Tag: Advertising

Counting on … day 114

24th May 2024

As well as making conscious choices about what we buy, we also tread the path of not buying. We live in a consumerist society where the opportunity to buy something is constantly being promoted – buy this new model, or that improved/ upgraded/ repackaged product; indulge yourself with this luxury or that trivial frippery; indulge your pet/ garden/ kitchen; buy this humorous nonsense; buy this upgrade; buy another and save 50%. 

Early on I learnt to avoid lifestyle magazines which are really only vehicles for promoting consumption! 

It’s not being mean or stingy but rather it is lovely to look at things we have, and think of its history, how long we’ve had it, where or who it originally came from. 

Counting on …. Day 94

26th April 2024

Green wash is advertising or marketing that makes out that a product is greener/ more environmentally friendly than it actually is. It is an attempt to delude or deceive the consumer.

TerraChoice has identified ‘seven sins of greenwashing’ –

  1. “Hidden Trade-off”: a claim that a product is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other critical environmental issues.
  2. “No Proof”: a claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible information or a reliable third-party certification.
  3. “Vagueness” is a poorly defined or broad claim that the consumer will likely misunderstand its meaning. “All-natural,” for example, is not necessarily “green.”
  4. “Worshipping False Labels”: a claim that, through words or images, gives the impression of a third-party endorsement where none exists.
  5. “Irrelevance”: a claim that may be truthful but unimportant or unhelpful to consumers seeking environmentally preferable products.
  6. “Lesser of Two Evils”: a claim that may be true within the product category, but risks distracting consumers from the more significant environmental impact of the category.
  7. “Fibbing”: a claim that is simply false.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing)

The BBC suggests the following certification schemes that can give assurance as to the ethical values of a producer:-

Leaping Bunny – which means that the product has not been tested on animals.

B Corp – means that a business is legally required to do beneficial things for the environment and the people who help create their products.

Carbon Trust – meets a certain standard of carbon emission reduction, meaning the product is trying to minimise its carbon impact.

Fairtrade – the product has been made by people who received a fair wage for their work.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – the product is made using sustainable or responsibly managed wood sources. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/58465027)

Another source of good advice is Ethical Consumer via their web site or magazine – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

In a world where we already consume too much, I can’t help feeling that any advertising that encourages us to consume more than we need, is greenwashing. 

Lent – against consumerism 

17th February 2024

The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A Reading: Matthew 6: 19-26 The Message 

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

 “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

 “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.

 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.”  

A reflection on Proverbs 1:10, 13-15:-


If shop windows say, 

“Buy all kinds of costly things; 

fill your houses with luxury”:

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


If magazines say, 

“Here are the solutions to all life’s problems; 

 check out this month’s lifestyle”: 

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


If neighbours say, 

“Come, be like us, 

keep up with our standards”:

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


If adverts say, 

“Enjoy today and 

throw away tomorrow”:

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


If money-makers say, 

“Here, make a quick buck; 

don’t worry about the risk”:

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


If businesses say, 

“Enjoy what we promise, 

forget the environmental cost”:

Do not be seduced, 

but follow the way of righteous simplicity.


Merciful God, 

protect us from ourselves – our ignorance and our gullibility –

Give us wisdom to discern your truth

and insight to see your ways, 

that we may live with simplicity,

enjoying your gifts and sharing your bounty.

Amen.


Praise be to God! For simple things:-

Clean air and the scent of the flowers, 

wind that lifts and freshens.  

For water, crystal clear or dark as bronze, 

now skittering, now languidly flowing.

For trees that grow, ring upon ring, 

and bats and beetles and tiny tree creepers.

For the musical interruption of robin and blackbird, 

and the chit chat of sparrows. 

For fresh picked leaves and fruits in season:

our daily bread.

For the times to pause, to focus our eyes

 and attune ours ears: for peaceful observation.

For all these we give you thanks,

Generous, ever-caring God.

Amen.

Lent – refusing to comply

10th February 2024

The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A Reading from Amos 5:14, 6:1-7

Seek good and not evil,
   that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
   just as you have said.

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,
   and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
   to whom the house of Israel resorts!
Cross over to Calneh, and see;
   from there go to Hamath the great;
   then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
   Or is your territory greater than their territory,
O you that put far away the evil day,
   and bring near a reign of violence? 


Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,
   and lounge on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock,
   and calves from the stall;
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
   and like David improvise on instruments of music;
who drink wine from bowls,
   and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
   but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
   and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. 

Repentance:

Like carbon to the atmosphere:

We have added to the world’s woes.

Like nutrients from the soil;

We have taken without restoring.

Like heat to the ocean:

We have sown destruction.

All: Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

In our forgiving and being forgiven:

Bring in your reign, O God: Let Godly hopes prevail.

Tuesdays in climate emergency

A Lament for our age:

When advertisers exhort us to drive ever larger faster cars –

and so called sports utility vehicles –

We shall not comply.

When fashion houses entreat us to buy new clothes 

for the beach and yet more for the barbecue, 

clothes for lounging and more for reclining – 

We shall not comply.

When top chefs urge us to buy tropical fruits and exotic grains, 

to eat strawberries in January and avocados in September –

We shall not comply.

When tour companies lure us with trips to the Tropics, 

all flights included,  or city breaks by air –

We shall not comply.

When weekend magazines promote this season’s new colour schemes, 

must-have wall papers and furnishings: 

out with the old and in with the new –

We shall not comply.

When tech industries unveil this year’s new phone, 

the upgraded tablet and colourful but irrepairable head sets –

We shall not comply.

When governments tell us  that coal mines are good 

and oil economical, 

whilst asking for our vote –

We shall not comply.

When trend setters define the next unmissable accessory 

and deride what was last season’s in-thing – 

We shall not comply.

When politicians tell us national needs are all important 

and foreigners must wait – 

We shall not comply.

Holy God, 

keep awake in us a true love for the earth, 

its flora and fauna, our brothers and sisters.

Strengthen our resolve to live within our means, 

to act with compassion, and following your will –

We shall COMPLY!