Today’s conscious consumers often find themselves caught in a web of slactivism – but the UN’s sustainability guide for lazy people, ThredUp’s anti-shopping hotline and green adblockers like shADe are here to encourage real action.
The war of words
Today, a limitless vocabulary expounding sustainable intentions has rendered consumers complacent and a tad ignorant of reality. Marketing agendas to push further green businesses are being supported by this lexicon, and planet-warriors have developed a revenge dictionary in combat. Their aim is to extract greenwashers from their carefully worded safety nets.From carbon footprint tracking to petitioning the legalisation of circularity, no stone is left unturned.
Caught amidst this war of words are mass consumers, overloaded with information, too tired to sort truth from falsehood, and comfortably lazy in their consumption habits. Undoubtedly, the list of lazy conveniences is lengthy. There’s no denying the pleasure gained from extra-long Sunday showers and budget-friendly shopping during sales seasons, or the ease of ordering groceries online even if they’re delivered in plastic bags.
Reality check: your criminal record now includes wasting natural resources, aiding unethical labour practices and polluting the environment. The struggle of letting go of these dependencies is not an uncommon experience. Psychologists and scientists have recorded that it takes effort, consistency, and a minimum of 21 days to change and form habits.
IMAGE: via Unsplash| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Officers standing behind a barricade that reads ‘climate crime scene’
So cards on the table: is un-sustainable living a laziness issue? Maybe!
Breaking down the problem statement reveals that lack of awareness is no longer a justified excuse for negligent sustainable behaviour, especially when social media is well equipped to provide daily developments on the climate crisis. Even the United Nations attributes certain weight to lackadaisical behaviour. In 2019, the body launched ‘The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World’, divided into four levels of actions that lazy people can implement into their lifestyles.
To cite examples: level 2 suggests air drying laundry instead of machine drying. It’s a simple way to conserve energy, similar to switching off lights and electric appliances when not in use. However, the impact can be multi-fold because just a single spin cycle can generate up to 700,000 invisible synthetic microfibers that leave our waterways contaminated for centuries.
Shop local, shop vintage, and donate—level 3 ups the ante. Meanwhile, level 4 encourages readers to re-examine everyday decisions such as biking or walking to work and donating leftover food. Lastly, level 1 speaks to the social media obsessed, asking them to “share, don’t just like.” Because the idea that one man’s lazy can inspire another man’s action, is the silver lining to ‘slacktivism.’
‘Slacktivism’ on the rise
Yes, there is a term dedicated to digital environmental activism that requires little effort and limits supporting causes through social media and online petitions only. Though derogatorily used to call out shallow action, slacktivism has its pros. Interaction with social media is the first step to gaining awareness and involves users actively seeking information.
However, it only takes a few smartly chosen marketing keywords and hashtags to make a brand environmentally friendly in the eyes of the user. A quick internet browse for “sustainable shoe brands” could list a dozen search results just on the first page, and those who are lazy-on-principle will take these options at face value.
Tech-Solutions for the lazy: green adblockers
Proving there’s room for human-scale solutions to macro-scale problems is shADe – a green adblocker that takes research out of the shopping process. It is an AI-powered plugin that blocks digital marketing from brands with poor sustainability scores on Good On You (a directory of fashion brands with ratings based on their environmental claims). However, it has yet to be commercially launched.
In the last year, browser extensions like Changing Room and The Beagle Button have gained popularity. Their aim is to support mentally overloaded and sustainably lazy consumers make conscious buying decisions. What makes these plug-ins viable solutions is that they don’t market certain brands or egg consumers to shop, but rather re-direct consumers mid-online shopping to make more conscious choices.
Daniel Hemsley, one of the three founders of The Beagle Button reveals that the plug-in has the potential to divert sales worth 10 billion pounds a year away from unsustainable brands to certified green products by 2025. “The climate crisis has to be tackled at scale, so we must adopt solutions that enable behaviour change at scale,” he shares.
According to the company, 73% of consumers have intentions of shopping sustainably, but the percentage of those who follow through is much less. This is attributed to two pain points identified by The Beagle Button: 48% of consumers don’t know how to search for better green products, and 38% find it difficult to change consumption habits. Hemsley shares, “Beagle’s mission is to close this aspiration–action gap. It does all the research so that consumers don’t have to, popping up on a desktop screen in real-time with a planet-friendly version of the very same product.” Users can also customise their suggestion database by checking filters for plastic-free, organic, vegan, cruelty-free, minority-owned, carbon neutral products among others.
Following a similar path, browser extension Changing Room Eco-Index was launched in late 2022, and already has over 1000 downloads. The plug-in is being beta tested in the US and provides curated second-hand recommendations, hoping to redirect online shoppers while browsing for first-hand fast fashion.
For those lacking in resolve: the anti-shopping hotline
Laziness is a prime reason for people being unable to change habits. And if you can’t beat it yourself, ask for help. At least, that’s the theory behind ThredUp’s Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline, aka the 911 for impulsive shopping emergencies.
The second-hand retail company launched the phone service as an anti-shopping hotline. Users dial 1-855-THREDUP and press 1 for a pre-recorded message about the cons of fast fashion, 2 for the benefits of thrifting, and 3 to record their own ‘fast fashion slip-up’ story. The company shared that there is a large chunk of the audience aware of the planetary impact of their individual consumption habits who struggle to curb these desires – so the hotline will also feature a discount code incentive as part of the message to encourage second-hand shopping.
Let the era of lazy activists begin!
Of the infinite reasons contributing to the climate crisis, laziness has clearly amassed critical value. Just as one recycled fabric collection does not make a fashion brand sustainable, one day of carpooling does not reduce overall carbon footprints. As the year comes to a close and we resolve to eat healthy, exercise more, and focus on self-care, let’s also make a resolution to change one lazy habit in favour of the earth’s survival. Let the era of lazy activists begin.
Download the sustainable browser extensions: The Beagle Button, Changing Room or read ‘The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World’ by the United Nations.
FEATURE IMAGE: via Unsplash| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Poster at protest that reads ‘If not now then when? There is no planet B’