Hands up if your inbox or social media feed was invaded on Saturday by businesses encouraging you to buy their product as a way of celebrating Earth Day?
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the small number which came through to me – significantly less than last year, but unfortunately I suspect that’s due to some aggressive unsubscribing rather than a reduction in businesses using Earth Day as a hook to drive additional sales.
Personally, I love Earth Day. It’s designed to remind us, inspire us and drive us to take action to protect our planet. I also love the growing number of ethical brands out there who live the ethos of Earth Day day in, day out. It’s one of the big reasons why we set up In Good Company – a soon-to-launch platform to help people discover the incredible sustainable, ethical and socially-conscious businesses around them who are truly delivering on their purpose.
But just like the conscious consumerism bandwagon which so many brands have inappropriately jumped on, the message of Earth Day is also too readily abused.
I won’t list all the offenders I saw because this will become a long and boring read (instead head to sustainable fashion influencer Scott Staniland’s Insta for a brilliant selection), but I will namecheck some who I thought did Earth Day brilliantly. Like, sustainable fashion designer Lydia Bolton, who brought some of her community together in person for a panel discussion and upcycling workshop, or Saywood whose founder encouraged others to join her in the ways she enjoys and honours nature, or Swop, a zero-waste store, who showed how drastically they have managed to cut their waste compared to other high-street shops. These are the kinds of businesses I want to support.
If you’re a brand reading this then chances are you care about being ethical and about how you can operate without excessively harming the planet. But, regardless of how eco-friendly a product is, we should never be pushing a message that consuming more – even if it’s better – is what’s going to get us out of a climate crisis.
That’s not to say that brands should opt out of talking about Earth Day altogether. There is absolutely a space for brands to show up and be part of the conversation, to drive the agenda forward, and use their platform to remind, inspire and educate their audience.
There is a wealth of research out there which shows consumers buy and advocate for brands which match their values and beliefs. They also want businesses to speak out more on issues like climate change.
But that doesn’t look like H&M selling a £6 T-shirt proclaiming Earth Day is Every Day.
As a brilliant marketer friend of mine always reminds me, at any one time only 5% of your audience are actively looking to buy anyway (technically this is for B2B, but I think the principle holds true for consumers too). For the 95% you need to be focused on building your brand, on showing and living your values, on telling a story and deepening trust. It’s what puts you front of the queue for when they do join the 5% who want to buy.
So, for the next Earth Day – or any one of the environmental or social issue awareness days which will fall between then and now – don’t think about what offer goes well with it, think about how it genuinely aligns with your values and allows you to share a bit more of yourself. Those are the brands I talk about, and I know others do too.
Oh yeah, and hit unsubscribe anytime someone enters your inbox pushing more consumption as a way to save the planet.
What's Your Reaction?
