tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/loreal-39960/articlesL'Oreal – The Conversation2021-11-23T16:27:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1620552021-11-23T16:27:30Z2021-11-23T16:27:30ZWestern luxury brands are entering a risky pact with China’s influencers<p>French cosmetics giant L'Oréal has been going through a <a href="https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/business/loreal-offers-vouchers-to-end-spat-with-chinas-l1lipstick-brother-100660292/">massive retail row</a> in China after two leading social media influencers sold large quantities of the company’s beauty face masks to consumers while inaccurately claiming it was the cheapest deal available anywhere. </p>
<p>Influencers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lipstick-king-sold-17-billion-stuff-in-12-hours-2021-10?r=US&IR=T">Austin Li Jiaqi</a> and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3114905/5-chinese-social-media-stars-using-their-influencer-fame">Wei Ya</a> regularly reach tens of millions of shoppers on their two e-commerce livestreams, and the November 11 “singles day” festival has become one of their most eagerly anticipated broadcasts. This year, among the many products they were each selling on that evening was the supposedly special offer of batches of 50 L'Oréal masks for ¥429 (£49.85). But it emerged shortly after that the same deal was available direct from L'Oréal for ¥258. </p>
<p>Li, known as China’s “lipstick king” for his ability to sell masses of product online, and Wei, a former pop star who rose to fame as the winner of China’s equivalent of Pop Idol, started receiving large volumes of complaints from furious shoppers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5x6BWjJmrQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Both influencers issued apologies. After L'Oréal did not immediately say it would compensate those who had bought the masks, the influencers said they would no longer showcase the company’s products. </p>
<p>Now L'Oréal <a href="https://www.globalcosmeticsnews.com/loreal-china-apologises-over-singles-day-blunder/">has apologised</a> and <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1239262.shtml">confirmed</a> it will provide compensation. In <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/loreal-says-it-reached-agreement-with-chinese-influencers-2021-11-18/">a statement</a>, the company blamed its “overly complicated sales mechanism” and said it had “found a constructive and satisfactory solution to address the recent customers complaints in relation with singles day promotion”.</p>
<p>The row has not been pleasant for anyone involved, but it shows how important influencers have become as endorsers of luxury goods in China. So how has the market changed, and what does it mean for customers?</p>
<h2>Changing face of luxury retail</h2>
<p>China is the <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1225748.shtml">most important market</a> in the world for luxury goods, with Chanel, Dior, Cartier and Hermès among the <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chanel-dior-top-china-luxury-115032266.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMffASnLXnES4huvR6bYrO0Ncj1Z-sZmFlBDChWxD6up578J-wViP93sUD8HiNHKdT7kcyakp_0QMC0EEzVwIeQ4nxcwuC497Ek1YX3xicVxXlKo3f72l1qrsDiuvzahZGrgX5HqTJp5_zQbdQiS6_AapnlAHbDQeqLGzN3wMY3u">leading brands</a> in the country. The market has been doing strong business during COVID. For example, major Hong Kong-based luxuries retailer Chow Tai Fook <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/681236/annual-revenue-of-chow-tai-fook-enterprises/">has reported</a> an annual revenue increase of nearly 24% in its 2021 financial year, mostly from mainland China. </p>
<p>Luxury brands have traditionally relied on flagship stores in the best shopping districts to connect with their customers. The number and size of stores has continued increasing in leading malls like <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/plaza-66-shanghai-sales-surge-1234718385/">Plaza 66</a> in Shanghai and <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/skp-beijing-replaces-harrods-tops-global-retail-sales-1234723843/">SKP Beijing</a>, where all the top luxury brands have large external facades and dazzling logo displays. They also use historical buildings, such as the ones situated at the north of the <a href="https://www.chinahighlights.com/shanghai/attraction/the-bund.htm">Shanghai Bund</a> waterfront district. </p>
<p>But while physical stores are still important, most brands seek to extend their reach online. A major part of this is through using the internet as a way to communicate their relationships with celebrities. </p>
<p>Cartier, for example, invites Chinese movie stars to attend its promotional events. These would include star actors like <a href="http://www.wongkarwai.net/tony-leung-talks-about-the-grand-master-at-a-cartier-event/">Tony Leung</a>, and more recently actor <a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/actor-chang-chen-attends-cartier-event-on-january-19-2018-news-photo/907029558">Chang Chen</a> and actor/singer <a href="https://www.tatlerasia.com/style/jewellery/cartier-presents-juste-un-clou-campaign-with-lu-han">Lu Han</a>, who would be described as “good friends of Cartier” to highlight the brand’s prestige through these connections.</p>
<p>But when Cartier has tried to use social media to promote these celebrity attachments, consumers have reacted badly. I have read thousands of comments (in Chinese) from people ridiculing the watchmaker for referring to its endorsers as “friends”, claiming that this detracts from the importance of their favourite stars. Most Chinese people would say that “guest” is a more respectful choice of word than “friend”.</p>
<p>Perhaps partly because of such experiences, luxury brands have turned to social media influencers to help communicate their messages. For example, Dior <a href="https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/qv343m/dior-angelababy-brand-ambassador">hired Angelababy</a>, a famous actor and internet celebrity from Hong Kong, as a brand ambassador in 2017. The relationship has continued to the present day, with the actor <a href="https://radiichina.com/virtual-angelababy-dior/">appearing in virtual form</a> at Shanghai Fashion Week in April. </p>
<p>Yet using Angelababy in this way <a href="https://www.sohu.com/a/191988605_754311">was questioned</a> by Dior’s customers online, as she is an agent of the brand rather than an independent influencer. This means she is seen as not being in a position to speak on behalf of Dior’s customers and fans in the way that she might otherwise have done. </p>
<h2>Unpredictable behaviour</h2>
<p>Just like celebrities, influencers come with the additional problem that brands have no direct control over their behaviour. Whatever exactly happened in the case of L'Oréal and its influencers, for instance, they have not been speaking in unison since the debacle with the face masks. </p>
<p>When it comes to the dangers of individual behaviour, the only consolation is that it can sometimes work in the brand’s favour. This happened to Dior, for instance, when footage surfaced in which Angelababy <a href="https://www.jaynestars.com/news/angelababy-tried-to-protect-17-year-old-actress-from-kris-wus-clutches/">was perceived as</a> speaking up for an actress in an encounter with pop star Kris Wu, who was subsequently arrested on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/pop-star-kris-wu-arrested-beijing-suspicion-rape">suspicion of rape</a> in relation to a separate incident. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Margaret Zhang out walking in Paris" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433434/original/file-20211123-13-ateqcg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Margaret Zhang.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/paris-france-march-04-2018margaret-zhang-1081980992">Mauro del Signore</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At any rate, L'Oréal’s recent problems show that while influencers are potentially more objective moderators than traditional celebrities (particularly if you don’t use them as brand ambassadors), online marketing still presents great risks. </p>
