An Ethical Supply Chain
For Australian Plants
Australia and ethics, two words that are currently high in consumer consciousness.
Jane Tiedtke
Cosmetochem International AG
Juleigh Robins
Robins Foods Pty
A
USTRALIA, the recent film
with Nicole Kidman and
Hugh Jackman, has generated a lot of interest in all
things Australian. Tourism
Australia, the National
Tourism Board, has
launched a $26 million international advertising campaign based on the movie, to attract
tourists to Western Australia. So, 2009
looks like the ideal time to look to
Australia for some new marketing
ideas in personal care. Geographically
themed products have been popular for
many years, so Australia could be the
next destination to create a stir (Fig 1).
Ethics is becoming an important pur-
chasing criterium for consumers.1, 3, 8
Nielsen carried out a 51-country survey
of 28,253 consumers online in 2008 and
found two out of three consumers said
they would be interested in buying ethical products to support environmental
and social causes. 9 Consumers are not
only concerned with pampering themselves and going back to nature to
relieve the stress of everyday life, they
are aware that to achieve this aim and
to have a feel-good factor, you cannot
exploit the environment or the local
people. This rise in eco-ethics has lead
to the designation of LOHAS,2 an
acronym for Lifestyles of Health &
Sustainability, to this consumer group.
LOHAS consumers care deeply about
Figure 1: Ayres Rock (Uluru) in Northern Territory, Central Australia
their health, the environment, social
issues and sustainable living and are
willing to spend accordingly. They are
predictors of up and coming trends and
early adopters.
Personal care manufacturers are
making products more compatible with
emerging lifestyle trends of ethical
shopping and eco-consciousness. 5, 7
Ethical personal care products or “
cosmetics that care,” are a growing trend
as people often prefer to be defined by
what they believe rather than their
material possessions. It embraces
among other topics, green issues, no
animal testing and fair trade. 11 The
number of ethical personal care products launched in Europe has increased
five-fold in 2007 to 2,260, with France
and the UK accounting for 74% of the
market. 7 During economic downturns,
values will not be sacrificed for cheaper
products when it comes to ethical purchasing according to the Co-op Report.1
Outback Spirit Background
Outback Spirit Botanicals (OSB)
embraces both Australian and ethical
themes and is a partnership between
an Australian company, Outback Spirit
Pty. Ltd., and Cosmetochem
International AG. This range of exotic
Australian fruits and plants is derived
from an ethical supply chain. Outback
Spirit is the flagship brand of an ethical partnership with Australian indigenous people. The logo (Fig. 2) shows
concentric circles and dots, which in
traditional Indigenous culture represent a meeting place. This is the brand
where Indigenous partners' interests
