Safer products through informing consumers

The third pillar of leadership: informing consumers

Sharing ingredient information with consumers is key to business leadership on chemicals. It can build consumer confidence, trust, loyalty – and market advantage.

Numerous surveys and advocacy campaigns reveal that people want more ingredient information than is typically available today. The key to success in Informing Consumers is providing product ingredient information that is comprehensive, accessible, and importantly, meaningful.

Consumers want to:

• Have easy access to consistent, reliable information
• Feel empowered when making purchasing decisions for themselves and their families
• Understand what they’re bringing into their homes
• Avoid adverse health and environmental impacts
• Trust that brands and retailers respect their interest in knowing product composition

How does a company cultivate an informed consumer? For starters, by sharing ingredient information on product packaging and online for products it makes or sells, with content that extends well beyond regulatory requirements.

While packaging physically limits the amount of information that can be shared with consumers, online ingredient disclosure allows greater flexibility in terms of the extent and type of ingredient information, as well as how that information is accessed and presented.

Overcoming hurdles on the path to leadership

• Available information

Companies themselves can have trouble finding the ingredient information that’s important to share with consumers. For example, manufacturers may not know the individual ingredients of a fragrance blend used in their products, yet this information can be critically important for consumers with allergies.

Developing a Supply Chain Transparency plan – another core pillar of chemicals leadership – can enable effective systems for increasing information flows and expanding product ingredient information. While it may seem daunting to share your full ingredient list online, leadership companies like Seventh Generation and Beauty Counter are doing so today – and building both brand respect and market value along the way.

• Managing an online platform

Online disclosure involves the transfer of internal data to a public-facing platform. To do this, a company may face software infrastructure challenges. Managing this effectively will require time, personnel, and financial resources. The site will need regular maintenance to ensure product information is always up-to-date, particularly if a formulation changes, and to accommodate increased data as the company gains more transparency into product ingredients.