Following my last article (“How Digital Sustainability tells powerful Thrutopian stories.”) I’ve been pondering the importance of what content goes on our wonderfully optimised platforms. Can we legitimately call a site with a low carbon footprint “sustainable” if the content on it doesn’t help us move to a more sustainable future?
The websites we view contribute to our brainprint. CISL defines the concept as – “The psychological, sociological and cultural influence and impact of brand, marketing and creative work“. Every bit of media, content, branding and art we see contributes to how we interpret the world.
We’ve just sailed past our global overshoot day. In 2024 we are set to use 1.75 times worth of resources than the earth can sustain. The European Environment Agency (EEA) tells us that Europes’ consumption patterns are unsustainable. Backed by science, they call on the EU (and beyond) to significantly reduce its consumption footprint by 2030. Putting to one side issues like mobility, food and energy production for the time being, lets focus on consumption and the sites that enable it.
How might ecommerce and other related websites show thrutopian vision of a less consumptive future?
A big hitting example
Let’s look at Patagonia’s website here. When I arrive on their site the first message about them and their purpose is:
New Arrivals
Our Fall ’24 new arrivals are here.
To me, that’s business as usual messaging and not “being in business to save the planet” messaging.
Now, I’m not singling Patagonia out because I don’t think they’re doing a good job. I love their activism and story-telling. I think they are setting an amazing example with their new business ownership model and show they care as an organisation. But they have set themselves up as an agent for change so shouldn’t they be offering a more radical vision to help change the brainprint of their users?
Using the same exercise as with hosting we could say we need to:
- produce less clothing
- make better quality clothes that can be repaired
- have transparent supply chains
- embrace circular models and internalise currently externalised costs like end of life disposal.
To get there we can encourage more mindful purchasing and clothing retention behaviours. We can campaign for better repair access, seam width standards and waste disposal laws. We can prioritise renewably powered manufacturing provided by ethical organisations.
Here’s the kicker. Patagonia is already working towards most if not all of the thrutopian points above. You can find much of the information about what they do via the links above the footer. To me that’s the most important part of the messaging on their site. The EEA would agree.
What if the Patagonia site looked like this when you first visit:
- Instead of a consumerist message you get a call to arms for repair instead. A message to love the gear you’ve got rather than buy for a new season.
- Then you could reorder the hierarchy of the page. The way they do business comes next, showcasing what they do differently.
- Patagonia tells brilliant stories about important topics. That could be the next piece of brain print their users see.
- Then a call to action. Save our marine ecosystems.
- Finally, the links to their products.
Consumptive messaging pushed to the bottom of the landing page of the most well known outdoor company in the world. How’s that for a change in brainprint?
How might this look elsewhere?
If the science tells us we need a transition and change in behaviour, then the websites we visit should reflect that. If every job is a climate job then every website can be a climate website.
Think about the last recipe site you visited. What if the first recipes and all featured recipes you were served were part of a climate friendly diet? The other recipes would still be available, but the brainprint of the site changes.
Fashion blogs and magazine sites could do something similar to what we discussed with Patagonia above.
Travel sites could push stories and guides about low carbon travel and sustainable accommodation.
Design and construction websites could prioritise content about alternative building materials and low carbon mobility projects.
Summing up
As digital sustainability professionals we are in a position to influence all aspects of the platforms we create and manage. True sustainability comes not just from the design, build and hosting of a site. It comes with sustainable messaging about how we transition from today to a more sustainable future. In my view, we can (and should) influence the brainprint of the sites we manage to help users understand and embrace the transition required.