🧦 Earth Day is Coming. Prepare for the Marketing Onslaught
Chilean Desert Dump, Basquiat, The Month of Greenwash, OMA Live in Tokyo, Arvin Goods.
Arvin News
Happy Sunday!
Earth Day is here again. A well-intentioned, maybe even once-meaningful day has been co-opted by corporate marketing budgets to become little more than an opportunity for brands to promote themselves—many using this "holiday" to launch flashy, eco-themed campaigns that do not reflect their everyday business practices.
The reality of this “eco” event is that Earth Day has been transformed into a marketing tool, with numerous companies jumping on the bandwagon to tout their "green" credentials. This annual greenwashing spectacle offers a stark contrast between the genuine environmental needs of the market and the shallow, profit-driven motives of some marketing agendas. The truth is, that a single day of acknowledging the planet is the sum total of most company's environmental efforts.
To be real, and honest with you, here at Arvin Goods, we hate this day. We think you should just naturally try to steadily improve your practices to be the cleanest possible while delivering a high-quality product. It isn’t that complicated, but most companies, especially the big ones are very lazy, and cheap when it comes to this. You don’t need to just come up with some bullshit when it's convenient for marketing purposes. We believe it's crucial to hold ourselves and others accountable for making more than just a token nod toward fake practices once a year. Genuine commitment is shown in an ongoing, transparent, and consistent effort to reduce impacts, improve practices, and make a positive contribution to our customers.
As Earth Day floods your phone and email this week, we encourage you to look critically at the claims and promotions.
Are the advertiser’s promises in line with their actions throughout the year? Look for information and statistics that show actual impact, not just images and slogans. Companies genuinely committed to sustainability should be willing to share their processes and progress, including setbacks.
Challenge your favorite brands, and demand more than just superficial actions. Support businesses that are committed to real change, not just those who use a day or month as a chance to polish their brand image.
Hope you enjoy today’s Clean Up. We would love to hear from you. Comment here on substack hit us on social, or email us at info@arvingoods.com. Have a great week. Cheers,
Team AG ✌️🧦
Stories Of The Week…
Fashion
FASHION’S DESERT GRAVEYARD - National Geographic
THE ATACAMA DESERT IN NORTHERN CHILE stretches from the Pacific to the Andes across a barren expanse of red-orange rock canyons and peaks. As one of the driest deserts on Earth, it’s a bucket-list destination for stargazing tourists who come for some of the clearest views of the night sky. With its arid, rocky landscape so closely resembling Mars, the desert has even attracted the attention of NASA, which has tested rovers there.
But the Atacama has also attained a less wondrous distinction as one of the world’s fast-growing dumps of discarded clothes, thanks to the rapid mass production of inexpensive attire known as fast fashion. The phenomenon has created so much waste that the UN calls it “an environmental and social emergency.” The challenge is turning off that tap.
The numbers tell the tale. Between 2000 and 2014, clothing production doubled and consumers began buying 60 percent more clothes and wearing them for half as long as they once did. Three-fifths of all clothing is estimated to end up in landfills or incinerators within a year of production—that can translate to a truckload of used clothing dumped or burned every second. Most of the facilities are in South Asia or Africa, where the nations receiving those loads cannot handle the amount. A landfill near Accra, Ghana’s capital, that is said to be 60 percent clothes and 65 feet high has gained international notoriety as a symbol of the crisis. ♻️👕👟
Design
Larry Gagosian Can Teach You Something New About Basquiat - Surface Mag
Larry Gagosian doesn’t typically curate shows, but “Made on Market Street,” a showcase of early works that Jean-Michel Basquiat created during a few brief stints at the dealer’s house in Venice Beach, needed his personal touch. Though his gallery began as a poster shop in nearby Westwood in the late ‘70s, his dealer instincts were already showing. When he first laid eyes on one of Basquiat’s paintings, his “hair stood on end.” Six months later, he opened a solo show at his West Hollywood gallery and could hardly contain the crowds. It propelled one of art history’s most consequential stars—albeit a tragically short-lived one—and helped put one of the market’s most discerning dealers on the map. Within a year, Gagosian was handling works by Sol LeWitt and Ellsworth Kelly; today, a dozen galleries across New York, London, Paris, Rome, Geneva, and Hong Kong bear his name. He couldn’t have done it without the Basquiat show’s runaway success.👨🏾🎨🖼️
Industry
Is April Still the Greenwashiest Month? - BoF
It begins around the start of April each year: a tsunami of promotions for “sustainable” brands and products keen to leverage the marketing potential of Earth Day.
The April 22 event was conceived some 50 years ago as a way to draw attention to climate issues and galvanise environmental action, but these days it’s often treated more like a shopping holiday that lasts the whole month.
Except this year, something is different. Earth Day pitches are down year-on-year, based on an informal analysis of the volume of emails arriving in the inboxes of BoF’s editorial team. No doubt, April is still young, but the tone of the messaging has shifted as well. Fewer comms teams are circulating shopping recommendations — or at the very least, they’ve clocked not to bother sending them to us.🐛🌿🚿
Entertainment
OMA Hip Hop Instrumentals (Live in Tokyo) FULL 2024 GIG - YouTube
Need an hour or so of JAMS to break up your day. OMA live in Tokyo has got you covered! You’re welcome. 😉
'The Clean Up' is a weekly newsletter that mixes in some Arvin Goods news, products, as well as stories we saw during the week that are worth a share. From books to podcasts, sustainability to business news, we try to keep it interesting, and fun. If you are not a subscriber, sign up and join everyone who receives The Clean Up directly in their inbox every Sunday.