Top 10 Indian Brands Facing Sustainability Issues

In today’s fast-evolving generation sustainability is everywhere yet it is the biggest concern. Pollution is increasing day by day, we can even feel the change in our environment. This is harmful for us and the future generations. If things go like this we may not exist in the next thousand Years. In this situation focusing on sustainability and well being of the environment is the biggest concern. But how many brands talk the talk? Some of India’s biggest names dominate the markets with their reach and innovation, yet they’re failing big time on the sustainability scorecard. Here’s a deep dive into 10 popular Indian brands with major eco-issues.

1. Reliance Retail

Reliance Retail: An affordable and accessible giant with a not-so-pretty face. It has stores all over the country thousands of them ironically, it relies very heavily on single-use plastics for packaging. While its parent company, Reliance Industries, has strived to remain ambitious in its pursuit to turn towards sustainable energy, its retail arm hasn’t quite followed suit. Most things come in layers of plastic that cannot be recycled-very neat in terms of waste pollution. Reliance claims to be “moving toward sustainability,” but actions speak louder than words. The lack of clear timelines or innovative practices, like biodegradable alternatives, frustrates eco-conscious shoppers.

2. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Hindustan Unilever is the head of the FMCG sector in terms of brands such as Dove, Surf Excel, and Lux. Well, here’s the catch: HUL fares poorly when it comes to sustainability in the products and packaging themselves. Critics argue that many of its best-selling items contain chemicals that could be harmful to human beings but are also a threat to aquatic ecosystems containing phosphates and parabens. The packaging front hasn’t seen much movement yet. The brand is still heavily reliant on plastic-heavy solutions for mass-market offerings, invoking affordability as the reason to do so. Yes, affordability matters, but at what environmental cost?

3. ITC Limited

ITC often brags about its green initiatives, and to some extent, it has made strides, like planting millions of trees and promoting water conservation. But here’s the flip side: ITC is a significant contributor to plastic pollution in India. Its FMCG brands, Bingo and Aashirvaad, are packed in multi-layered packaging that is out of the uestion for recycling. With much fanfare over sustainability, ITC has not phased out the use of single-use plastics, which isn’t quite “sustainable”.

4. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (Pantaloons)

Who doesn’t love a good bargain at Pantaloons? But fast fashion, by nature, is not eco-friendly. Aditya Birla’s retail arm has ventured into sustainable fabrics, yet their production model churns out millions of garments annually, leading to overproduction and textile waste. Most of their products are made in sweatshops with questionable labor and environmental standards. Worse, transparency concerning their supply chain is still missing, leaving consumers clueless about the actual environmental cost of their purchases.

5. Dabur

Dabur is the poster child of natural and Ayurvedic products, but one gets to hear a different story when it comes to their environmental practices. While they market themselves as going green, the packaging for most of their products is way from sustainable. Think of those plastic bottles of Dabur honey or Chyawanprash that pile up in your kitchen. Although Dabur has promised to implement recyclable packaging, the transition has been slow, leaving behind a massive carbon footprint.

6. Amul

The Taste of India might not be all that sweet after all. Amul’s scale of dairy has its problems, including methane emissions which is a major contributor to climate change. To that, the supply chain is hazy regarding whether higher animal welfare practices are being followed or whether water usage is at optimum levels. Though Amul has tried renewable energy for a section of its operations, critics feel it’s not enough since its operations are massive in scale. Milk production on this scale is resource-intensive and the brand yet hasn’t addressed these sustainability concerns in an overarching manner.

7. Patanjali

Patanjali boasts of being the epitome of nature-friendly living, but its raw material sourcing has ruffled some environmental feathers. The company has been criticized for mass extraction of medicinal plants, which disbalance local ecosystems. More importantly, while they pose that their products are toxin-free, plastic-heavy packaging derails that claim. For a company that claims to connect with nature, it is a pretty big fail.

8. Tata Motors

Tata has been making good news with its electric vehicles, such as the Nexon EV. Sounds great on paper, but the production of EV batteries is fraught with enough environmental issues-such as rare-earth mining to be a “mixed bag” here. Moreover, the production of conventional cars by Godrej Consumer Products is highly dependent on fossil fuels. The company should improve in incorporating environment-friendly practices in its operations.

9. Godrej Consumer Products

Godrej’s slogan “Brighter Living,” doesn’t sum it all. On one hand, the company did promise to go carbon-neutral, and reduce waste; on the other, it’s still heavily reliant on palm oil major driver of deforestation. Their personal care products also have over-packaging, often in non-recyclable materials. Nothing much is being done about that, and soon the sustainability commitments made by them might become greenwashing.

10. Flipkart

Online shopping has become a norm, but it is leaving an enormous environmental impact. Flipkart, one of India’s biggest e-commerce giants, is accountable for overusing packaging materials such as bubble wrap and plastic tape The brand has begun its initiatives like recyclable packaging, but the large scale of operations makes this progress seem like a drop in the ocean. With millions of orders being processed daily, the environmental burden is huge.

The Big Picture

The sustainability issues of these brands reflect the urgent need for systemic change while Indian markets are largely dominated by them. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and demanding, thus forcing such companies to employ environmentally responsible practices. Such companies must act nonow notecessarily to save their reputation but to ensure that their business will survive on this earth long enough for it to coexist with a healthy planet. For, after all, sustainability isn’t a trend, but more a need of the hour. Comment down about your experience, let’s talk about how consumer choice can make or break these giants.