The Tamesis
“People might ask what other word could they use instead of ‘ethically made’ and I say talk about a living wage, but they don’t pay a living wage. So when you take away that broad term, it reveals that some brands are not doing enough,” she said.
Eliminate ego and focus on the consumer
When a brand starts talking less about sustainability commitments and more about product and performance, customers come into view and the focus shifts to how they will experience the product. Sustainability expert and co-founder of change agency Futerra, Solitaire Townsend, says being consumer-centric and offering a value proposition is crucial to successfully communicating sustainability.
“[Previously] “The vast majority of sustainability campaigns are self-marketing, with companies trying to gain more recognition for what they do without making a recommendation to consumers,” she said. When Futerra reviewed award-winning sustainability campaigns from 2024, Townsend said, less than 20% conveyed any functional, emotional or social benefit to consumers. She went on to say that they should make consumers feel like the heroes buying their products, rather than brands playing the heroes, even if sustainability is not their main motivation for buying it.
“Consumers care about whether the product is healthy, whether the product makes them feel good, whether the product is cheaper. They care about whether the product is easy to use … and whether they can travel with it,” she said. Sustainability must support and adhere to these aspirations.
To comply with European Commission regulations, Zalando wanted to understand what sustainability information its customers were seeking and collated the results in its 2025 It Takes Many report. “Customers want to know more about what the product will do for them. They want to know more about the quality, durability and how to better care for the product. They also want to know more about the resale value of the product,” says Brun. With these personal catalysts in mind, the retailer launched a “wardrobe care” series on social media in 2025 to provide customers with practical advice on how to repair, customize, care for and extend the life of their clothing.
Choose your audience wisely
Not all brand communications are purely consumer-focused, and brands can maximize the impact of their communications by targeting multiple audiences simultaneously through different media. Townsend recommends a layered structure: The first layer is the value proposition, which should be communicated across the board, from social media posts to product descriptions; the second layer provides space for more information through mediums such as infographics or short videos, which will appear on the brand website and spread across social media.
Evans’ client Groundtruth exemplifies this approach. The company promotes its bags as durable, suitable for any use, and tested by famous adventurers. Next up are recycled and vegan materials. Its documentary production sister company Groundtruth Productions, dedicated to inspiring climate action through storytelling, has a standalone website and rarely cross-posts content to major brands’ social media. its latest movie, kulenausing sport as a solution to the plastic pollution crisis. At a brand level, it uses sturdy bags as a gateway to discover climate stories.
