Green Marketing on Amazon: 5 Creative Ways to Communicate Your Green Labels
How do you reach a customer on Amazon who shares your values? When there are so many brands that claim they are organic, sustainable, or eco-friendly how do you make sure that the customer has confidence in your claims?
If you’re a producer of eco-friendly and sustainable products, you already have an advantage. The trick is to display your green labels and certifications proudly through green marketing.
How can you do this? There are a few different ways to do it and we’ve got 5 examples from some great brands to give you a bit of inspiration.
Table of contents
- What is Green Marketing?
- 1. Stand out with Amazon’s “Climate Pledge Friendly” Badge
- 2. Leverage Your Amazon Storefront Like Attitude
- 3. Go Green with Your A+ Content the Way Ethique Does
- 4. Communicate You’re Certifiably Better With Packaging and Video Like Tender & True
- 5. Cover All the Bases Planet Poop Style
- Should You Dedicate an Amazon Image Just for Your Green Labels?
- Key Takeaways
What is Green Marketing?
In a nutshell, green marketing is the promotion of a product or service based on its environmental benefits. The focus can be on a brand’s:
- Sustainable business practices
- Social responsibility
- Commitment to reducing expenses or environmental footprint
Making a green commitment like increasing transparency, making sustainable, responsible products and reducing your carbon footprint isn’t easy. There are rigorous processes, requirements and guidelines you need to follow.
And if you’ve made this commitment as a business, you’re amazing!
Many brands and products on Amazon claim they’ve done the same work as you, but they don’t have anything to show for it. For this reason, it’s essential to wear these green labels like a badge of honor – they set you apart from the copycats and false claimers.
When you’re able to show that you’re the real deal, you’ll gain the trust of serious buyers who share the same values as you. You’ll also get respect from other customers who recognize your authenticity.
1. Stand out with Amazon’s “Climate Pledge Friendly” Badge
The “Climate Pledge Friendly” badge is a relatively new initiative started by Amazon to help customers shop for more sustainable products. Amazon now gives brands a way to prove that they’ve taken green commitments. There are many ways a product may qualify for the badge from being Rainforest Alliance or ECOLOGO certified to Energy Star efficient. Amazon has also been rolling out its own Compact by Design Certification that fits under the Climate Pledge Friendly category.
So what’s the benefit of participating? When you’ve worked as hard as you have to reduce your footprint, be socially responsible or make sustainable products, you can now communicate it on Amazon visually. Why go through all the trouble of creating a product if you’re not using green marketing to show it?
The Climate Pledge Friendly text will appear both on the product page itself as well as in the search results. If you search for “organic pet shampoo” for example, you’ll see only a few products that have the green text with badge. This stands out immediately to climate-conscious consumers and can even inspire regular customers to reflect on the impact of their shopping habits. If you’re curious about badges on Amazona and how they can help you stand out, this will interest you.
As it’s getting harder to grab customers’ attention in the search results, this is another way to help attract them. And the fact that it’s an Amazon program makes shoppers more willing to trust it. For more on how to stand out on the search results page, take a look at our post on Amazon SEO.
2. Leverage Your Amazon Storefront Like Attitude
Attitude is an ECOLOGO certified brand that makes eco-friendly, sustainable body care products for humans and pets. Their entire Amazon storefront is a beautiful example of how showing your green labels can be done right.
Their header is a clean image of brilliant green plants with the tagline: Better product for a better tomorrow. They’re leading with their mission from the very beginning. This is a great way to connect with the audience and show what they’re all about. This is literally green marketing!
Their simple imaging and copy work to inspire a no-mess, no-fuss approach to their all-natural products. They show their plastic-free, zero-waste deodorant and mention their eco-refill program.
Lower down on their storefront, they display their eco certifications. Showing these at the footer in bright, easy-to-see blocks draws the eye towards them and diminishes any doubt about all the things they mention above (to learn more about Amazon storefronts and how they can help your business check out our ultimate guide).
You’ll also notice that Attitude has added the Climate Pledge Friendly badge to some of their products proving that they’re an ECOLOGO brand.
For more brands crushing it with storefronts, you can see 7 awesome examples here.
3. Go Green with Your A+ Content the Way Ethique Does
New Zealand’s Ethique is an ethical brand that’s on a mission to “rid the world of plastic waste and offer customers 100% sustainable, ethically sourced products”. Ethique is a B Certified Corporation, and they show this badge proudly (as they should – there are many requirements you need to become one).