<p>In an era where millennials engage mainly online, an incident like the one with Li and Wei can spread quickly and stick in consumers’ minds much more than the glitzy marketing narratives that are pushed by the luxury brands. A fan exposed to a debacle like L'Oréal’s can turn hostile overnight to the brand they loved.</p>
<p>Perhaps the ideal relationship between brands and influencers arises from <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/vogue-china-margaret-zhang-editor-in-chief">Vogue China’s</a> decision earlier this year to appoint famous 27-year-old blogger Margaret Zhang as editor-in-chief. Even though she never trained in journalism, she is well accepted by consumers of high fashion, and her endorsement is now arguably one of the most valuable to brands in the business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Kwok does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A disagreement between L'Oréal and two leading Chinese influencers shows how brands can run into difficulties in the modern era.Samuel Kwok, Associate Professor of Transdisciplinary Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1430492020-07-27T18:04:21Z2020-07-27T18:04:21ZWhat you need to know about rebranded skin-whitening creams<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349001/original/file-20200722-30-msm9tm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=85%2C0%2C5090%2C3453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Products that whiten skin may be changing their names but they're still selling whiteness through coded words and unchanged pharmaceutical formulas</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Corporations like Unilever, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/l-oreal-joins-movement-to-remove-words-like-whitening-and-fairness-from-skin-products-1.5002674">L’Oréal</a> and <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2020/06/johnson-and-johnson-skin-whitening-creams.html">Johnson & Johnson</a> recently announced <a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/6/30/21308257/skin-lightening-colorism-whitening-bleaching">they will no longer sell products that mention “skin whitening.”</a> </p>
<p>These companies will now adjust how they market their products, especially on social media. However, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/26/loreal-unilever-reassess-skin-lightening-products-but-wont-quit-the-multi-billion-dollar-market/#270fdc48223a">they will continue to promote creams and serums formulated for skin-whitening effects</a>. These companies have already developed other terms besides “skin whitening” to promote their products. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cjzvvgmg1NU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Skin whitening has proven to be damaging, physically and mentally. But sales are booming. Experts predict the market will be worth US$31.2 billion by 2024.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The multi-billion-dollar market for skin whitening products is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/15/health/banning-bleaching-products-in-africa/index.html">an enduring sign of commodity racism</a>. Skin whitening is at once an old and emerging globalizing industry. Women (and some men) whiten their skin by using products that reduce or suppress melanin biosynthesis and function. </p>
<p>Products are also marketed to white women with the promise of making white women’s aging skin and faces appear smooth, wrinkle-free and younger looking. As an anti-aging care, skin whitening is formulated to bleach out visible signs of aging such as age spots. </p>
<p>So actually, <a href="https://news.in-cosmetics.com/2015/10/19/whitening-worldwide">skin-whitening products have already been marketed</a> under different labels such as <a href="https://news.in-cosmetics.com/2014/06/02/skin-whitening-products-a-brighter-future/">skin brighteners for at least the past 20 years</a>.</p>
<h2>Transformation from whiteness to wellness</h2>
<p>Medical sounding terms such as <em>cosmeceutical</em> and <em>skinceutical</em> have long been used to market skin-whitening products to white women to fight age spots, <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Product-innovations/Clear-Complexion-SymWhite-R-377-now-also-for-China">dull skin</a>, hyperpigmentation, etc. These coded words widely promote the message that good skin is <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Product-innovations/Are-your-brightening-solutions-covering-all-angles">youthful looking and glowing</a>. </p>
<p>In the marketing of skin-whitening products, lighter skin embodies whiteness not only as a sign of racial difference but also as <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Product-innovations/Living-in-the-city-Preserving-Skin-Radiance-Naturally">a signifier of class privilege</a>. The rebranding and niche marketing of skin-whitening products is made easier by the fact that <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Article/2014/07/30/Whitening-product-innovation-sees-new-focus-on-melanogenesis">these are often melanin-suppressing products</a> with pharmaceutical properties. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A magazine ad shows a woman's face becoming lighter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348998/original/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An ad for a Vichy Laboratoire skincare product shows fairer skin as the desired result.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Amina Mire)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Increasingly, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/fair-whitening-and-lightening-among-terms-unilever-s-dropping-from-beauty-products-1.4999709">advertising for skin-whitening cosmetics uses terms that can be substituted with whiteness</a>: glowing, radiant, translucent, bright and clear. These terms frame skin whitening as a source of recuperative wellness and youthful femininity. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, there is no clearly defined regulatory framework for these products. This makes it easier for endless rebranding and niche marketing of skin whitening products. </p>
<h2>The banner of anti-aging</h2>
<p>Skin whitening has been marketed as part of a fight against aging, which means it has also come to be seen as a legitimate way to take care of one’s skin. Women are told over and over that getting and keeping glowing skin at all ages is a standard requirement for femininity and beauty.</p>
<p>When corporations promote skin whitening under the banner of anti-aging wellness to aging middle class white women, the practice is often defended, both by consumers and the cosmetics industry, as a legitimate way of regenerating the aging white female body and shielding it from environmental deterioration, modern stress, air pollution and more. In this way, advertisements for anti-aging skin whiteners are supposedly formulated to promote wellness by restoring, regenerating and protecting white women’s skin from the harmful effects of sun damage and other environmentally induced signs of aging.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indian-men-are-swapping-tall-dark-and-handsome-for-tall-fair-and-debonair-93144">Indian men are swapping 'tall, dark and handsome' for 'tall, fair and debonair'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The idea that increased pigmentation represents an unhealthy process of premature aging has <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Wellness-in-Whiteness-Open-Access-Biomedicalisation-and-the-Promotion/Mire/p/book/9780815377443">facilitated the promotion of skin whitening products to both white women and women of colour</a>. The symbolic association of whiteness with youthful appearance and anti-aging wellness has driven the <a href="https://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/issues/Beauty-IO-2014/view_features/formulating-cosmeceuticals-nutraceuticals-for-skin-care/">research and development and mass marketing of high technology-based skin whitening products with anti-aging claims</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, the industry invites all women, regardless of ethnicity, race and or nationality, to seek smooth, radiant and youthful-looking skin, which is free from age spots and hyperpigmentation, by consuming skin-whitening products. