Circular Economy (CE) Branding is becoming an increasingly popular competitive advantage for top Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies in India. However, the growing number of credible environmental claims being used to support the Competitive Advantage through CE is receiving increased Regulatory Scrutiny. As a result of this increasing concern regarding "Green Washing," in 2024, India developed and implemented two major new regulations to limit green washing: the Advertising Standards Council of India's (ASCI) Guidelines for Advertisements Making Environmental/Green Claims; and the Central Consumer Protection Authority's (CCPA) Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading Environmental Claims. Using a qualitative content analysis methodology, the authors analysed secondary data collected from publicly available documents including but not limited to Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reports (BRSRs), sustainability reports, and other corporate communication statements issued by the ten largest publicly traded companies listed on the S&P BSE FMCG Index that were also constituents of the S&P BSE FMCG Index. These ten largest publicly traded companies in the FMCG sector included: Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Nestle India Limited, Britannia Industries Limited, Marico Limited, Dabur India Limited, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Limited, Tata Global Beverages Limited, Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (India) Private Limited, HUL, and ITC Limited. The authors then compared each firm’s circular economy related claims using a six-dimensional coding framework based on both the ASCI and CCPA guidelines. The results showed that there was substantial variability in how well supported the claims made regarding circular economies by these ten companies. For example, some of the firms that scored high on the substantiation scale for CE claims included Nestle India and ITC due to use of benchmarks/assurances provided by regulatory bodies or third party assurance providers. In contrast, many firms had very little quantifiable information and/or relied heavily upon qualitative language to describe what they intend to do as opposed to what they have done in order to achieve a circular economy. Additionally, the authors found that of all the companies studied, two of them did not disclose any measurable metrics relative to their circular economies within the secondary sources reviewed. The results will be further discussed in terms of previously identified categories of greenwashing and the problems associated with attributing credence to sustainable marketing.
Circular Economy Branding; Greenwashing; ASCI Guidelines; CCPA Guidelines 2024; FMCG India; Content Analysis; Corporate Sustainability Disclosure.
. Circularity or Concealment? A Content-Analytic Assessment of Greenwashing Risk in Circular Economy Claims of Leading Indian FMCG Companies. Indian Journal of Modern Research and Reviews. 2025; 3(6):117-122
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