Following a ton of great sustainable fashion Instagram accounts, I come across a lot of posts promoting the idea of – large corporations carry the majority of responsibility when it comes to destroying our planet and no matter how much we make the right shopping choices or switch to reusable straws, nothing will change until those corporations change their business models and start taking action to undo their destructiveness. I have a few thoughts.

First of all – I 100% agree. To simplify things and cut through all the fluff in corporate mission statements, they are only truly interested in 2 things: making profits and building and maintaining a positive reputation, so they can continue to make profits. This is where we get greenwashing, expensive and extensive marketing campaigns, positive PR articles to cover up unethical actions and other actions taken to elevate the image of the corporation.

Contribution to the pollution and slow destruction of our planet is extremely uneven and consumers switching to reusable straws will never have the same immediate impact as Zara cutting its production in half. Simultaneously, we have very convincing marketing campaigns pointing the finger at YOU for not doing your part in supporting sustainability. You need to shop less. You need to quit plastic. You need to recycle. And in the meantime, we all know that unless and until massive corporations, that, uh excuse me – have their workers die in factory fires and collapses, overproduce non-biodegradable clothing that ends up in massive landfills, dump and burn millions of dollars worth of unused inventory, cause oil spills and other actions that pollute water and destroy marine ecosystems, and many MANY other horrible unethical things – first take real and accountable action to adapt ethical business models with the planet and people in mind, nothing will change. 

While sad and true, I think an important piece is missing from this narrative.