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An advertisement for Stillman's Skin Bleach Cream with a small green container of cream. " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1621&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1621&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1621&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2037&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2037&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349000/original/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2037&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Although skincare companies are using less explicit language about skin whitening, their products continue to promote a desire for whiteness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Amina Mire)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The misguided desire for whiteness</h2>
<p>In the past two decades, <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Hot-topics/Anti-Aging-Skin-Whitening">skin-whitening products have been promoted</a> in glossy magazines, online shops, upscale health spas, wellness boutiques, department stores and websites run by cosmetics firms. It is pertinent to stress that the globalization of skin whitening depends on more than a misguided desire for whiteness. </p>
<p>The cosmetics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will continue to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/skin-whitening-cream-dark-side-beauty-industry">invest in skin-whitening products</a> by using terms which convey that a good skin is youthful looking — and white. </p>
<p>The leading cosmetics and pharmaceutical firms have declared that they will no longer mention skin whitening. <a href="https://qz.com/india/1072367/skin-lightening-the-dangerous-obsession-thats-worth-billions/">Yet they will continue to promote products that produce skin-whitening effects</a>. This lack of real change reveals how deeply the intersection of race, gender, femininity and ageism continues to shape the globalization, normalization and mainstreaming of the skin-whitening industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amina Mire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even as skin-whitening products rebrand, they are still selling racism under the guise of wellness and youth.Amina Mire, Associate Professor of Critica Race Theory and women and Health, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1351702020-05-22T12:18:59Z2020-05-22T12:18:59ZWhy Ford, Chanel and other companies pitch in during a crisis – without the government ordering them to<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336859/original/file-20200521-102647-gbww8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C179%2C3690%2C2311&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ford employees assemble ventilators. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Carlos Osorio</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide">Severe shortages of critical medical supplies</a> have prompted governments to compel private companies to fill the gap. In the U.S., President Donald Trump invoked rarely used powers to force <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/gm-ventilators-coronavirus-trump.html">General Motors</a> to make ventilators, while the leaders of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/42f636be-751d-4ebf-9b55-bf313014769f">France</a>, the <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/government-ask-uk-manufacturers-build-ventilators">U.K.</a> and <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/28/national/mask-makers-distance-abes-coronavirus-guarantee/#.XsbHpBNKgnc">Japan</a> have put pressure on companies to make more medical supplies. </p>
<p>But, judging by how many non-medical companies have voluntarily stepped up to shift their manufacturing might to produce health care supplies – including GM rival <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-making-ventilators-to-fight-coronavirus-how-many-when-ge-2020-3">Ford</a> – it seems hardly necessary. </p>
<p>Fashion brands such as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e9c2bae4-6909-11ea-800d-da70cff6e4d3">LVMH</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-chanel/chanel-turns-its-workshops-to-making-face-masks-as-coronavirus-spreads-idUSKBN21G0JP">Chanel</a> and <a href="https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/loreal-launches-sweeping-program-to-combat-covid-1203539626/">L’Oreal</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dior-reopens-baby-dior-factory-to-start-making-face-masks-2020-4">are transforming their factories</a> to mass produce face masks. Spirit and beer makers <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/anheuser-busch-starts-making-hand-sanitizer-alongside-its-beer-2020-03-23">Anheuser-Busch</a>, <a href="https://www.adweek.com/creativity/diageo-and-anheuser-busch-join-alcohol-brands-pivoting-to-free-sanitizer/">Diageo</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coors-beer-company-makes-hand-sanitizer-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-3">Molson Coors</a> and <a href="https://www.bevindustry.com/articles/92934-bacardi-launches-production-of-hand-sanitizer-at-puerto-rico-distillery">Bacardi</a> are shifting some of their production and distribution towards hand sanitizer. And automakers <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/toyota-shifts-factories-to-face-shields-will-help-device-makers">Toyota</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-volkswagen-ventila/volkswagen-tests-ventilator-output-as-carmakers-join-coronavirus-fight-idUSKBN2172VH">Volkswagen</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coranavirus-fiat-chrysler-vent/fiat-chrysler-starts-ventilator-component-output-in-italy-idUSKBN21L1FA">Fiat Chrysler</a> are leveraging their 3D printing capabilities to produce face shields and are <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ford-partners-with-3m-and-ge-healthcare-to-make-respirators-ventilators-to-fight-coronavirus/ar-BB11DicJ">partnering</a> with other companies to make ventilators.</p>
<p>And that’s just three industries. In all, hundreds of companies across the globe have committed money, supplies and know-how to help with the COVID-19 response, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s <a href="https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/aid-event/corporate-aid-tracker-covid-19-business-action">corporate aid tracker</a>. </p>
<p>Why are these companies being so generous? </p>
<p>As <a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.cshtml?id=EMAFIKRE">scholars</a> of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DFjwsYUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">corporate social responsibility</a>, we believe altruism certainly plays a role for many of them, but it’s not the only motivator. Research on company behavior points to two others: <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/168/2015/00000020/00000002/art00003">bolstering reputation</a> and <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1086/467466?mobileUi=0&">avoiding regulation</a>. </p>
<h2>Burnishing the brand</h2>
<p>In normal times, companies often undertake socially responsible initiatives to <a href="https://www.inc.com/maureen-kline/how-to-manage-your-companys-reputation.html">enhance their brand</a> and build a stronger relationship with consumers, investors and employees in order to drive profits. </p>
<p>What’s a socially responsible initiative? <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1002/csr.132">There are many definitions</a>, but the way scholars like us think of it is it means taking voluntary action that is not prescribed by law or not necessary to comply with a regulation. </p>
