The Three Toxic Love Traits of “Good” Businesses
It’s Valentine’s Day, and whether you’re single or happily married, you’re being courted. And who’s that special someone chasing after you? Why, it’s Business of course. Companies will tell you just about anything to get into your pants… and pull out your wallet.
Here’s three little white lies to watch out for. The three toxic love traits of “good” businesses:
1. Greenwashing
Admit it. You’ve got a little crush on the planet. I get it. Unfortunately, so do the corporations doing their best to snuff out Mama Earth. Brands will do backflips to seem eco-conscious without actually being eco-conscious. Stay vigilant, or they might just seduce you.
Look out for vague or meaningless claims like “all natural” or “carbon neutral”, both terms that can be manipulated to mean almost anything. Try to see if they have records of the factories they work with, a supply chain, hell even a concrete explanation of what they’re doing to be sustainable. Look for B-Corps, and businesses that are upfront about their actions. And if you can’t find any info on how they’re sustainable, it may be time to dump the brand.
2. Race Baiting
I’m going to tell you a true story about a “good” business. I saw this business on every list of black owned sustainable fashion I could find. But when I went to the about page, I couldn’t find the founder. So, I Googled and Googled and Googled; nowhere to be found. Finally, after half an hour of searching, I saw that the company had a parent company. I looked up the parent company, and lo and behold, the CEO and founder was a white man.
When I tell you my blood boiled… In my line of work (marketing for BIPOC run ethical businesses) I’ve run into a lot of this type of foolishness. Brands that put their employees of color at the top of their About Us pages to make themselves seem diverse, even though their entire leadership team is white. Or brands that use images of people of color in all their advertising, but don’t have a single POC on their team. It’s giving black fishing. It’s giving race baiting. It’s giving nonsense.
Lucky for us as consumers, with the exception of my initial anecdote, this is easy to spot. If a company looks like they support diversity and inclusivity, go to their about page or LinkedIn and test their gangster. If their team doesn’t match up with their claims, it’s not hard to say goodbye.
3. Sleep Walking
This is what I call the fake “wokeness” brands like to use to hide their own complicity in systems of oppression. Brands that publish pictures of their immigrant team members while exploiting them for their labor at pennies on the dollar. Or brands that come out in June to stand up for Pride, but create a horribly prejudiced work environment for their queer team members.
And it’s not just the brands pretending to stand for something. It’s also the brands who stand strong on one issue, but neglect another. Like feminist brands that uphold white supremacy. Or sustainable fashion brands that engage in body shaming by showcasing rail thin models, and making clothes that stop at a size 10. The average woman in America is a size 14.
If you want to make sure a brand is really the one, check their website and social media on a quiet day. Do they keep that black square energy when it’s no longer popular? No? It’s time to let them go.
Don’t be discouraged, now. There are still brands out there that will sweep you off your feet. Good, solid brands that care about people and the planet. You can find a lot of them on The Good Shit, our database of BIPOC run ethical businesses. But it’s a jungle out there. So be careful with your heart and your wallet, and make sure to avoid the brands that are just plain toxic.
