When sustainability becomes unethical

Sustainability is wise.

For the planet, for resource consumption, longevity of product and end of life use.

It’s also smart for marketing.

Too smart.

Because when eco-focused, reusable products cross the line from conscious purchase into cult status territory, it’s consumerism at its peak.That is where ethics stop – and money milking kicks in.

Yes, businesses are in it to make money. And I encourage that. I’m one of them.

But it’s the buy-buy-buy-more-more-more-buy-because-it -looks-cool (so cool your 9 year old child is desperate for the product and that has zero to do with sustainability), that ethics turn a darker shade of green.

What ethical sustainability is

What sets ethical sustainability apart from straight up conventional sustainability? I think there are some key characteristics:

🙌 Truly ethical sourcing i.e traceable materials created with a considered approach, fair wages and labour, avoiding plastic and chemicals etc.

🙌 Solving an existing, widespread problem with an innovative solution.

🙌 Clever product design. Simple design, less moving parts (that need replacing), easy to clean/maintain by the everyday consumer.

🙌 Durability and longevity. Products designed to go the distance (and then some), requiring fewer resources for replacements and repairs.

🙌 Doing the right thing in tandem with the profitable thing. Sacrificing one for the other isn’t going to do your business many favours if you want to be around for long.

🙌 End of life product solutions that work, like the legends at Reground.

🙌 Flipping the concept of waste or resource on its head.

I love the way Paire’s founders explained it in the summer 2024 edition of Peppermint Magazine:

“Sustainable innovation… is the only way to break the negative cycle of consumerism. The more we make and consume products, the more we damage the environment and labour rights.”

What it’s not

⚡️ Creating problems consumers didn’t know they had (Neck-to-head-hats crocheted to look like a burger, anyone?

⚡️ Swapping green values for a money making cash grab

⚡️ Positioning your product as a must-have fashion piece

⚡️ Running a business in a reusable/sustainability niche but transporting or receiving your goods in pallets wrapped in plastic

⚡️ Greenwashing or fluffing around the less than green facts of your business

Sustainability gone wrong

The reusable drink bottle industry in Australia is a classic snapshot of where sustainability and ethics clash. Cross the line. And cruft all that is truly green about their product.

At its core, promoting reuse is a good thing. But not when riding that wave turns into people shelling out ludicrous amounts of money just to have the right brand of a "conscious" product.

When $60 drink bottles become into a cult style statement and excessive consumerism. Add in complicated moving parts that don’t come apart, and you have uncleanable mould traps that make for bad product design. 

*Images are of my daughter's less than one year old mouldy big name drink bottle. And no, I didn't pay for it - it was a gift for her already-targeted-by-marketing-9-year-old birthday.

It’s cult branding. As a marketer, I see how smart that is. But as an ethical business owner and a conscious consumer, it’s gone too far. It irks that sustainability is so sexy that it makes people buy more of stuff they don’t need. For the record, when I pushed this mould trap situation back on to the brand, they responded by telling me to:

A.   Clean with vinegar (which I’d already done multiple times)

B.   Buy a cleaning tool

C.   Buy a replacement lid which costs almost half of the piece of the product itself

So, what can be done?

We still need to pull in profit. And that means selling things or providing a service to people willing to pay for it.

Sustainability is an excellent way to do business – and to market yourself. Look at Kip&Co and Twoob – they nail it without taking it too far. Bcorp (or that way headed), carbon neutral and considered from all angles.

We need to find better ways to produce – and consume.

Dare I use another sustainability cliché, but I think part of the solution is showing your intention and authenticity with full transparency.

Acknowledging the parts of your business that aren’t – yet – eco considered. Focusing on the ways you do make impact – but not letting that cloud the ways you don’t. Prioritising product longevity. Offering solutions to end of life products – closed loop systems, rethinking waste, strategically designing packaging to be reused.

These are my thoughts. What are yours? Please share with me below.