<p>Reputation Institute, a management consultancy, found that people’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for or invest in a company <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/12/10/the-companies-with-the-best-csr-reputations/#49e60e384404">is significantly influenced</a> by their perceptions of its corporate social responsibility practices. So doing something that benefits people in their community can lead to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2062429">higher sales</a>, <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/SHIEDS">increase the company’s valuation</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/14720701011085544">keep good employees around longer</a>. </p>
<p>But these are anything but normal times. Rather, it is a global crisis that has created a need for an <a href="https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/weekly-update-all-hands-on-deck-against-covid-19/">all hands on deck</a> response from everyone, including corporate America. In other words, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/10/20/fire-floods-hurricanes-how-and-why-corporations-must-help/#10231fb67388">just like during natural disasters</a>, people expect companies to do their part – and not appearing to do so could damage a brand’s reputation. A <a href="https://www.conecomm.com/news-blog/2013-global-csr-study-release">2013 survey of citizens of 10 countries</a> that included the U.S., France, Brazil and China found that 9 in 10 people said they would boycott a company they believed behaved irresponsibly. </p>
<p>And this is especially true of industries that are more directly connected to the crisis. In the current situation, for example, there’s been a shortage of hand sanitizer, which fashion companies that make perfume <a href="https://tanksgoodnews.com/2020/03/17/lvmh-hand-sanitizer/">can easily produce</a>. And manufacturers are, as we’ve seen, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lashes-out-at-general-motors-over-ventilators-11585327749">capable of repurposing</a> their assembly lines to build ventilators. </p>
<p>Not doing its part, in this environment, could result in a long-term hit to a company’s reputation. </p>
<h2>Eluding onerous regulations</h2>
<p>The other motivator is preempting government regulation, which becomes a greater risk during and after a crisis. </p>
<p>For instance, we saw <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2010/11/20/the-financial-panic-of-2008-and-financial-regulatory-reform/">more financial regulation</a> after Wall Street’s behavior sparked the Great Recession, and lawmakers from districts that suffer from hurricanes <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w25835">tend to support bills</a> promoting more environmental regulation. </p>
<p>So companies will often pursue voluntary self-regulation and take other proactive measures during a crisis in hopes of forestalling a more onerous government reaction. A recent <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Etomz/pubs/MMT-APSR-2019.pdf">Stanford study</a> found that even a modest effort can work to effectively preempt regulation. </p>
<p>Furthermore, this allows companies to set the terms and control the agenda, <a href="https://store.hbr.org/product/profiting-from-environmental-regulatory-uncertainty-integrated-strategies-for-competitive-advantage/CMR498">allowing them to choose actions</a> that are in the interest of society, profitable, and avoid the costs and pains of complying with new regulations. </p>
<p>At the moment, companies may be stepping up to avoid a more draconian response from the government, such as when Trump invoked the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/19/defense-production-act-trump-coronavirus/">Defense Production Act</a> against GM, which allows him to control and direct corporate resources towards production of critical equipment. This also gives the federal government priority in contracting, limiting a company’s ability to find the most efficient or profitable contracts.</p>
<p>So next time you read about a company doing something for the greater good, applaud the effort. But you could consider its other strategic motivations as well. </p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ford is assembling ventilators, LVMH is making hand sanitizer, and Chanel is making masks. Here’s why these and dozens of other companies are doing it.Elham Mafi-Kreft, Clinical Associate Professor of Business Economics, Indiana UniversitySteven Kreft, Clinical Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1157392019-05-05T19:35:36Z2019-05-05T19:35:36ZThe profane and the sacred: why luxury firms rushed to support Notre-Dame<p>The April 2019 fire at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/notre-dame-de-paris-from-searing-emotion-to-the-future-rebirth-of-a-world-heritage-site-115612">Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral</a> came as an immense shock to the people of France, as well as throughout Europe and in countries across the world.</p>
<p>Even while the fire was still smoldering, a spontaneous effort to resist the blow dealt by fate quickly took hold. In three days, more than <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2019/04/18/deja-850-millions-d-euros-de-dons-promis-pour-la-reconstruction-de-notre-dame_5452116_3224.html">850 million euros</a> were pledged. Some of the first were three big names of France’s luxury industry, the Pinault, Arnault, and Bettencourt families, whose Kering, LVMH and l’Oréal groups dominate the global market – the amounts pledged by each family were in the hundreds of millions of euros. The movement was also reflective of the symbolic significance of a fire that came close to reducing the edifice to ashes – an edifice which alone embodies the entire history of France and is an integral part of European heritage.</p>
<h2>Rich in controversy</h2>
<p>So why has the world of luxury been leading the drive to donate in order to rebuild Notre-Dame? Given the likely cost of the restoration work, the pledges of support are certainly welcome, but the context in France is complex, to say the least: the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-frances-gilets-jaunes-protesters-are-so-angry-108100">“gilets jaunes” movement</a> erupted in late 2018 and has grown increasingly angry, with many of the demands centring on rising inequality and the imbalance between Paris and “forgotten” rural regions. Europe’s migrant crisis continues, as does rise in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Paris_homeless">homelessness in big cities like Paris</a>. Claims that the wealthy donors were motivated more out of a hunger for positive press or a desire for tax breaks immediately surfaced. “The simplest thing would be for them to pay their taxes”, said the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2019/04/17/incendie-de-notre-dame-lancement-d-un-concours-international-d-architectes-pour-la-fleche_5451615_823448.html">senator Esther Benbassa</a>, a member of France’s Green Party.</p>
<p>Such explanations are not enough in themselves, assuming they have any basis at all – after all, two of the biggest donors, the Pinault and Arnault families, stated that they were already at the limit for charitable tax deductions and so would be <a href="http://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/franck-riester-les-dons-iront-a-notre-dame-pas-a-autre-chose-01-05-2019-8064177.php">giving the funds outright</a>.</p>
<p>But whatever the specifics, questioning why luxury firms would give such immense sums overlooks the deep historical roots of the industry.</p>
<h2>From the sacred to the profane</h2>
<p>While luxury firms may now be seen as the epitome of worldly excellence, luxury started out in the pursuit of the sacred. Since time immemorial, the most skilled artisans have invented and crafted exceptional goods out of the most valuable materials, worked on for countless hours, as priceless offerings to the Gods, whether to win them over before a battle, thank them for a victory, or to celebrate a good harvest. A recent example is the grave of a Celtic prince, unearthed in 2015 in Lavau, a town just a few hours south of Paris, which contained a <a href="https://www.livescience.com/50069-celtic-prince-tomb-uncovered.html">gold-tipped drinking vessel</a>. The immense cost of such goods is precisely why they were offered, in the literal sense of <em>sacri-fice</em> (“the act which makes holy”).</p>
