By Eyob Sisay
As the field of influencer marketing quickly becomes one of the hottest industries in the world, how will social media creators hold up against the demands of their eco-conscious fans?
In 2022, 58% of the world was active daily on social media (Mohshin 2022). For brands, social media is prime marketing real-estate. As a result, companies are more than willing to shell out billions of dollars to hire social media creators with significant platforms to promote their products;. According to Osborne (2019), 49% of social media users depend on content creators’ product recommendations, thus validating the “influencer” status of some social media creators. Therefore, there exists a symbiotic relationship between social media creators and brands. In many cases, the Earth doesn’t benefit from this relationship.
In 2022, the fast-fashion industry grew to $99.23 billion (“The Fast” 2022) and was responsible for approximately 10% of global CO2 emissions (Cerini 2022), due in-part to ever-quickening trend cycles. These trend cycles are exacerbated by the rapid stream of paid content put out by fashion and design oriented social-media creators. When social media creators frequently and disingenuously hail products as “must-haves”, they enable their impressionable viewers to engage in consumption at unhealthy rates. Nevertheless, the blame for rising rates of consumption should not fall on the shoulders of the working content creators whose livelihoods stem from paid promotions. Instead, consumers should look away from the very companies who produce environmentally detrimental products and the social media platforms that suppress genuine content produced by creators, while elevating paid promotions. Kristy Drutman (a.k.a @browngirl_green on Instagram), is a podcast host, activist, and social media creator with a focus on promoting eco-friendly products and causes. Drutman noted that her “more [politically] radical” posts rarely garner serious engagement while her paid promotions do, prompting her fans to accuse her of “selling out.” For Drutman, producing content that strays from her environmentally-focused brand can be frustrating, especially because the short-form content most popular on social media rarely leaves enough space for the level of nuance Drutman wishes she could imbue in her content.
What eco-conscious social media users often fail to realize is that their favorite creators are equally conflicted as to how to engage with large brands in a manner that enables them to maintain their own values whilst taking opportunities to provide for themselves. In the case of fashion content creator Ashley Rous (a.k.a bestdressed), Ashley had repeatedly stated her love of thrifting and of vintage clothes before working with Amazon to produce a video highlighting work-appropriate outfits sourced from Amazon (Chen 2019). Shortly after posting the video, Rous’ comment section was filled with confused commenters, wondering why she would work with a company known for its climate abuses. Commenters acknowledged her financial reasoning behind working with Amazon, but they questioned her decision regardless.
It’s important for social media users to understand that their favorite creators do not exist in a vacuum. They are subject to the same demands as every other person participating in a capitalistic economy. Therefore, the best way for social media users to prevent their favorite creators from feeling like they need to promote products coming from unethical companies is by taking their dollars to eco-friendly companies that produce products that social media creators can feel proud to promote.
References
Cerini, M. (2022, November 28). Fast-fashion brands claim they’re cleaning up their act for the planet, but their premise might be inherently flawed. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2022/11/28/fast-fashion-brands-claim-theyre-cleaning-up-their-act-for-the-planet-but-their-premise-might-be-inherently-flawed/
Chen, T. (2019, November 14). Fans Are Accusing A YouTuber Known For Sustainable Fashion Of “Selling Out” After She Accepted A Brand Deal With Amazon. TeenVogue. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/fans-upset-over-youtuber-bestdressed-amazon-prime-wardrobe
Drutman, K. (2023). [Interview]. file:///Users/esisay26/Downloads/Kristy%20Drutman%20Interview%20(1).pdf
The Fast Fashion Market Is Expected To Reach $133 Billion By 2026, Driven By The Rise Of The Organized Retail Industry. (2022, September 21). Cision PRNewswire. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/fast-fashion-market-expected-reach-150000873.html#:~:text=The%20global%20fast%20fashion%20market,(CAGR)%20of%208.8%25.
Mohshin, M. (2022, September 12). 10 Social Media Statistics You Need to Know in 2022. Oberlo. https://www.oberlo.co.uk/blog/social-media-marketing-statistics
Osborne, O. (2019, February 18). To #ad or not to #ad – insights on influencer marketing. FourCommunications.com. https://www.fourcommunications.com/insights-on-influencer-marketing/
Tyson, A., Kennedy, B., & Funk, C. (2021, May 26). Gen Z, Millennials more active than older generations addressing climate change on- and offline. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/
About Author
