Unilever and Shopee join hands to foster cleaner communities in Southeast Asia

Hi Everyone,

Global consumer goods company, Unilever, and Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in the region, today announced new efforts to increase sustainability awareness and expand access to greener home care products for consumers in six markets across Southeast Asia.

As part of Unilever’s Clean Future strategy, both parties will build on their long-standing partnership, to implement consumer-focused sustainability initiatives, with the launch of the ‘Clean Home. Clean Nation.’ programme on Shopee. This will start off with a regional Super Brand Day campaign on 21 May showcasing Unilever’s Home Care portfolio, encouraging shoppers to make a positive impact towards a cleaner environment. There will also be an always-on shop page on Unilever’s Shopee store, dedicated to encouraging awareness and the use of more environmentally friendly products.

A portion of Unilever’s Home Care orders on Super Brand Day will go towards community cleaning activities in partnership with local NGOs and charities. These activities will range from the cleaning of more than 4,000 mosques in Indonesia, to donating Unilever’s Home Care products such as Breeze, Sunlight, Comfort and Cif to underprivileged families in Malaysia. A video educating consumers about the threat of plastic pollution to the environment will also be shared on Shopee and promoted through social media channels.

Deepening education through online channels

The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a rapid shift to e-commerce, with online retail penetration increasing by 1.5 times across Southeast Asia in one year - which, pre-pandemic, had been forecast to happen in five years[1]. In parallel, there is an accelerated trend of shoppers in the region increasingly voicing their concerns about the environment, specifically around plastic waste, when making purchasing decisions. In Indonesia, the number of environmentally conscious shoppers grew by 112% between 2019 and 2020[2]. Furthermore, 69% of shoppers in Southeast Asia say they try to buy from companies that show a genuine concern for the environment, whilst 38% of consumers have stopped buying from brands for their negative environmental impact.[3] This suggests an opportunity for companies to take the lead in making sustainable products and initiatives more accessible through products and online channels.

"The pandemic has supercharged the digital retail landscape and Unilever believes e-commerce is a critical platform to answer consumer demand for sustainable options that are readily available and provide excellent value. We are delighted to partner with Shopee in this meaningful long-term collaboration that allows us to reach more consumers in Southeast Asia with sustainable products and initiatives via Shopee’s unrivalled consumer reach and insights," said Deepak Subramanian, Vice President of Home Care for Southeast Asia, Unilever.

"Shopee is pleased to collaborate with a purpose-driven company such as Unilever, to help achieve their sustainability goals and give back to our communities. With a deep understanding of consumer behaviour and trends in each market, Shopee will work with Unilever to develop localised initiatives that will help to raise awareness and encourage our shoppers to do their part in creating a cleaner and greener community for everyone. We look forward to driving more of such meaningful initiatives with our brand partners in future,” said Ian Ho, Regional Managing Director at Shopee.

To further reach the 400 million internet users every day in Southeast Asia,[4] Unilever and Shopee will continue to provide home care content and drive sustainability education at scale by tapping on Shopee’s suite of marketing and engagement tools such as Shopee Live and affiliate networks.

Transforming lives through cleaner homes in Malaysia this Super Brand Day

In Malaysia, Unilever and Shopee are officially launching the 'Clean Home. Clean Malaysia.' Super Brand Day campaign, with a mission to support local communities by ensuring they have clean and hygienic places to live in. Through the offering of an innovative assortment of home cleaning products, the partnership aims to make eco-consciousness a default and easy action for all Malaysians.

Committed to supporting vulnerable local communities, Unilever will also be helping underprivileged families through a collaboration with HOPE worldwide Malaysia. Ongoing till 21 May, shoppers purchasing any Unilever Home Care products during the campaign will contribute to a donation of RM100,000 worth of homecare products to 600 underprivileged homes.

"At Unilever, we are committed to doing our part in protecting the environment. On top of our existing commitments to reduce our environmental impact, we also want to give consumers more access to environmentally friendly products. We hope that through this Clean Home. Clean Malaysia. programme with Shopee, we are one step closer to achieving our Clean Future ambitions," said Marcos Nakagawa, General Manager, Unilever Malaysia and Singapore.

Creating a Cleaner Future together

The “Clean Home. Clean Nation.” initiative in Southeast Asia is inspired by Unilever’s global Clean Future strategy announced last year, which has led to the consumer goods company transforming the production of many of its home care portfolio to be more sustainable now and for the future.

Unilever’s Subramanian said: “Unilever’s Clean Future strategy is a ground-breaking programme that will reshape our Home Care portfolio into an even more sustainable one. We are excited to work with Shopee to reach new consumers, share our vision of cleaner homes, and empower consumers with information and sustainable choices to build a clean future – wherever they are on their sustainability journey. The ‘Clean Home. Clean Nation.’ campaign is just one step towards creating change in Southeast Asia, and we look forward to working closely with our e-commerce partners to realise our vision of a Clean Future for all.”

[1] Bain & Company and Facebook; Digital Consumers of Tomorrow, Here Today

[2] Kantar #WhoCares?WhoDoes? 2020, based on % growth of Eco-Actives and Eco-Considerers in Indonesia

[3] Kantar #WhoCares?WhoDoes? 2020, based on Southeast Asia (Indonesia & Vietnam) consumers

[4] Google, Temasek and Bain & Company; E-Conomy SEA Report 2020