<p>This explains in part why temples were covered with gold, why churches were adorned with the most beautiful artifacts. After the gods came the demigods, the kings and the aristocrats who would deny themselves nothing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269850/original/file-20190417-139120-awtnlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the origins of luxury, we find the labour force mobilized for religious reasons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jorisvo/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The French Revolution of 1789 marked the end of privileges of birth, but not the end of the right to the beautiful and the sublime by virtue of wealth – in other words, by virtue of one’s wealth and good fortune. Restorations and republics came and went, but luxury remained. The communist revolutions in Russia and China began by ostensibly eliminating inequalities, but they too eventually gave free rein to the process of liberalisation that re-created the inequalities they’d once banished.</p>
<p>Luxury feeds on inequality. Whatever the source of their wealth, legitimate or otherwise, rising social classes throughout the world have always sought to have their new-found wealth and status recognised. Hence the <a href="https://altagamma.it/media/source/WORLDWIDE%20LUXURY%20MARKET%20MONITOR_BAIN.pdf">extraordinary growth of the luxury industry today</a>.</p>
<p>While the sustained growth of the industry is the result of the emergence of successive waves of <em>nouveaux riches</em>, first from Japan, then from Russia and finally China today, to view luxury consumption merely as the expression of an interest in appearance and ostentation would be a mistake. While this may be true at the initial stage of their wealth, customers can come to see the cultural and sacred dimension of the ornate goods they purchase at such great expense. The paradox of luxury is that as well as raising the standing of buyers in the eyes of others, it elevates the customer. In the best of cases, he or she wears an incomparable item that captures the spirituality and living culture of a country, its history and its art, and rises above the mere material.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269848/original/file-20190417-139110-1qrlsks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris was inaugurated in 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oliverouge 3/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Luxury sees space, history and blood as the very foundations of its standing and quest for supremacy. Hence the importance of “made in” used by <a href="https://theconversation.com/hermes-behind-the-scenes-of-the-french-luxury-gem-80551">brands such as Hermès</a>, the cult of origins and of the legacy of designers such as <a href="http://theconversation.com/what-karl-lagerfeld-brought-to-the-fashion-of-today-and-tomorrow-112329">Karl Lagerfeld</a>. Longevity is precisely what lies at the heart of why luxury goods firms refuse to see themselves as makers of ordinary objects.</p>
<p>In its heart, the luxury industry itself aspires to be sacred. After all, luxury also has its own rituals, clerics and ranks. Its brands speak of their “icons” and build cathedrals in capitals throughout the world dedicated to the splendour of the brand and to developing the community of believers. It is thus easy to understand the affinity between the industry and Notre Dame, the legacy of a history that goes well beyond France, the embodiment of the sacred for eight centuries.</p>
<h2>The families, not the brands</h2>
<p>In the past, the patrician families of Florence and Venice sought to promote the arts, a role later performed by monarchs. Then the state became the custodian of culture by developing museums, art schools and academies. But in an era of fiscal limitations, nation-states cannot do everything, and with the means and the know-how, the luxury industry has become a key patron of the arts. Hence the proliferation of collaborations with contemporary artists, the sponsorship of spectacular exhibitions dedicated to fashion designers such as <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/dior-designer-of-dreams">Christian Dior</a>, and the creation of museums such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation. What this does is to change our perception of luxury items as products derived from art. It thus stands to reason that the major luxury brands should immediately run to the rescue of Notre-Dame, an immensely important symbol of history and culture at the heart of Paris.</p>
<p>It is worth emphasising that the donations made by the Pinault, Arnault and Bettencourt families were made through their foundations rather than their their well-known brands. After all, the symbolic impact would have been quite different. To showcase a brand would be to do business, to reintroduce the merchants in the Temple at a time when the edifice itself was fragile and when any notion of short-term interest needed to be set aside. Above all, that would have been to depart from the sacred.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-Noël Kapferer ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The biggest names in France’s luxury industry have given millions of euros to help rebuild Notre Dame. Questioning why they would do so overlooks the deep historical and religious roots of the industry.Jean-Noël Kapferer, Professeur Senior, INSEEC Grande ÉcoleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1113032019-02-19T22:10:32Z2019-02-19T22:10:32ZClimate action helps companies build reputations and attract investors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259359/original/file-20190216-56208-w0vexd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Investors are starting to demand businesses take action on climate change. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-usa-october-30-1065011192">(Shutterstock)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year, climate change topped off the agenda at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — where every January, global leaders and the heads of the world’s largest companies gather to find ways to improve the state of the world. When surveyed, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-climatechange/failure-to-curb-climate-change-a-top-risk-davos-survey-idUSKCN1PA13J">experts from government, business, academia and non-governmental organizations said the failure to respond to climate change is a key risk</a>. </p>
<p>Companies committed to tackle climate change are addressing their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) via <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/what-is-a-science-based-target/">science-based targets</a>. These voluntary goals are compatible with the global push towards a low-carbon economy that aims to keep the global temperature increase to less than 2°C.</p>
<p>One program that is gaining traction globally is the <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/">Science Based Targets initiative</a> (SBTi), a collaboration between <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en">CDP, a not-for-profit charity</a>, the <a href="https://www.unglobalcompact.org/">UN Global Compact</a>, the <a href="https://www.wri.org/">World Resources Institute</a> and the <a href="https://climatesavers.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>. This program creates a global community where companies can set targets that align with the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a>. </p>
<p>Joining a global community like SBTi not only provides a formal framework for measurement and tracking goals, it also signals <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2018/07/10/the-worlds-biggest-companies-are-set-to-decarbonize-their-products/#75b8577038f1">a company’s commitment to climate change action</a>. As of early 2019, <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/">525 companies</a> have signed on, including 169 with approved targets.</p>
