There is a phenomenon I have been observing for years across the home and living sector, and it concerns me more than I usually admit.
I call it Soulwashing. I coined the term while writing Oltre l’Abitare, to describe the superficial use of words such as soul, energy, deep wellbeing and inner sanctuary. Words that companies and property developers attach to products and projects to enhance their perceived value, without doing the work needed to deliver on what those words promise.
It may appear to work. But beneath the surface, something begins to fracture.
Customers can sense the difference. More and more people are looking for a genuine sense of resonance, something that is difficult to imitate and even harder to sustain. If we promise a sanctuary for the soul but deliver cold, impersonal spaces, or a product conceived and manufactured with no more care or intention than any other, something in the person receiving it registers the disconnect. The rational mind may not immediately find the words for it. The body does. A quiet, persistent dissatisfaction, difficult to explain and impossible to resolve with another advertising campaign.
A reputational risk that many brands underestimate.
Why does this happen? I believe there is a particular reason. Claiming that a wooden floor is restorative, that a home is in harmony with the soul, or that a spa offers profound wellbeing has become almost an expectation in marketing today. Brands that don’t use this language risk appearing out of touch. And so many adopt the words without making them a reality.
But there is another way. Slower, perhaps, but built on far stronger foundations: moving beyond the language of wellbeing and bringing deeper meaning to the materials themselves.
It means making inner wellbeing part of the product specifications, the manufacturing process and the company culture. It means asking what invisible impact the things we create might have, and working consciously with that dimension. It means recognising that certain words should only be used once we have truly understood their meaning, and undertaken the personal and organisational journey needed to give them substance.
Having a company qualified under the Habitat Evolutivo® system is one way of making this shift. The process works across four interconnected dimensions: the place where products are made, the people involved throughout the product’s life, the customer who will receive it, and those responsible for communicating its story and value.
When these four dimensions come into alignment, the imprint carried by each product takes on a different quality. And when customers encounter it, they can feel the difference.
There are already companies that embody these principles naturally, without the need for formal recognition. Some of the most perceptive among them nevertheless seek a structured way to make this commitment visible to the outside world.
Because an increasingly discerning market values authenticity over appearances.
In your company, do the words you use to describe your products truly reflect what you deliver to your customers?