Dove and the Plastic Backlash: When Purpose Meets Environmental Accountability.
From Purpose Pioneer to Public Pressure
Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign redefined beauty marketing two decades ago, positioning the brand around confidence, diversity, and authenticity. Films like Evolution and Real Beauty Sketches gave Dove credibility as a purpose-led brand at a time when few competitors were willing to challenge stereotypes. That foundation built loyalty and made Dove a global case study in values-driven marketing. Today, however, the brand faces a different kind of scrutiny. Environmental groups have pointed out that self-esteem campaigns ring hollow if the business continues to contribute heavily to plastic waste.
Greenpeace’s Challenge
In 2023, Greenpeace released Toxic Influence, a campaign that highlighted Dove’s use of single-use plastic sachets. According to the NGO, Dove is responsible for more than six billion sachets a year, much of which ends up polluting communities in Asia. The film mirrored Dove’s own advertising style, showing mothers and daughters praising the brand before confronting the reality of its plastic footprint. Greenpeace’s demands were specific: eliminate sachets by 2025, phase out all single-use plastics within a decade, and use influence at the UN Global Plastics Treaty to push for systemic change.
The Risk to Equity
For Dove, the issue is not only environmental but reputational. The brand has spent twenty years building equity on values of authenticity and care. If that purpose is seen to ignore environmental harm, the risk is credibility loss with younger consumers who rank sustainability as a priority, reputational damage across global media, and increased scrutiny for parent company Unilever. What was once a strength, being perceived as a values-driven brand, becomes a liability if purpose and operations diverge.
Pathways to Alignment
Closing the gap between brand image and environmental impact requires operational and cultural shifts. Dove can:
Accelerate packaging change: eliminate sachets in favor of refillable and reusable formats that work across markets, including emerging economies.
Collaborate externally: work with NGOs, local governments, and supply chain partners to design waste management solutions that go beyond product-level changes.
Embed accountability: align marketing and sustainability teams so campaigns and operations reinforce one another.
Advocate policy: use market influence to push for international regulations on plastics, turning pressure into leadership.
Communicate transparently: publish regular progress reports, not only celebrating wins but acknowledging setbacks.
Bottom Line
Dove’s Real Beauty campaign made the brand a cultural leader by connecting to self-esteem. The Greenpeace backlash shows that in today’s environment, cultural leadership must extend to sustainability. Purpose without operational accountability now carries more risk than reward.
For Dove to sustain credibility, equity, and loyalty, it must prove that real beauty includes responsibility for people and the planet. In a marketplace where scrutiny is immediate, purpose and practice can no longer diverge.
