Love against the diaper giant: “Terribly disrespectful” • Accused of greenwashing • This is how Libero responds
The Swedish diaper giant Libero is in trouble.
After the launch of a new and “neat” packaging in connection with the company’s development of the diaper, the parents of small children are now furious.
The number of diapers in the package has been reduced by seven, while unit prices have been increased.
“With fewer diapers, less air and more compressed, there will be up to 20% fewer transports (and so they will be easier to carry home!)”, writes Libero in an Instagram post.
“Terribly disrespectful”
But the criticism from consumers sees no end and Libero is accused, among other things, of engaging in so-called greenwashing.
“You try to claim that the smaller packaging reduces transport and thus the environmental impact, but instead the consumer will have to buy more packaging than before = more transport”, writes one person in the comment field.
“Terribly disrespectful of you to do this! Many parents of small children are already on their knees as it is, and many on parental leave are even living on the bare minimum,” writes another.
Many write that they will now boycott Libero and switch to other, cheaper diapers.
“Prices may vary”
In an email to TV4 Nyheterna, Essity, which owns Libero, writes that the price increase is due to product improvements.
“We have lowered the recommended price per pack compared to before because there are fewer diapers in the packs. However, it is not us but the stores that set the final consumer price and by law they have the right to set the prices they want. The prices can therefore vary between different stores,” writes Sofia Hallberg, communicator at Essity.
When it comes to the criticized environmental aspect, Essity believes that the smaller and compressed packaging means that there is room for more packages per truck.
“Even when purchasing an increased number of packages on a year-round basis, the new transport options from factory to store provide a reduction in environmental impact”.
Greenwashing
Greenwashing, or green painting as it is usually called in Swedish, means that a company or other activity tries to create an image of being environmentally friendly.
This can be done by marketing themselves in such a way, including by highlighting individual environmentally friendly efforts. But in fact, the effort is insignificant compared to other environmental damage that the company causes.
The term was coined in 1986 by environmental activist and researcher Jay Westerveld after examining the hotel industry’s practice of promoting the reuse of towels for environmental purposes. Instead, Westerveld accused the hotels of just wanting to save on costs.