Consumers

Meeting consumer needs

A powerful force for behaviour change, advertising helps inform people about the benefits of our products, while allowing us to engage them on issues they care about.

For instance, Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty challenges beauty stereotypes, while Omo/Persil's 'Dirt is good' campaign emphasises the importance of outdoor play for children.

We also strive to market responsibly, guided by our Food and Beverage Marketing Principles. We do not advertise to children under six years of age, and restrict marketing to six-to-twelve year olds to food products that meet strict nutritional criteria. Food products are not promoted as part of school education programmes. And we do not use 'size-zero' models or actors to promote our brands.

Today, with people everywhere being able to access online material, our internet marketing guidelines ensure that campaigns aimed at a particular market are sensitive to cultural differences in other parts of the world.

Consumer safety

Consumers trust us to provide them and their families with products that are safe. Product safety is always considered at the design stage of a new product or process. We have an independent safety approval process for product and supply-chain technology design, managed by our Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC), which handles over 10 000 approvals a year.

Incidents, such as quality defects, mislabelling or contamination of raw materials, can occur if a product that does not reach our high safety and quality standards is accidentally released into the market. We then identify the most effective measures to protect consumers' safety, including recalling products. 2008 saw five public recalls (compared to 10 in 2007), each followed by a thorough investigation.

We recognise that consumers may be concerned about particular chemicals in our products. We continue to work in partnership with research organisations, industry partners, NGOs and regulators to strengthen consumer confidence or find alternative ingredients. We continually review our safety findings, acting on the side of caution if anything changes.

Assuring safety without animal testing

We are committed to eliminating animal testing, which most of our products do not, in any case, involve. Our strict internal procedures ensure that testing is only carried out where there is no other option, while we continue to invest in alternative methods.

Counterfeiting

Counterfeit products pose safety risks for consumers, erode confidence in our brands and undermine our investment in R&D. We work with others to improve intellectual property protection, enforcement and consumer awareness.

Consumer communications

Here, we are guided by four principles:

• we build trust through responsible practices and transparent communications

• we ensure that our products are safe, providing clear information on their use and any associated risks

• we are transparent in terms of ingredients, nutrition values and the health and beauty properties of our products

• we use a combination of channels, including product labels, websites, carelines and/or consumer leaflets, to communicate openly with consumers.