<h2>Big companies at the forefront</h2>
<p>IKEA, Unilever, Tesco, General Mills, L’Oreal, Walmart and McDonald’s are among the large multinational corporations that have signed on to the SBTi. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/about_ikea/newsitem/061318-IKEA-Group-climate-positive-2030">IKEA Group</a>, for example, has committed to an 80 per cent reduction in GHG emissions in stores and other operations and a 50 per cent reduction in emissions from travel and customer deliveries by 2030, compared to 2016 levels. It will also cut emissions in its value chain by at least 15 per cent, resulting in a 70 per cent reduction in the climate footprint of an <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ikea-group-commits-to-zero-emissions-targets-for-home-delivery-in-five-major-cities-by-2020-300712424.html">average IKEA product</a>.</p>
<p>Large companies can make change within their own operations and along the supply chain. <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mcdonalds-becomes-the-first-restaurant-company-to-set-approved-science-based-target-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-677353923.html">McDonald’s</a> plans to reduce its emissions intensity across its supply chain by 31 per cent by 2030 (baseline 2015) by targeting energy use and packaging waste in restaurants, and streamlining its beef production, which make up more <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/2018/03/20/mcdonalds-has-pledged-to-slash-greenhouse-gas-emissions-its-charting-a-course-for-sustainable-growth/">60 per cent of emissions</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, General Mills, the packaged food company (Cheerios, Yoplait and Green Giant) set a science-based target to cut its GHG emissions by 28 per cent by 2025 (from a 2010 baseline) across its entire value chain, from <a href="http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/38222-General-Mills-Announces-New-Commitment-on-Climate-Change">farm to table to landfill</a>. It plans to do this by <a href="https://www.generalmills.com/en/News/Issues/climate-policy">getting its farmers to adopt sustainable practices that reduce emissions and protect at risk water sources</a>, for example. </p>
<p>Companies participate in global sustainability initiatives and set external goals because of their sustainability mindset, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/three-reasons-investors-consider-sustainability">strategic gains, external competitive or reputational risk pressures</a> and <a href="https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/mind-science-mind-gap-aligning-corporate-ghg-emissions-reduction-targets-climate-0">recognition of an inexorable shift to a low-carbon economy</a>. </p>
<p>While participation in the SBTi is voluntary, the results are reported publicly. Even though there are few tangible sanctions for non-performance, the absence of achievement or reporting can harm a company’s reputation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259360/original/file-20190216-56208-19hbkpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore speaks during the ‘Safeguarding the planet’ session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Canada, only nine companies have joined the SBTi, and all but one remain at the commitment-setting stage. <a href="https://www.cn.ca/-/media/Files/Delivering-Responsibly/Environment/CDP-2017-en.pdf">Canadian National Railway</a> has promised to reduce its emissions intensity by 29 per cent by 2030, based on a 2015 baseline. </p>
<p>There are several reasons for the low participation in SBTi among Canadian companies. <a href="https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/world/2018-12-07-climate-change-and-business">The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada</a> argues that more than 99 per cent of businesses in Canada are small businesses, with fewer resources, employees and pressures.</p>
<h2>Key benefits</h2>
<p>SBTi and the participating companies, however, see a number of benefits from setting targets. They also provide companies with long-term goals that will be resistant to changes in management and shifts in business priorities.</p>
<p>A major European electric company, EDP, found <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/utility-edp-key-benefits-from-setting-a-science-based_us_595e0944e4b0cf3c8e8d5671">strategic benefits</a> in laying plans to decarbonize — it builds reputation, improves visibility and helps it benefit from innovation, and had a favourable response from investors, employees and customers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.walmartsustainabilityhub.com/project-gigaton/emissions-targets">Walmart</a> says it is part of their sustainability journey to encourage others to look at emissions as a form of waste with financial value or inefficiency in the value chain. <a href="https://news.walmart.com/2017/04/19/walmart-launches-project-gigaton-to-reduce-emissions-in-companys-supply-chain">In 2017, it launched Project Gigaton</a> to encourage suppliers to eliminate one billion tonnes of GHG emissions from their operations and supply chains by 2030 by targeting one of six pillars: energy, waste, packaging, agriculture, forests or product use. Suppliers achieving goals and communicating performance publicly are recognized as “<a href="https://www.walmartsustainabilityhub.com/supplier-recognition">Giga-Gurus</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2018/what-are-science-based-targets-and-why-do-we-use-them.html">Unilever</a> looks at science-based targets to boost its competitive advantage in the shift towards a low-carbon economy and to hedge against regulator pressures and the costs related to carbon pricing. In 2017, <a href="https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/reducing-environmental-impact/greenhouse-gases/">Unilever</a> reduced energy-related emissions by 47 per cent per tonne of production from 2008 levels, and shifted towards renewable energy in manufacturing. The company also identified a nine per cent increase in GHG emissions from its consumer products since 2010, largely due to the consumers’ <a href="https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/reducing-environmental-impact/greenhouse-gases/">hot showers</a> when using their products. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-divesting-of-fossil-fuels-could-help-save-the-planet-88147">How divesting of fossil fuels could help save the planet</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The food and beverage sector — considered a <a href="https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/05/02/2019/will-science-based-targets-save-us-insights-global-food-industry">significant driver of global climate change</a> and the one with the <a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/610563/tb-science-based-targets-carbon-emmissions-250516-en.pdf">most at risk from climate change</a> — has been an early adopter of science-based targets. Fifty-nine businesses, including Ben & Jerry’s and PepsiCo, have either set targets or are at the commitment stage. </p>
<p>Other global initiatives to encourage businesses to develop responsible practices and meet climate goals are also on the rise. For example, <a href="https://www.unpri.org/pri/about-the-pri">Principles for Responsible Investment</a> has attracted 2,232 investors who believe in an “economically efficient, sustainable global financial system” and who agree to incorporate environmental, sustainability and governance issues into their investment practice. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/majority-of-canadians-support-more-action-on-climate-change-615563183.html">Eighty-seven per cent of Canadians</a> believe businesses must make a stronger commitment to climate change action. Youth, in particular, are demanding more commitment, and future consumers such as Greta Thunberg are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/15/the-beginning-of-great-change-greta-thunberg-hails-school-climate-strikes">taking to the world stage and inspiring other students</a> to raise their voices.</p>
