Japanese marketers go green

Japanese consumers are snapping up fashionable eco-clothing and innumerable products covered with eco—messages. But is this just a short—lived fad or the first signs of serious consumer conscience?

IT’S NOT QUITE THE GREENING OF Japan, but there is no doubt that Japanese consumers are becoming more environment-conscious.

Ecological catastrophes like the Minamata disease of the 1950s (mercury poisoning) and the near-toxic levels of urban air pollution in the 1960s led Japan to adopt some of the world’s strictest pollution-control standards. Neighbourhood collectors of empty bottles and old newspapers bring the concept of recycling literally to one’s doorstep.

In recent years the Japanese tradition of frugality has given way to a trend-driven culture of conspicuous consumption — and waste. Japan’s new-found affluence has also helped to create greater public awareness of topics of international concern like the environment, but until recently individual consumers have had little choice when it came to choosing

products on the basis of their eco-friendliness. Enter the Ecomark. The government-affiliated Japan Environment Association introduced the symbol in February 1989 as a way of drawing attention to products that cause little or no pollution with their use or disposal. The Ecomark, which shows the Earth surrounded by arms forming an "E" for the environment as well as the slogan "Easy on the Earth", has so far been placed on more than 500 products.

Both domestic and foreign-made goods are eligible for the Ecomark seal of approval. Budweiser beer from the US was awarded the symbol in recognition of its non-removable pull-tab cans. Other products bearing the Ecomark include spray cans free of ozone layer damaging chlorofluorocarbons, recycled paper products and cloth nappies.

But the labeling programme has been criticized by environmentalists including Earth Day founder Denis Hayes for being too lax in its testing standards. Hayes expresses skepticism over the trustworthiness of the company-provided data, which the programme neither verifies nor tests, as well as the speed with which products pass inspection.

Major car manufacturers have also got in on the eco-friendly act. Late last year, Toyota Motor announced plans to make lighter, more fuel-efficient cars in the interest of environmental conservation, and, along with similar plans by other Japanese car-makers, in anticipation of increasingly strict pollution-control legislation in the giant US market.

Meanwhile, some department stores have set up special sections featuring goods with the Ecomark imprimatur and other products related to the theme of protecting the Earth such as biodegradable detergents. But concern for the environment sometimes conflicts with Japanese customs. Take the traditional emphasis on form and presentation, which results in elaborate wrapping of purchases at up market department and specialty stores, especially during the year-end and midsummer gift-giving seasons.

Canny retailers like Seibu Department Stores, mindful of the PR value of "green" marketing, have started offering customers a choice when it comes to wrapping their purchases. "We still ask our customers if the item is a present or not," says sales planning division staffer, Makoto Muramatsu. "But now, if they say it is a present, we ask them whether they want elaborate wrapping paper or not. We want our customers to understand this idea"

In 1990’s year-end gift-giving season, 30 per cent of Seibu’s customers chose the simpler wrapping option, says Muramatsu. "Especially for young people, gifts have become more personal — the contents are more important than the presentation," he adds.

The firm also offers its customers the choice of presenting gifts in a simple cardboard box sealed with a single band of paper on which is printed the Seibu symbol. "For younger people, giving gifts with simple wrapping is more fashionable," says Muramatsu. "And customers are showing more social concern."

Meanwhile, leading supermarket chain Daiei has started asking its customers to bring their own shopping bags to the store to help cut down on the use of plastic shopping bags. To encourage them, Daiei gives customers cards that are stamped each time they bring their own shopping bags to the store. Once a customer has accumulated 20 stamps, they are eligible to receive a l00 Yen (US$0.70) shopping voucher.

McDonald’s Japan, stung by criticism that its polystyrene packages despoil the environment, is adopting all-paper wrappings for its fast-food products. The burger behemoth is also using its bimonthly newsletter to explain its environmental policies as well as to pass on tips about nutrition.

The question remains, however: is eco-marketing a sign that Japanese consumers have taken environmental issues to heart or is it just another fad that will go the way of countless other "booms"? "In the past two years, consumers have been thinking more about the environment when they shop," says senior researcher at the Tokyo-based Environmental Research Institute, Komichi Ikeda. "They’re gathering more information from companies and various government bodies and are becoming more knowledgeable about the environment." But there is still no clear distinction in people’s minds between companies that try to project "environment friendly" images and those that actually market ecologically sound goods and services, he says. Another factor is the absence in Japan of a powerful consumer movement that could lobby for more ecologically sound products.

An example of the gap between the idea and the reality of environmental image making was provided by beverage giant Suntory last year when it introduced a new brand of beer called "The Earth". The product, which was sold in cans and bottles, bore the legend "Suntory is thinking about the Earth", and the cans featured non-removable pull-tabs. Such tabs are now included on about 85 per cent of Suntory’s canned products. But sceptics pointed out that, unlike the bottles, cans of "The Earth" were still non returnable.

"My overall impression is that a lot of consumers see companies jumping on the environmental bandwagon," says managing director of Dentsu, Young and Rubicam’s Tokyo office, Derek Hall. "They’re getting a little cynical about the companies that are doing this."

Eco-marketing is also influencing the multi-billion dollar fashion industry, "green fashion" —clothes featuring designs of animals, flowers and trees printed on bright pastel colours — is selling strongly in stores like Seibu, Parco and Marui and well-known boutiques.

Sales of books on environmental topics are also up substantially. Last year, one of Japan’s biggest book stores, Yaesu Book Center, held a book fair titled "The Crumbling Global Environment" as members of the general public showed greatly increased interest in books dealing with subjects like global warming, conservation and recycling.

Despite these activities, environmental awareness among the Japanese has developed little. Although consumer boycotts organized around "green issues" have proved an effective tactic in other Asian countries, the level of awareness in Japan is not sufficient to ensure their effectiveness there. Tokyo’s decision last year to stop drift-net fishing of albacore tuna by Japanese fishermen in the South Pacific met environmentalists’ concerns to some extent.

But drift nets — which wipe out all marine life in their path, not just the fish being sought — are still being used by Japanese squid fishermen. Greenpeace Japan spokesperson Naoko Kakuta says it’s difficult to trace squid that have been caught using the drift-net method. This, combined with lack of public awareness of the drift-net issue, greatly reduces the effectiveness of a consumer boycott in Greenpeace ‘ s eyes.

And while the Japanese are conservative when voicing individual opinions, there is no message clearer than that of their spending power. A survey conducted last year by the Nikkei Marketing Journal found that while more than 90 per cent of Tokyo residents polled said consumers should take environmental problems more seriously and that businesses should not produce goods that harm the environment, only two per cent said they would be prepared to buy environmentally sound products that cost more than environmentally harmful products of the same quality.