Prioritise Purse And Planet

The DO Black credit card, which took the 2019 Grand Prix in the Creative eCommerce Lions, sets a carbon limit. Once reached, it denies transactions, preventing both over-consumption and over-spending. It’s an example of a scalable tool to mobilise consumers and instil responsibility into consumption.

H&M’s in-store garment-to-garment upcycling system transformed unwanted clothes into new items. Spots to remake clothes were booked out within weeks, demonstrating how to encourage behaviour change by making upcycling a personalised, enjoyable experience. It took the Grand Prix in the 2021 Design Lions.

Diesel’s controversial ‘Enjoy Before Returning’ embraced the behaviour of returning clothes to the store after they’d been worn. Leaning into an existing behaviour showed that the retailer understood its audience’s financial predicament, while mitigating the environmental impact of returns. The result? Returns shrank by 9% globally and sales rose by 24%.

IKEA bought back its own furniture to resell it, normalising the act of buying second hand while emphasising the durability of its products. It shows how to disrupt expectations by subverting an occasion associated with overspending: delivering on Black Friday enabled IKEA to make clear its commitment to sustainability and more conscientious consumption.

Smart Fill enables shoppers to use any container to fill up on Unilever products like Vim and Comfort. It shows how a sustainable business model can benefit people, planet and profit: this approach saves customers money and plastic as well as driving trials.