‘Ready for de-growth’: Sustainable brands on thriving in a growth obsessed world
The latest feature in our new series exploring marketing’s role in driving sustainability, we explore the reality of life as a sustainable business and the marketing challenge of “de-growth”.
Can sustainability provide a sustainable business model? While some believe the very concept of sustainable consumption is an oxymoron, others are working hard to create brands that can do business – and make a profit – while reducing their impact on the health of the planet.
On one hand, it can be easier for new brands to prioritise sustainable decisions but, on the other, established brands are the ones with the budgets for the capital investment often required to put them into practice, says Nc’nean Distillery founder Annabel Thomas.
Thomas spent four years fundraising before building the distillery and started making whisky in 2017, with bottling beginning in 2020. A new brand can embed its cultural philosophy in everything it does, giving it a structural advantage over long-established rivals, she says.
“The disadvantage that small companies have, and this is major, is a lack of resources. We don’t have access to expertise. We don’t have very much money to pay for it and, generally, sustainable things are more expensive. Also, we don’t have much influence,” Thomas adds.
