Earth day is in a sense, not new; for millennia, people across the globe have, every day, been celebrating, protecting and living in harmony with the beauty of the earth. The history of an ‘Earth Day’ (capital D) however, dates back to the late 1960s, when growing concern about the state of the environment led to the creation of an event that sought to act as a reminder of the importance of environmental protection and conservation. 

In 1962, Rachel Carson published a groundbreaking book called “Silent Spring,” which exposed the devastating impact of pesticides on the environment. (David Attenborough has stated that the book is one of the most important ever, in changing the scientific world.) The book sparked a wave of concern about the health of the planet, and in 1969, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, USA, had an idea to create a day where people could come together and rally around the cause of environmental protection. This day became known as Earth Day, and the first event was held on April 22, 1970. Millions of people across the United States participated in rallies, protests, and other events, which in part, helped to catalyse the modern environmental movement. 

‘Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act,  the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act’

The event had already gained significant momentum in the United States and in 1990, the event went global, as a result of the growing awareness of the environmental challenges facing the planet. Since then, Earth Day has continued to grow and evolve into a day for people to learn about environmental issues and take action to protect the planet.

As concerns about climate change have grown, Earth Day has subsequently become even more significant. In 2020, we celebrated the 50th anniversary, and the theme was ‘Climate action’. The event was celebrated virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a global online mobilisation that brought together millions of people from around the world.

The theme for Earth Day 2023 is ‘Invest in our planet’. ‘In 2023 we must come together again in partnership for the planet. Businesses, governments, and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis and lighting the spark to accelerate change towards a green, prosperous, and equitable future…’ Kathleen Rogers, President of earthday.org 

As we face the challenges of climate change, Earth Day remains an important opportunity for people to come together, discuss and share ideas, and work towards a sustainable future. It is a day to celebrate the progress made in protecting the environment, but also a call to action to continue the fight for a cleaner, healthier planet, for that day, and everyday. 

You can read more about the history of Earth Day here and get some ideas for taking action from one of our amazing creators, here.

Episode 2 follows shortly.

The post Earth series: A short history of Earth Day appeared first on No Logo.

John’s character is the protagonist in the truest of forms – we don’t know him by his name but we don’t need to; the film broadly follows his story and viewpoint throughout.

We feel like in a sense, we are the character.  At the end of the movie, John says to another character, ‘I realised I wasn’t working for you, we’ve both been working for me. I’m the protagonist’.

Social media creators are the protagonists of their stories, of their channels. They are the characters of their online lives.

We follow them through their journeys, their adventures and their friendships. They stay at the centre when others come in and out.

The way creators work with brands is interesting from this perspective; brands that seek to connect in with their stories are often the brands we like to work with and who perform well. They are not trying to become the protagonist but instead partner with them. They understand the power of this; communities want to see this.

Brands that seek to change the narrative, to make it too much about themselves often don’t connect with the viewer. The viewer gets removed from their usual connection to the channel – the protagonist has been replaced. It is not what they tuned in for.

The balance of our, and our partners job, is to work with the protagonist, not try and become them. By doing so, followers are connected to brands via the creator, not just a billboard.

One of our ‘tenets’ at No Logo agency is that creators are the experts of their communities. We seek to demonstrate to brands the need to value the creators viewpoint and understanding of their community in telling brand messages.

As a brand working with a creator, three key questions we find helpful to ask are:

• Does the creator’s communication style align with our message?
• How can we give them freedom to incorporate our brand while still conveying our key message?
• What can we learn from the creator’s understanding and connection to their community? By valuing the creator’s perspective and understanding of their audience, we can effectively craft a message that resonates with both the creator’s community and our brand. By collaborating with creators and treating them as experts in their field, we can create authentic and meaningful content that truly connects with our target audience.

NG

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Whether it be emerging sustainable brands, or Fortune 500 companies embarking on sustainable initiatives, more businesses are looking for influencer partnerships with established voices in the sustainability world.

Sustainability influencers have hyper-engaged audiences who are interested in living more sustainably and responsibly, creating unique partnership opportunities for brands looking to engage a more conscious community.

We have broken down the world’s leading sustainability creators into five core categories, covering 30 creators:

1. Sustainable wellness creators – creators primarily focused on low waste lifestyles
2. Sustainable fashion creators – creators focused on conscious and ethical fashion consumption
3. Sustainable minimalism & productivity creators – creators focused on living a sustainable, minimalist and slow life
4. Sustainable growing creators – creators focused on the garden and nature
5. Sustainable food creators – creators focused on plant-based diets

These creators are active across a variety of platforms, but united in their desire to create sustainably-focused content for their audiences.

If you would like to partner with these creators or view all the creators we work with, please visit our community at plantalist.com or contact us at yes@nologo.agency.

1. Sustainable wellness creators

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Kathryn Kellogg (@going.zero.waste)

Kathryn is a leading voice in the Zero Waste Movement. She is the author of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, and is National Geographic’s spokesperson for plastic-free living.

She is committed to putting out educational content with a call to action for her followers to reduce their waste in creative ways. Kathryn produces content on Instagram, TikTok, her blog and YouTube and has partnered with a broad range of brands including Josie Maran, WM PGA and ThredUp

Jessica Clifton (@impactforgood)

Jess believes in leading a more minimal life and making eco-friendly swaps in your house and wardrobe. She seeks to bring awareness to eco-friendly brands and products that make living a more sustainable lifestyle achievable for anyone.

