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How do you get a billion people to participate in a single event every year?
In this episode, Olivia looks back on the roots of Earth Day and what we can learn (and avoid) from the day’s history.
Then Elise tells us about the origins of greenwashing at a beachside resort, some of the most ridiculous examples, and common greenwashing schemes to look out for this month.
Other topics include celebrities who participate in greenwashing traps, the season for greentrolling, and clothing recycling that only exists in Animal Crossing.
Story #1: Earth Day (Olivia)
Sources:
The History of Earth Day, EarthDay.org
Earth Day 2022, History.com
HISTORY OF | Earth Day, HISTORY Canada
Earth Day founder sees some progress, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 21 2001
How the first Earth Day started a movements, Our Changing Climate
The Genius of Earth Day, Adam Rome for the journal Environmental History
Story #2: Greenwashing (Elise)
Sources:
A South Korean beauty brand admitted that its product marked ‘I’m paper bottle’ is actually a plastic bottle wrapped in paper, Business Insider, April 2021
A Power Plant Is Burning H&M Clothes Instead of Coal, Bloomberg, Nov 2017
The Global Glut of Clothing Is an Environmental Crisis, Bloomberg, Feb 2022
Data: Primark and Amazon rank among most sustainable retailers in new consumer poll, RetailWeek, March 2022
The flawed ways brands talk about sustainability, Vogue Business, April 2020
H&M called out for “greenwashing” in its Conscious fashion collection, dezeen, August 2019
H&M Drives Innovation In Sustainability With 2021 Style, Forbes, May 2021
H&M made its former sustainability chief its CEO. Now it wants to help other fashion houses become sustainable—for a fee, Fortune, March 2020
What Is Greenwashing?, Business News Daily, Feb 2022
The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing, Bruce Wilson via Informit, 2017
The Dump
Olivia is obsessively listening to old episodes of the Longform podcast, particularly episodes with Cheryl Strayed and Heather Havrilesky.
Check out Elise’s vintage shop page Heiss Vintage if you live in Austin and want to know when she’s doing pop-ups!
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World Is Burning 