Beware the Earth Day bandwagon
It’s great to have a day when we think about life on earth and how unsustainable we have made it. It reminds us to reflect on what we can do better. Increasingly however, I see Earth Day (and the other environmentally-focussed days) being exploited as a marketing tool.
My work is all about credibility. I’ve come to understand that while credibility is a filter I apply to just about everything, it’s also something that can be trained. So here’s my (unplanned) Earth Day contribution to help train credibility muscles everywhere.
There is a big difference between awareness-raising and advertising.
If the Earth Day mailing you’ve received, or the blog post you’ve read, is trying to sell you something, then it’s exploiting Earth Day. To me, that’s not credible. Delete the email and unsubscribe from the mailing list. These are small actions we can take that cumulatively have an impact. While you’re there, unsubscribe from other mailing lists you don’t read (including mine, if you don’t read it, I won’t be offended!).
This also applies to so-called green or environmentally-friendly products as well as free shipping, buy-one-get-one-free offers and so on. Anyone who is using Earth Day to sell products or promote their business is not credible by my standards.
Most of us don’t need more stuff, not even more ‘green’ products. I already have more water bottles, coffee mugs and lunch boxes than one person could ever use.
We need to address our consumer behaviour as it is trashing the planet. It damages us too as we’ve been programmed to believe that we’re not enough unless we have a certain lifestyle with all the products and services that make up that lifestyle. This system exploits both planet and people. We are not separate from that system. We are part of it. This means we can impact the system by behaving more consciously.
Citizen or consumer?
I’m not holding myself out to be a saint in any of this. I also consume. I’m part of the economic system. I have a thirst for learning that translates into a pretty serious book-buying habit. And I like nice food. This is where the awareness part comes in. I’m aware of the strain my lifestyle puts on the planet so I try to consume less and more consciously. I also do what I can to raise awareness of the issues and possible solutions.
If Earth Day during the lockdown invites us to do anything, it’s to reflect on the positive aspects of a slower life (if our situation allows us to slow down and stay safe in relative comfort at home) and take a more critical view of the corporate marketing we allow ourselves to be exposed to. It’s time to flex our credibility muscles and unsubscribe from some of the junk in our inboxes.
