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We hear a lot these days about climate change and global warming, and about how we all need to do our part to turn this ship around before it’s too late for our kids and grandkids to even survive in some semblance of what we’ve enjoyed.
That said, if you do some reading and get down to the nitty gritty as far as how much difference each individual really makes – especially when it comes to things like recycling – and it can feel a bit disheartening.
This person is going one step further and saying that most people do it for image reasons, or because of marketing pushes, and don’t really care about the environment at all.
Being environmentally friendly is more about marketing/self righteousness then about the environment
Sick and tired of hearing about companies(and people) “Going Green” and doing the BARE minimum and marketing the shit out of it.
It STILL is a profit first mentality and its f**ked up. F**k companies who are going green. 99.9% is that you can do SO SO much more, but don’t. .
Why cant I change my phones battery? Why are spare parts so rare/expensive?
Why did you buy a NEW car, and not kept your old one?
Its Reduce/REUSE/Recycle
Yet very few actually focus on reusing, because its not as flashy as the other two.
As usual, Reddit has some thoughts on that!
14. Well that’s cringe.
A good example of this is coffee restaurants like tim Hortons.
The have dividing bins for garbage and recycling.
A news station placed GPS units in both bags and tracked them both to the same garbage can
13. Ugh, you hate to hear it.
I work in marketing. Can confirm it is absolutely just a marketing tactic.
If you knew what these companies were doing behind the scenes you’d lose your mind.
12. The truth of the matter.
I used to work at chipotle and appreciated the people who would correctly sort their recycling/trash/compost (we got a bin a while into when I started there), but it sadly did f**k all.
Too many people put food waste/plastic in the recycling/compost for us to ever put in the proper bin.
None of the employees have time to sort through the massive trash bags and most wouldn’t even care, so it all ends up going to the dump.
11. You don’t have to dig far.
Came here to say exactly this. It’s scary to think about how consumers see and buy into marketing tactics like “I need to buy this new eco-friendly xyz because my plastic xyz will pollute the environment”
*throws plastic xyz into the environment to never break down*
The greenwashing of big companies is awful and should really be more transparent if they’re even bothering to take the “ethical route”
10. Is something better than nothing?
As someone who works in this field, I agree. A great example of this is compostable single use coffee cups.
Companies who use them say they’re “eco friendly” but they can’t be recycled and so all just go to the incinerator anyway. Total waste of time and resource.
But it’s still, this kinda crap is at least doing something by raising awareness… Better than nothing!
9. That has never changed.
Pretty much all companies have those secrets that all people within the company itself know about… It’s really depressing…
Even when the place we live on is dying we couldn’t care less and put financial benefits first.
8. What are facts?
Prime example of human nature is why Tesla is the first successful ev, because it’s “better“, faster, higher tech, marketed/designed and sold as “S ≡XY”.
The illusion of “green” is an afterthought of the adopters who subconsciously are more concerned with virtue signaling, same reason big trucks, EddieBauer or HarleyDavidson edition Fords, Starbucks, the Prius, or BMW were successful.
It’s all about “image” and people showing others how superior they are.
Facts are not even an afterthought.
7. Thanks, I hate it.
Evolutionary Anthropologist here.
This is the way.
Virtue signaling is just another form of Costly Signaling.
It only looks costly from the base level economic analysis, but the attention/good will brings about positive value.
6. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
It’s why Nike promotes BLM to distract from the child labor and horrible wages paid to those who make their products.
5. Think about it just a little.
Throw away your plastic yoga mat to get our new environmentally sustainable model.
We polluted more to make a mat that has literally no difference besides a sticker.
Pollution isn’t a individual problem, it’s a corporation one.
My 51 jeep is more economical friendly than a brand new car, because the manufacturing cost is so unbelievably high now.
If you want to be eco friendly, Buy used and drive it as long as it will go.
4. Shady as heck.
Totally agree with you here. I’m in the apparel industry. Recycled polyester is the biggest racket you could imagine.
The biggest maker of recycled polyester yarns was caught MAKING plastic bottles in order to crush them up and recycle so they could put “recycled” on the hang tag.
Don’t even get me started on bamboo clothing…it’s a total farce.
3. But nobody wants to do that…
The massive flux of ‘eco-friendly’ products does my head in too, as though buying yet another reusable water bottle will save the planet. Pro tip – if you really care for the environment and want to actually make a difference, reducing consumption is key, and the best way to do that is to use what you already have.
Obviously, if something is broken beyond repair and it’s essential you have it, try to buy a sustainable version of it if you can afford to, but I’m sick of the sheer volume of useless tat marketed as eco-friendly because it’s made of bamboo or is a plastic that is technically biodegradable (but often only in an industrial digester).
2. Do you think she knows?
I met a girl in Thailand who was a self confessed “hippie” and green activist who was regularly preaching on Instagram about all her activism, yet she was constantly travelling the world by plane trying to justify her plane usage by saying she uses her travel time to change others minds & to show others how beutiful the world is.
I just thought it was ironic and just seemed like most of her posts were more about her than whatever she was trying to preach.
1. Let’s be real, here.
My favorite (or least favorite) is when hotels kindly ask you to reuse towels to “save Mother Nature!”
I mean, I’ve never minded using towels many times before washing them, but don’t ask me to join your righteous cause so I can smugly feel good about myself and your hotel can save [laundry] loads of money.
I don’t know why it has to be one or the other, you know? People can legitimately care about the environment and like the way it makes them look when they practice what they preach.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments!
