GreenSky Thoughts

Ripples

We have been conducting some research recently, in the form of one-on-one interviews, to try and understand what motivates people to make more ethical purchasing decisions. 

Rather than discovering an emerging, dark green, sub-set of ethical consumers, who get it 100% right 100% of the time, we are finding that consumers are simply including more ethical choices in their everyday behaviour.  Necessarily making trade-offs some of the time (should I drive to the farmer's market?  Or walk to the local supermarket and come away with unnecessary packaging?) but mostly aware of the importance of finding balance in their consumption and thus a more sustainable way of living.

One of the questions we asked our interviewees was whether they felt they had the power to make a difference.  Some felt frustrated by perceived apathy in our society and wondered why they should bother if nobody else did (If I don't buy strawberries in winter, what's to stop the next 20 people from doing so?).  Others believed they could, but only if supported by retailers, business and local government (since the council started collecting cardboard from the kerbside, we have been recycling more). 

In particular, one response to this question had a huge impression on us.  A very determined, positive reply from a woman who said 'Absolutely!  I influence my partner, I educate my children...'

This stood out for us as she recognises her power to make a difference in a way we had not considered - not through grand gestures towards changing society, or reinventing her lifestyle, but simply by recognising that the ripples set in motion through our words, our actions, our choices, touch those closest to us first.

I Am Not A Plastic Green

M&S has been in the news this week launching its new initiative to charge 5p for their plastic carrier bags.  They will support their shoppers by giving them a free bag-for-life in the month leading up to the change and all profits from the sale of the bags will go to the Groundwork charity.
This issue was highlighted last year with the success of the Anya Hindmarsh ‘I am not a plastic bag’ shopping bag, which was developed in partnership with We Are What We Do.  It created huge public and media interest and became the must-have fashion accessory of last summer.  (To the extent that we recently noticed fake versions being sold on Portobello Market!).
Towards the end of last month Gordon Brown announced that he would use legislation to stop supermarkets handing out single-use shopping bags for free, by amending the climate change bill currently going through parliament.
This is good news, as according to their website, M&S hands out a staggering 280 million plastic bags every year (it’s probably safe to assume many of those are not reused or recycled) and that’s just one large supermarket chain in the UK alone.
However, given the infamously high levels of packaging at Marks & Spencer, is this enough?
Recent research has taught us that consumers seem to be looking to trusted brands and retailers to help them make ethical purchasing decisions easier and to support their intentions to be more ‘green’.  M&S is a very well respected brand in the UK and shows real commitment and intent with their Plan A (because there is no Plan B) campaign.  So could they be doing more?  Almost force the hand of the consumer by simply not making plastic bags an option. 
I suspect 5p is not going to break the bank of many M&S shoppers...so will it be enough to change their shopping behaviour?

Retail Therapy

The issue of ethically produced clothing first caught my attention at the beginning of the school year when a friend noticed that school trousers contain Teflon.  Horrified by the prospect of putting her son in clothing covered by the same material as that used on non-stick cook wear - she began the search into 100% organic cotton school uniforms.  And discovered it was no easy task. 

When it comes to buying ethical clothing, the perception seems to be that you have to sacrifice style, and often pay a higher price.  Although nobody would knowingly buy something made by slave or child-labour, with so many retailers now selling really affordable clothing, it's hard to know (but easy to suspect) just what it is keeping their prices down.

Many of the bigger retailers here in the UK (Oasis, M&S, TopShop) are making an effort to sell clothing made from 100% organic cotton.  Something the Howies brand has been doing for years.  Howies have an ethical policy that runs throughout their business and are committed to campaigning for fair treatment of labourers working in clothing factories.  Often smaller companies bravely take on the retail giants with their strong, uncompromising ethics and in the case of clothing retail, it has had the positive outcome of driving change on to the high street.  The demand for organic cotton goes up, the organic cotton market grows to satisfy demand, more cotton is grown organically, the environment benefits, we get to buy ethically produced clothing and so the virtuous circle is completed - through our involvement in a bit of retail therapy.

Aside from the larger high street stores who are 'greening' themselves, more and more 'born green' clothing brands are appearing as designers and retailers seek to express their desire to create socially and environmentally aware products.  People Tree, American Apparel, Terra Plana, Ethletic are a few of the more recognisable names and just last week we met a designer, Eloise Grey, who makes coats out of organic tweed.  Using no dyes or chemicals we were delighted to hear her describe the colour of the tweed as changing depending on the 'shade of sheep'.

Although occasionally you may have to pay that little bit extra, it is worth knowing that you are not impacting the environment, or some distant community, negatively.  Pay a bit more, but buy things that last, not for a weekend, or even a season, but for a few years.  We can take back our planet and look fabulous doing it!

Ethical Consumption: Is Less the new More?

When you type ‘consume’ into an online thesaurus it throws up: use, devour, guzzle, and our personal favourite ‘chomp through’ with the antonym listed as ‘conserve’.

‘Ethical’ on the other hand offers suggestions like: moral, right, fair, principled and just. Can today’s consumption driven lifestyles ever be described as just?

A cup of fair trade coffee is arguably more principled than one which is not. But then what about the take away cup? And do you really need the caffeine in the first place?

We live in a throw away society of mass production and mass consumption. Marketing and advertising fuel consumerism, tapping into our aspirations and desires as well as our more basic need, as social creatures, to belong. Which then begs the question: what is ethical marketing?

In his new book, The Green Marketing Manifesto, John Grant says that “Sustainability is the idea that environmental (and ethical) objectives are not incompatible with ongoing economic prosperity” and that “it’s a step closer to marketing”.

He goes on to say that “green marketing (is) a creative opportunity to innovate in ways that make a difference and at the same time achieve business success”.

It is the role of ethical branding and marketing to bring these creative (better) alternatives to the mainstream and help make them a part of our everyday culture. 

Driven largely by climate change but influenced by a growing sense of responsibility in the collective consciousness, we are being forced to re-consider our consumption-driven lifestyles. Buy less or buy smart. Or, as Jonathon Porritt (co-founder Forum for the Future and Chairman of UK SDC) says in his forward to John Grant’s book: Cut or Switch.

Cut as in “consume less, downshift, live lives of elegant simplicity, share more, buy primarily what you need only from those who you know are doing good in the world”.

Switch as in “renounce today’s cretinous carefree consumerism, and instead buy smart, ethical, low-carbon stuff, take the worthiness out of ‘sustainability’ by getting funky, glamorous, up-market and aspirational”.

Perhaps a willingness to adopt both options is what lies at the heart of true ethical consumption.

‘If we "consume consciously and consume less" we can save money and improve our health, but best of all we are doing something for the entire world by using resources sparingly. Yes, Less is More.’ Kim Kaoss. Ethical Consumption

Jonathan Porritt ends by saying that “we need things conserved, shared, reused, recycled, slowed down and treasured at an ever deeper level.” His wisdom is in the word “treasure”.