New paths to competitive advantage
Ecolabels are effective here
The retail trade plays a major role in the development of the market for environment friendly products. It is here that there is direct contact with the customers, and it is here that the decision is made to whether to highlight environmentally sound products in marketing, and where the products are to be displayed in the shops. At both Dansk Supermarked and COOP Denmark, the two largest grocery retailers in the country, ecolabelled detergents have become a major sales success.
"Grøn Linie was the world's first washing powder to carry the EU Flower ecolabel, and we have definitely not regretted the time and money we used to develop the product in collaboration with the manufacturer, Linds Fabrikker. When we won the Danish Consumer Information Centre's white washing powder test in 2001, sales of our Grøn Linie product tripled. In our Netto stores, moreover, our Netop product is presently the best selling washing powder," says Mogens Jensen, Buying Director of Dansk Supermarked Indkøb. He continues:
"Now we have the Flower ecolabel on toilet paper, kitchen rolls and dishwashing tablets, and more products will follow. We believe that customer knowledge of ecolabels can best be enhanced by placing them on everyday products."
A credible aid
At COOP Denmark, the detergent Bluecare carries the Nordic Swan ecolabel. Niels Munck, COOP Denmark's General Manager, Dry Products, says:
"The use of an ecolabel on COOP Denmark's Bluecare detergents has made Bluecare the most sold detergent in our shops. The most important factors for its success were the National Consumer Agency of Denmark's test in 1999 together with the fact that the price, quality and environmental aspects were in order. Ecolabels per se are not enough, but they are a credible aid to consumers in finding the environmentally sound products."
"Sales increased ten-fold when the Agency's test showed that Bluecare Colour headed the list as regards environmental performance and washing efficiency, while concomitantly being the cheapest. The success made it possible to press the multinational brands to remove the hazardous substance LAS and to begin considering ecolabels more seriously," concludes Niels Munck.
Dansk Supermarked A/S, Aarhus, approx. 19,000 employees, and COOP Denmark, Albertslund, approx. 22,000 employees.
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