Researchers have identified several factors that have determined the marketing success of FIJI Water. These are “unique product positioning, innovative packaging, premium-product pricing, effective distribution, and image-creating publicity” (McMaster & Nowak, 2009, p. 6). Their product and incredibly rapid success attracted environmentalists and conservationists, who heavily criticized the company (McMaster & Nowak, 2009). In response to criticism, the company adopted ethical and socially responsible marketing strategies. Ethical marketing is a marketing approach where a company markets its product or service by applying such key principles as honesty, responsibility, and fairness and focusing on generally accepted moral values close to consumers and the community.
Socially responsible marketing, a conceptually similar practice, is a marketing process when a company considers its profit and the interests of society and their effect on the environment. In socially responsible marketing, a company strives to make long-term positive change through its product or service. Following these models and applying corporate social responsibility (CRM) and corporate sustainability strengthen the company’s image and increases its profits in the long run. Marketers not concerned about CRM and corporate sustainability lead their companies to an even more significant backlash than FIJI Water experienced, which means reputational and market position losses.
Another countermove from FIJI Water was the carbon-negative strategy. They made information about their carbon emissions publicly available, streamlined many manufacturing processes, and began supporting environmental initiatives such as recycling, ecosystem restoration, and renewable energy use. According to McMaster and Nowak (2009), “FIJI Water calculated its carbon emissions across every stage in the product lifecycle” and posted the statistics on the website (p. 11). It is safe to say that the then FIJI Water’s carbon footprint was huge compared to other companies in the United States.
The company’s activities have affected the provisioning and supporting of ecosystem services. These include water and its cycle (McMaster & Nowak, 2009). The researchers found that FIJI Water uses about 1.3 gallons of water, which is beyond the generating capacity of the source, an artesian aquifer (McMaster & Nowak, 2009). The company is currently undertaking a series of successful ecosystem restoration measures (Climate One, 2011). However, some plants and animals are on the verge of extinction, and the Viti Levu ecosystem is damaged by deforestation caused primarily by improper logging (FIJI Water, 2015). Water removal leads to desertification, disturbances in the soil, and the death of ecosystems. The negative impact of bottling facilities is plastic pollution.
References
Climate One. (2011). Greenwashing Fiji water? [Video]. YouTube.
FIJI Water. (2015). FIJI Water and conservation international team up to protect Fiji’s rainforest [Video]. YouTube.
McMaster, J. C., & Nowak, J. (2009). Fiji water and corporate social responsibility: Green makeover or greenwashing? Ivey ID: 909A08.