<p>It is unlikely that one company or one nation will make a significant impact on reducing emission levels, however, climate change can have significant impact on business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111303/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rumina Dhalla does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Business leaders are beginning to take the global climate issue seriously by setting science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Rumina Dhalla, Associate Professor, Organizational Studies and Sustainable Commerce, CSR/Sustainability Coordinator and MBA Graduate Coordinator, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/827812017-08-24T08:18:16Z2017-08-24T08:18:16ZHelen Mirren was probably right about moisturiser, so here’s an owner’s guide to looking after your skin<p>Cosmetics firms spend a fortune coming up with advertising slogans that stick, like L'Oreal’s “Because You’re worth it” campaign. And then, amid all the gloss, inevitably, a blemish appears. </p>
<p>For this particular company, one recent blemish appeared in the form of British actress Helen Mirren, one of the <a href="http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/TMG8894015/Because-Theyre-Worth-It-LOreal-spokesmodels-through-the-years.html">many well-known faces</a> employed by the brand. Revealing her personal thoughts about the effectiveness of her moisturiser, the 72-year-old star of The Queen suggested that it “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/02/helen-mirren-admits-loreal-moisturiser-probably-does-f/">probably does fuck all</a>”.</p>
<p>There followed much amusement (and no doubt executive level embarrassment). But was she right? What are we to make of the widely made suggestion that the right kind of skin creams can slow down the ageing process? It is a seductive line, but unfortunately the truth is not so simple.</p>
<p>Human skin is a wonderfully effective organ (and as the British comedian Spike Milligan <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-Treasury-Milligan-Classic-Stories/dp/1852273216/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503495230&sr=8-1&keywords=spike+milligan+poems">reflected</a>, it is very good at keeping our insides in). It is an excellent barrier – like a highly patrolled military zone which allows us to cope with incoming attacks from bacteria, toxic chemicals and the sun’s rays. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182973/original/file-20170822-30538-4o0ya4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Moisture everywhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blue-jar-moisturizing-cream-big-water-447775924?src=oPZhyJXTO2RQPWbjOZYUnA-2-82">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But skin is constantly under siege as we get older. From the outside, the greatest threat is UV damage. The youngest looking, least wrinkly skin on your body will be the parts that are never (or rarely) exposed to sunlight.</p>
<p>From the inside, the skin suffers most from the effects of smoking and poor nutrition. </p>
<p>So the ways to protect your skin would seem pretty obvious. The top tips are: avoid frying your skin in the sun, don’t smoke, and eat a diet that contains lots of fresh fruit and vegetables – foods which contain plenty of antioxidants, which help the skin in its lifelong battle against oxidative stress. </p>
<p>Next top tip? Don’t get older. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this one is much harder to follow. But the wrinkles we see are in the deeper dermal layer of the skin where the connective tissues of collagen and elastin age in ways that we frankly can’t influence much. (Apart from helping them out by following tips one and two.) </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182989/original/file-20170822-22283-1dyn6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Use more than this.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-asian-woman-traveler-using-skincare-675416359?src=0X91HOZ1TEGE5IzNbbRUDQ-4-1">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As women age, they lose oestrogens, which help maintain the collagen content of the dermis and the “plumpness” of the skin. The deeper dermal layer gradually becomes much thinner, collagen fibres become stiffer and cross-linked, and there is a loss of elastin fibres which provide a lot of the natural elasticity of skin. The same happens to men but more slowly than female skin post menopause.</p>
<h2>Underneath the surface</h2>
<p>So what can we do about it? And where do skin creams come in? The bottom line is that most skin creams don’t penetrate into the deep dermis where the damage is being done. But they can provide a useful extra barrier layer to help keep the upper surface of the skin better protected from drying out, and from attack by the sun. </p>
<p>A skin cream that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-the-chemicals-in-sunscreen-protect-our-skin-from-damage-74355">protects your skin</a> from the harmful effects of sunlight is a good idea for preventing skin ageing and skin cancers. Creams that contain vitamins that act as antioxidants to help mop up the sun induced free radicals are also a good idea to help reduce sun induced damage.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BbcCNWh3u0k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>But most creams do not penetrate beyond the upper barrier layer of the skin and most of the damage that is going on is in the deep dermis. </p>
<p>So Dame Helen was probably right. The best things for your skin do not come in an expensive tube or pot. It’s a better idea to eat well, and avoid excessive sun exposure and cigarette smoke. Also, like Helen, smile lots.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheila MacNeil does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The actress knows it’s not all about creams.Sheila MacNeil, Professor of Tissue Engineering, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797762017-06-21T11:10:42Z2017-06-21T11:10:42ZWill Amazon’s Whole Foods deal go the same way as L'Oréal and Body Shop?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174900/original/file-20170621-8977-1qf4cly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=172%2C333%2C3737%2C2321&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-united-kingdom-22-jun-2017-661686322?src=NOz5__An-Za3TR_sxcnCzA-1-53">EQRoy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online retail giant Amazon has made a decisive move into food retail. The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40306099">acquisition of US grocer Whole Foods</a>, a pioneer in organic, healthy food shopping for well-off consumers, brings together two businesses with contrasting reputations. We’ve been here before. And it didn’t work out well.</p>
<p>Amazon’s mission is to build a place where people can find “anything they might want to buy online”. In the Whole Foods mission statement, however, it promises to “<a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/our-mission-values">not sell just anything</a>” but to deliver the highest quality that encompasses the greater good. We perhaps shouldn’t judge a deal by highlighting that the corporate PR seems to be at odds, but this discrepancy does raise some profound questions about the purpose of a business and how that purpose is accomplished. </p>
<p>For years, Amazon has been criticised for its business practices. A burnout-inducing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/aug/19/amazon-employee-abuse-rights-wages-walmart">work culture</a>, limited focus on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/aug/05/amazon-best-buy-electronic-waste-walmart-recyling">recycling</a> and a lack of transparency on sustainability reporting have all come under fire. Compare that to Whole Foods’ value-based culture of caring for worker communities, adoption of <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/tricky-recycling-made-easy">responsible recycling</a> and its foray into <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/12/whole-foods-makes-sustainability-push-beyond-food.aspx">solar energy</a>. It feels like a strange marriage. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174902/original/file-20170621-8977-1e7045f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Amazon distribution centre in Germany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rheinberg-germany-january-29-2017-amazon-566737150?src=5ZbnbP0jN73KplIpgYWfvg-1-12">Lukassek/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Trojan horse</h2>
