstream media around heavy metals in America’s best-selling baby foods, Roundup/glyphosate in America’s best-selling breakfast cereals and BPA (a plasticizer known to have links to endocrine disruption) leeching from product packaging. The reality is that these products are often completely compliant according to current food safety regulation. The court of public opinion? Well, that’s a completely different story. Meeting regulatory requirements should be viewed as table stakes. Brands that shift their true north to align with consumer expectations around avoiding chemicals of concerns and actively monitoring and testing for industrial and environmental contaminants in their supply chains are better equipped to meet long-term evolving consumer wants and needs.

Jackie Bowen, Executive Director, Clean Label Project

The product certifier

In her role as executive director of the Clean Label Project, Jackie Bowen is defining the future of clean label and ensuring companies are responsible about product purity and potency in order to meet consumer demand. As the term “clean label” evolves, so too does the definition of corporate social responsibility.

The best retailers act as gatekeepers, enforcing rigorous vetting processes so that the highest-quality products and most authentic brands make their way into consumers’ hands. When it comes to CSR, Amy Jargo uses her role as global beauty category manager at Whole Foods Market to raise the bar for the industry at large.

As CEO of global personal care company French Transit Ltd, Martin Floreani is committed to using business as a force for good. Here, he shares what it takes to consider sustainability and consumer health every step of the way, while growing your business.

Jay Weiner Co-Founder, The Gentle Barn

How has The Gentle Barn built successful partnerships with brands, retailers and influencers to spread its mission and vision? The Gentle Barn is a nonprofit animal sanctuary and has used its platform to create an in-depth program to develop corporate social responsibility in for-profit corporations specifically with natural and cruelty-free products. I established the Gentle 12 program, which is designed to integrate a for-profit entity into a deep relationship with The Gentle Barn. The Gentle 12 offers a marketing strategy to connect the products to a community that is greatly receptive to the natural products world in exchange for product being donated to the organization, along with a financial contribution to help support the work being done at The Gentle Barn. This only works because of the shared mission of both the for-profit entity and the nonprofit organization. What do you look for in a brand partnership? When trying to connect The Gentle Barn with for-profit companies, we look for several key factors. The first and most important is a shared mission of teaching people kindness and compassion to animals, each other and our planet. The second is a desire for the for-profit organization to want to support The Gentle Barn as much as, if not more than, they want to receive recognition for themselves. It has to be a win-win. The third is that the for-profit company’s product line, or at least a large percentage of it, is vegan and cruelty-free. Lastly, the for-profit entity is utilizing the relationship to engage the entire staff of the company in an effort to develop team-building and healthy corporate social responsible practices. How does your work tie to the greater vision of the natural products industry, particularly that of the clean beauty industry, to create a healthier world? In the beauty industry, animals are considered a product and are used for testing in cruel and inhumane ways. Running a sanctuary and being able to talk about the value of animals as sentient beings helps businesses to consider creating products that are natural, safer and more environmentally beneficial. Choosing a cruelty-free and vegan product doesn’t just help animals or the environment, it also changes the consciousness of the consumer. Why is collaboration important to bringing more health to more people and animals? How have you seen collaboration have a positive impact? The Gentle Barn’s approach is just what it sounds like: It takes a gentle approach, meaning instead of telling people what to do and cramming it down their throat, we collaborate with them to help them discover the idea and need for change on their own. We’re there only as a guide, thus making their transition to a more conscious and environmentally supportive lifestyle more permanent. The Gentle Barn sees collaboration as the only means to the way.

Jay Weiner, Co-Founder, The Gentle Barn

The advocate

Jessica Rubino Senior Director, Content Marketing, New Hope Network/Informa Health & Nutrition