The topic of business practices has sparked debate, with some believing that companies adopt sustainable and ethical practices because of ecological and social responsibility, while others maintain that these actions are just marketing strategies to enhance their reputation. In my view, firms adopt such practices in order to influence their customers and encourage them to use eco-friendly alternatives.
On the one hand, major companies adopt such practices primarily for their image and reputation. This is mainly because, with the increase in environmental problems such as global warming and plastic waste, companies have started to promote their products as eco-friendly and recyclable by using phrases such as “99% natural” or “without additives.” However, firms use these campaigns mainly to increase their profits while neglecting the real threats. Therefore, businesses may adopt these practices only for financial benefits while totally ignoring the real goal of these actions, which is to tackle ecological challenges and reduce their consequences.
On the other hand, local and small businesses are more likely to apply measures that help society as well as the environment. This can be explained by the wide range of products that they promote, since most of these goods are produced by hand or from natural resources, such as Argan oil, which is very common in Morocco and very effective to use. Moreover, clothing companies tend to recycle their products by offering cabins where people can deposit their old clothes and obtain an amount of money back. As a result, some companies may adopt real actions that are visible to the public, in which they contribute to decreasing unwanted outcomes such as carbon emissions, fossil fuels, and plastic waste.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that visible action is a sign of real action that companies adopt; otherwise, phrases like “99% natural” or “without additives” cannot be considered as proof of real actions by companies, since people have been using products labeled with such phrases only to notice in the end that the product contains chemicals and additives.