<p>In fact, it does bring to mind 2006, when L’Oréal, the corporate beauty giant with a deeply questionable <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/mar/17/retail.animalrights">animal testing record</a>, acquired Body Shop, the socially conscious beauty company known for its ethical products and friendly environmental practices. The deal was made through <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/02/23/why-is-loreal-trying-to-sell-off-natural-beauty-brand-the-body-shop/#1a74ae911523">an agreed buyout</a> with Anita Roddick, the founder of Body Shop. Agreements were made that Body Shop would continue to run independently, and Roddick was quoted as saying Body Shop could act as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/nov/03/ethicalliving.environment">a Trojan horse</a>” and positively influence the way L'Oréal did business. </p>
<p>However, over time, the lack of a cultural fit between the two companies, and growing competition from other ethical beauty brands, led to a decline in Body Shop’s appeal. Sales fell, as did operating profits and <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/l-oreal-looks-to-sell-the-body-shop-as-profits-fall-117021000062_1.html">market share</a>. Now L’Oréal is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/09/loreal-considers-selling-the-body-shop-as-profits-fall">looking to sell</a> Body Shop a decade after a deal that shocked many. Clearly, there is more to an acquisition than just potential financial rewards, and that mismatch of ideology and purpose can lead to reduced value for investors themselves. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174903/original/file-20170621-30227-2rat7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is the same in store for Whole Foods?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sepang-malaysia-january-14-2017-body-557879005?src=rCxPN_vDsIWkMPjvIfV5kA-1-0">mrfiza/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Whole Foods deal has echoes of that Body Shop-L’Oréal story, but there are some important differences. Amazon has responded to criticisms over its sustainability credentials and signalled a positive shift by significantly expanding its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/feb/02/amazon-sustainability-edf-epa-best-buy-walmart-apple-microsoft-csr-child-labor">sustainability team</a>. It has also announced a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/gkkwdp34z5ou7ug">series of goals</a> in this direction, ranging from solar-energy-powered fulfilment centres to construction of its largest wind farm. </p>
<h2>Pressure off?</h2>
<p>But let’s not get carried away. Amazon is more than 20 years old, and remains a laggard in the sustainability movement. Its venture into renewables was not a matter of business philosophy, but was driven by market and competitor pressures and the push to align with the previous US administration’s stand on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/apple-google-amazon-and-microsoft-file-amicus-brief-in-support-of-the--1882200369.html">climate change</a>. In contrast, Whole Foods has followed a mindful approach to sustainability, winning its first Green Power award from the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) more than 13 years ago. With the Trump administration’s renewed focus on coal, the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, and overhaul of the EPA, the pressure on Amazon to progressively adopt green tech may ease. </p>
<p>It is also hard to see how Amazon will handle the strong views of John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods and a proponent of conscious capitalism. He <a href="http://features.texasmonthly.com/editorial/shelf-life-john-mackey/">has been quoted</a> as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Business (in America) is about a bunch of greedy bastards running around exploiting people, screwing their customers, taking advantage of their employees, dumping their toxic waste in the environment, acting like sociopaths.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Whole Foods approach is to create long-term value for its owners, shoppers, workers, suppliers and local residents. What marks out a so-called “purposeful” business is its ability to stay true to that mission, rather than drifting inexorably towards life as an engine of growth for investors through continuous expansion. </p>
<p>Now, Amazon has focused on long-term growth and is a customer-centric company, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html">its attitude</a> towards workers, communities and the environment has often been drastically different from that of Whole Foods, leading to the obvious question of how Whole Foods will be run within Amazon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174904/original/file-20170621-30211-1y616y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will Mackey make way?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/8485118402/in/photolist-dVNs5S-dVUiVa-rtKip-UtaGiz-UrqdnN-UrqnDy-UtaEiH-UrqtxN-UtaFGV-UgB712-TQNHGu-Tkg4p7-UgBWZK-UiwYjB-Upurnu-Un9r2w-UtaDi6-TdDhAf-TSMWEy-Uiyqkn-UrquoW-Ted39c-UqPeCH-UrqknE-TbJHqh-UfXorA-KxcdF-Uptx9G-TdE43m-UtacqK-TV3Njd-UfYfQG-UtaGV6-TV4a7f-UtaEPT-UgB47g-Up7TVo-TbJwPN-UfXRWW-Uix3Zt-Fr2cEw-UdGs6m-TdDgpC-UiypX8-PwbUAR-NwvbCd-UixvuH-UbLEGN-TbJxAY-UfY98U">Gage Skidmore/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Misfits</h2>
<p>The fear must be that the rationale for the Whole Foods acquisition is to make cost cuts and secure a good outcome for investors. There is <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/06/19/amazon-may-replace-a-whole-lot-of-whole-foods-cashiers-with-robots/">much chat in the media</a> about Amazon’s warehouse robots being let loose on Whole Foods, at the expense of jobs. And the door is already ajar. Pressure from investors has already led to an overhaul of the Whole Foods’ <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/05/11/whole-foods-board-shakeup/">board of directors</a>, where long-standing conscious capitalism supporters have been replaced by corporate leaders interested in market growth and investor wealth maximisation. </p>
<p>There is clear business potential here for Amazon, but an equally clear lesson from past acquisitions where a poor cultural fit has proved detrimental for everyone involved and for the brand itself. Whole Foods has become synonymous with ethical consumption through its careful selection of vendors and products. Despite competition, it has an ardent following of ethical consumers. </p>
<p>There is a genuine risk that this acquisition will muddy the waters for Whole Foods shoppers. Will they now be faced with shelves full of “anything” that can sell, rather than the benign niche products they are used to? How leadership works post-acquisition will be key: how and why decisions are made, and by whom, will dictate whether the upscale grocer loses its <a href="https://theconversation.com/conscious-capitalism-how-to-make-the-most-of-the-kindness-in-business-34848?sr=1">claim to conscious capitalism</a>. The deal could be a success, but if lessons aren’t learnt, Whole Foods could even go the same way as the Body Shop, and end up on the auction block in a decade’s time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span> </span></em></p>A pioneer of ethical consumerism, wedded to a corporate giant with a questionable record? The lessons of a decade ago should be ringing alarm bells.Tanusree Jain, Assistant Professor of Ethical Business, Trinity College DublinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.