Do we really care about the earth?
Saturday, April 22, we celebrated Earth Day 2023. Even though it may seem absurd, some brands used this day to release promotions to sell more products! Maybe the purpose of this day is not clear. Or people just don’t care.
Why do we celebrate Earth Day?
Earth Day was established in 1969 when US Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed a natural disaster caused by the explosion of an oil well next to Santa Barbara, California.
What is the purpose?
For those involved in achieving a sustainable lifestyle, which goes beyond the empty slogan bombarding us at any one time, Earth Day doesn’t mean a celebration. In fact, there is nothing to celebrate! What’s the point of celebrating? The destruction humans bring? Or maybe give it a pause for one day? Surely not!
The purpose is to raise public awareness. Therefore, making people understand we only have one planet, and we must preserve it. Protect it. We need to give mother earth time to heal herself from the mess we massively put out on a daily basis. So the tons of waste which is the byproduct of our economic system. Of our lifestyle! The byproduct of progress: something we cannot renounce.
But if we follow people who promote sustainable growth, green growth, sustainable fashion, and sustainable tourism, we go nowhere. Indeed, as Herman E. Daly said:
We expected any day to hear about “sustainable sustainability.”
Herman E. Daly
Earth Day 2023 & marketing
We received newsletters offering promotions: shop now, and get your discount to celebrate Earth Day! Really, this is it? Another chance for promoting products? For marketing? Is selling more an effective strategy for fighting global warming? Is it the strategy to protect our planet?
Let’s be serious. It’s just marketing to sell more! There’s no such thing as sustainable growth. Likewise, there’s no such thing as sustainable fashion or sustainable tourism without a dramatic reduction in consumption!
“What is needed in the first instance are reduced levels of consumption, not just changed patterns.”
Herman E. Daly
In the end, brands can play with marketing to celebrate the Earth Day 2023. Tourism, fashion, and any other industry can make their sustainable bubbles. But we won’t solve any problem unless we are not committed – every day – to save the planet by reducing our consumption.