by Ms Manu

Created on: November 15, 2009

Have you seen the new Cover girl commercial with Ellen DeGeneres saying, "Inner beauty is important but not nearly as important as outer beauty", a paradox yet reality of the day, making packaging that much more important in the product lifecycle. In the wake of increasing trade over long distances what began as a means to protect the product has slowly evolved into the face of the product. Over the years the role of packaging has changed from that of a protector to an information provider and to that of a persuader. Catching the eye of the consumer, conveying information in terms of price, contents and also coaxing to buy it, along with media advertisements is largely done by packaging. Due to this cross functional and multi dimensional nature, it is an integral and an important ingredient in corporate decision making in cost savings, corporate profits, consumer satisfaction.

'Going green' is the catch phrase of today. For some it is a belief and for some it's a new trend, but whatever may it be, it is greatly impacting the way consumers are spending money. People are looking for greener alternatives and opting for the ones which are more environmentally friendly. Everybody wants to leave that much small a footprint on the environment and leave that much better environment for tomorrow. This has led to companies to adopt environmentally friendly practices which can be seen in packaging also. So today we are seeing packaging being done in recycled less toxic materials, some companies are redesigning their packaging to use as less packaging material as possible. This is a welcome change and is rapidly catching up with businesses everywhere, which are trying to be more socially conscious by being environmentally friendly. A lesser known aspect of socially responsible business practice is preventing misleading or deceptive packaging. There have been many instances where the consumers have been duped by intentional or accidental misrepresentation, which have a negative impact on the brand image. Today some companies are funding environmental projects to offset or eliminate their negative impact on the environment, and some are also funding social projects to improve the life of the less privileged.

With an environmentally friendly product, morally and ethically sound practices, socially conscious business can provide consumers with not only good product but also an emotional satisfaction of buying good as well as doing good. This leads to brand loyalty. Ethical practices promote employee workplace satisfaction, and also improve performance and leads to workforce retention. All these together enhance a positive brand image, which reaps in profit.

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