They offer solid shampoo bars for pets and humans. You can tell they’ve put a lot of effort into their A+ content – every product has its own. Each shows a beautiful main image with the product, its compostable packaging and the natural ingredients found in it. You’ll see Bow Wow Bar solid shampoo for dogs, for example, with lime, lavender and oats scattered around the product. To be inspired by beautiful A+ content, check out these examples.
They feature their green label certifications in easy-to-see places, right next to or below the images and the copy. In the first bit, they have their badges in circles that are the same pink as the main text. This signals that they are just as important as the products themselves.
One other thing I love is how they display their green labels as buttons on their storefront. These inspire a bit of fitting nostalgia as we always seem to associate these metal buttons with fighting for a cause or showing off our tastes and opinions.
By taking the time to create unique A+ content for each of their products, Ethique shows that they take their green marketing seriously. It also gives the buyer the feeling that each product is special and there was thought behind their creation. They’re not simply lumping all their products together. This attention to detail signals to the customer that they truly care.
4. Communicate You’re Certifiably Better With Packaging and Video Like Tender & True
This brand shows a real focus on everything that makes their products high quality as well as good for the planet. Their certifications include USDA Organic, Animal Welfare Certified, Marine Stewardship Council certification, Global Animal partnership certified, and Non-GMO verification.
One of my favorite ways Tender & True communicate their green labels is on the packaging itself. On the front, you’ll notice their green labels and benefits in bright circles that are easily visible. Take a look at the back of their packaging and you’ll notice a timeline with each certification they receive over the years. I love this because it tells a story of their brand and that they’re constantly striving to improve each year. For businesses that are working towards becoming more sustainable, it sets a nice example because sustainable and responsible products don’t just appear overnight. They require small steps that compound over time.
Just like Ethique, they also use gorgeous A+ content to attract their audience and show why they’re certifiably better. They use clear images and callouts to their green labels. On some of their product pages and A+ content, they even include the USDA organic and MSC certificate numbers which shows complete transparency on their part.
If you check out their storefront, you’ll also see their certifications features prominently, right in the header image. Brands should take note from Tender & True and focus on showing their green labels right on the packaging.
One last piece that can’t be overlooked – Tender & True’s video at the bottom of their storefront. They’ve gotten really creative. It shows happy pets and their owners hanging out around the city, with the Tender & True green label buttons cleverly placed in different locations. They even have a unique and catchy Tender & True song. You’ve got to check it out – really inspirational!
5. Cover All the Bases Planet Poop Style
I’m impressed with Planet Poop. They’re a brand that focuses on one thing and they do a really good job at it. They sell 100% compostable pet waste bags. From their product pages to their A+, it looks like they’ve thought of everything for their green marketing. Plus their tagline – because plastic stinks – is just awesome!
Let’s start with the product page. They have great images – they’re professional, clear and showcase the green labels clearly. Even the actual product – the poop bags – have the compostable certifications on them. They clearly explain everything in their bullet points too!
Their A+ content is also nice and prominently features their compostable plastic-free certifications. Planet Poop goes into detail and gets specific with the standards they’re meeting. This increases their credibility and gives the consumer greater confidence. To top it all off Planet Poop mentions that they donate monthly to support dog rescues, rehabilitation and rehoming in Bali, Indonesia.
When you hit all the points of customer contact (images, storefront, A+ content), you have more chances to explain and highlight your green labels. This is something you should try to keep in mind if you go the green marketing route!
Should You Dedicate an Amazon Image Just for Your Green Labels?
There’s a new feature on Amazon that’s currently being tested. When you hover over sponsored products in search, you’ll see the images start to scroll through. This could be a perfect opportunity for you to communicate your green marketing. For a detailed guide about product images, check out Every Image You Need for the Perfect Amazon Listing.
Remember that on mobile devices images are king because they’re what the customer sees first. They also take up the most space so it’s natural that they draw the eye there. When you choose to dedicate an entire image to your sustainability certifications, they stand out and get more attention. There’s no way the customer won’t notice them!
It’s the same idea with hovering over sponsored products. If you’re serious about displaying your green labels, this is something you should consider. You’ll be able to communicate your certifications before the customer even clicks through to your product. And if they’re sustainably conscious, this is a win for you.
Key Takeaways
The idea behind green marketing is to share your products’ sustainable and earth-conscious benefits with pride. If you’ve already committed to doing the work to creating an eco-friendly, socially responsible brand, then you should show it off. Here are some things to think about:
- Include green labels and certifications at every point of contact – storefront, A+ content, images and packaging – so there’s no way for a customer to miss them
- Show your certifications front and center – when including them in images, assign one just for your green labels
- Consider applying for Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly badge so your products stand out even more and so you have the proof behind what you preach