CINCINNATI: Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, has launched a new "multi-brand initiative" that intends to actively demonstrate the "green" credentials of its products.
The company plans to spend $50 billion (€34.1bn; £31.5bn) on making and promoting "sustainable innovation products", and said last year it would run its first "green" marketing campaign in the US in 2010.
It has now announced the Future Friendly scheme will feature brands like Tide detergent, Pampers nappies and Duracell batteries, and aims to educate shoppers on how to "save water, waste and energy at home".
To mark the launch of this project, the world's biggest advertiser has developed what it described as a "comprehensive marketing and public relations programme", with TV spots first set to air on March 29.
"A full media platform, including an extensive social networking and consumer engagement component, will be deployed" to reach 50 million US households by the end of this year, it added in a statement.
Over 15,000 retail stores will be involved in the first stage of Future Friendly, and all of the participating brands will carry a special badge on their packaging.
The April edition of Procter & Gamble's Brandsaver supplement, which is distributed to millions of customers across America, will contain further information and coupons tied to this effort.
More broadly, the Cincinnati-based firm will promote this activity via a "full suite of digital and social media engagement initiatives", sponsorship tie-ups and an internal communications drive.
"With Future Friendly, we're trying to educate 'mainstream' consumers on how to conserve natural resources in their homes," said Melanie Healey, P&G group president for North America.
"These consumers don't want any perceived trade-offs in performance and price. They want to purchase the brands they already know and trust and understand how using these products … can help them lower their impact on the environment."
One example of P&G's recent advancements in this field is Tide Coldwater, which removes the need to heat water, and therefore contributes to greater efficiency in the washing cycle.
In order to gauge current popular attitudes about eco-friendly goods and behaviours, the owner of Febreze and Gillette commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs to conduct a survey of 1,000 people.
It found that 58% of participants would adapt their routine to save resources, while 37% said a lack of information prevented them from doing so at present, and 36% lacked sufficient interest to take such steps.
When asked to explain their primary interests in adopting these new habits, 64% of the panel agreed that saving money was one of their main motivations, rising to 76% among 18-34 year olds.
"Preserving resources for future generations" received 56% on this measure, jumping to 66% for college graduates and 63% for households with children.
However, at present, price was the most important factor in shaping the purchase decisions of 47% of the panel, followed by performance, on 38%, while the environment was prioritised by just 22%.
More positively, 74% expressed a willingness to switch to brands that helped reduce their use of resources at no extra cost, with a third being "extremely likely" to do so, and 42% "very likely" to do so.
By contrast, just 6% stated they "would not be very likely" or "not at all likely" to transfer their allegiance to an alternative offering that offered these kinds of benefits.
