Is the business world sane again?

There are signs that woke capitalism is on the way out. Unilever, purveyor of the most right-on brand of the moment, Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, will no longer ‘force fit’ all of its brand with a social purpose, following a backlash over the company’s ‘virtue-signalling’.

Hein Schumacher, who became Unilever’s chief executive in July, has said that for some brands, giving them a social or environmental purpose ‘simply won’t be relevant or it will be an unwelcome distraction.’ He added: ‘I believe that a social and environmental purpose is not something that we should force fit on every brand.’

This report, in today’s Daily Telegraph, marks a significant U-turn for the manufactures of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Marmite spread and Dove soap. It’s a reversal of the stance adopted by Schumacher’s predecessor, Alan Jope, who vowed to sell products that ‘are not able to stand for something more important than just making your hair shiny, your skin soft, your clothes whiter or your food tastier.