WHAT IS ETHICAL BRANDING AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?

Branding refers to a unique identifier that is given to a business that marks them different from its competitors and Branding is the most effective and fruitful investment that a business makes for its growth. It is important for any kind of company, whether big or small as it puts you on a high pedestal and differentiates you from the others. The brand is the sign of trust and quality and that is what people look for while they buy anything. Branding saves your business and its products from duplication and other issues that could put your business in danger. Branding is important to give your business a unique identity, to create customer loyalty, to reduce the competition, to easily launch new products, and to make your business easily recognizable. 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRANDING AND ETHICAL BRANDING?

Businesses nowadays are not just about creating products and giving them to people without considering the demerits that come along with them and the good changes that could be brought through them. Businesses need to understand their duty towards the surroundings they are benefiting from. Ethical branding is the process where the branding and promotion of brands are done by showing your socially and environmentally conscious audience a story behind your brand which focuses on bringing positive social changes by creating products that do not harm the environment or people and are morally correct. 

THE COMPLETE ETHICAL BRANDING PROCESS:

1. Make sure your business is not producing harmful products 
   Always remember that your customers come first and their safety and well-being are important. Businesses need to take all the quality checks and security measures to make sure that the product is not harmful to the customers or the environment in any way.
    
2. Be environment-conscious
   We are part of the environment and we cannot harm it by producing waste that will destroy nature or its elements. For ethical branding, you must first make sure that you take measurements for the safety of the environment and not just think about profits.
    
3. Help customers make ethical choices while buying things
   Through ethical branding, you should show people that your brand is socially and environmentally conscious and not just that, you even need to help them by telling them why they should always go for socially and ethically conscious brands.
   
   
4. Choose a branding strategy that shows the moral vision behind your brand
   When branding planning is done your business should prepare the strategies in a way that describes and shows the story behind your brand which focuses on bringing sustainable changes and not just profit.
    
5. Be transparent with the information
   When you restrain yourself from telling information about your brand, people will not show their trust in it and it will hinder your customer growth. Make sure that your customers have access to all the necessary information about your brand.
    
6. Safe Production 
   Production generates a lot of waste, which should be safely managed so that it doesn't affect the environment or people in any way. The needs and safety of the workers should be very well taken care of.
    
7. Communication
   Communication is the key to building good relations with your customers. Ethical branding includes making sure that the feedback of customers is taken into consideration and complaints are dealt with. You must make sure that you deliver what your business had promised and never lie about your brand to your customers.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICAL BRANDING

1. Building a brand's reputation
   Brand’s reputation is everything and ethical branding is the way to gain maximum support and appreciation by people. It is a different way of how businesses now work and people tend to like and incline towards such brands.
    
2. Gaining customer trust and loyalty
   Ethical branding is the way to gain trust and loyalty from people. Customers are attracted to the brands that are not just focusing on gaining customers and increasing profit but the businesses that are working for the mutual growth of their environment and people. Their loyalty sticks to such brands. 
    
3. Environment friendly
   Ethical branding makes sure that the business is bringing growth while taking all possible measures to protect its environment so that more businesses get inspired by them and environmental exploitation in the name of development could be eradicated.
   
    
4. Consumer wellness
   Consumer wellness is assured through security measures and tests that are being taken of the product to make sure that it does not harm the customers or the environment in any possible way. Ethical branding keeps its customers first and their needs and security are very well taken care of. 
    
5. Generating employment
   Employment opportunities arise when through ethical branding the production and growth of a business increase. A lot of people gain their livelihood with the help of socially conscious brands.
    
6. Promoting literacy and other good causes
   When your business does ethical branding, it makes sure that the business could make possible positive changes around it like promoting literacy, generating employment, promoting equality, etc. People become more aware and conscious of their surroundings and their issues.

People who come to seek jobs at your business or your business' customers, everyone looks for ethics which is the vital most thing for creating a good reputation for a business in the market. Businesses have to be morally correct and socially and environmentally conscious when they produce something because you cannot just be capitalists and leave the environment to suffer the consequences. Ethical branding is a more effective way of branding and it builds your business' reputation in the market. When you take so much from the environment which helps you in your growth, you need to give it back as well.