Jess is well known on Instagram & TikTok and has worked with brands including AMEX, Dove and Dropps.

Immy Lucas (@sustainably_vegan)

Immy is a vegan, low-impact living advocate and a lover of the outdoors. She aims to help her followers to make sustainable swaps, while imparting life, cooking and wellness advice through honest content.

Immy creates content across YouTube & Instagram and has partnered with brands including Hoka, Meridian and Wild Cosmetics.

Shelbi (@shelbizleee)

Shelbi is a zero-waste advocate who creates frequent short and long-form content around lifestyle, beauty and sustainability on her YouTube channel. Her content is instructive and educational, teaching her followers what she’s learned on her zero-waste journey and how they too can make ‘green’ changes.

Shelbi creates content on YouTube and Instagram and has worked with a broad number of brands including EarthHero, Tentree and Verizon.

Lauren Ferree (@relauren)

Lauren educates her followers about the very real climate risks our planet is facing. She highlights easy swaps we can all do to take better care of the earth, ways to reconnect with nature and informs her viewers about the serious impact of excess consumption. She is a leading voice on TikTok and has worked with brands including Panera Bread, Dropps and Leaf Shave.

Kristy Drutman (@browngirlgreen)

Kristy is a youth climate change activist who is passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity and environmentalism. She has spoken in front of thousands as well as facilitated environmental workshops across the US.

Kristy engages audiences through her podcast, Instagram and YouTube channels. Her goal is to create conscious and culturally relevant content to engage audiences about pro-active solution-building for the climate crisis.

Kate Bamber (@my_plastic_free_home)

Kate focuses on conscious consumerism, low-waste advocacy, small business support, sustainability and parenting. She frequently has DIY-content for her followers to try, and often suggests household hacks to make low-waste living easy for busy parents

Caulin Donaldson (@trashcaulin)

Caulin was born and raised on St. Pete Beach in Florida and has loved the ocean for his entire life. His content reflects this, gaining most of his public attention from his 300+ day stint picking up trash on TikTok.

He aims to bring awareness on the issue of waste and the environment, predominantly by entertaining his audience of over 1m followers on TikTok.

Fran Willow (@ethicalunicorn)

Fran is committed to addressing issues surrounding sustainable living and social justice. She highlights current and ongoing issues, explaining the background and presenting solutions and recommendations.

She has worked with brands including TOMS and Tesco.

2. Sustainable / ethical fashion creators

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Jazmine Rogers (@thatcurlytop)

Jazmine is a 24 year old Black-Mexican creator who is passionate about sustainable fashion and living. After learning about the effects of fast fashion, Jazmine has become committed to making sustainable fashion not just an accessible concept for her audience, but a fun one.

Jazmine advocates for change through bright colours and alternative graphics, leading her audience away from eco-anxiety and towards a better, more intentional life.

Jazmine is a rapidly growing voice in the sustainable fashion space with her Instagram & YouTube channels and and has worked with a number of leading brands.

Jess Carpenter (@jessleecarpenter)

Jess is focused on second-hand and sustainably sourced clothing and home goods. She is passionate about thrifting and has her own business selling interior finds.

Jess has partnered with leading brands including Depop, Dropps and IKEA.

Aditi Mayer (@aditimayer)

Aditi is an advocate for, and public speaker on, sustainable fashion, labour rights & social justice. She’s also a photojournalist, serves on the council of Intersectional Environmentalist, and will be spending 2021 as a National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow, documenting the social and environmental impacts of India’s fashion supply chain.

Benita Robledo (@benita_robledo)

Benita focuses on raising awareness about sustainable and ethical fashion, while advocating less shopping and thrifting where possible. She also regularly shares insights into her experience with sustainable motherhood.

Verena Erin Polowy (@verenaerin)

Verena voices her views on the importance of slow fashion and replacing fast fashion wardrobes with sustainable and ethical capsule wardrobes. She also incorporates green beauty and lifestyle content about living more consciously and sustainably.

Alyssa Beltempo (@msbeltempo)

Through her YouTube channel and online platforms, Alyssa changes the way people see their closets. She is well known in the space for sharing slow fashion content with a fun, off-the-cuff delivery.

She has worked with independent and large brands like Thredup, Power of My People, Skillshare, and has co-designed a conscious necklace.

Cynthia Dam (@inspiroue)

Cynthia is a Canadian-based sustainable fashion advocate using her platforms to inspire action and change. She is known for her educational videos improving sustainability literacy, and is trusted as a creator who partners with brands that embrace circular design and ethical production.

She inspires her audience to be more than just conscious consumers, and instead to be activists for environmental and social justice. Her dream is to change the system for a sustainable future, through genuine and valuable content.

Chloe Alysse (@chloealysse)

Chloe brings outfit-repeating to the forefront of her channel, advocating re-wearing clothes and re-styling, rather than constantly shopping. When shopping, she advocates supporting companies with a sustainability commitment to materials and supply chain.

3. Sustainable minimalism & productivity creators

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Christine Liu (@simplybychristine)

Cristine is a Californian-based author and creator, sharing tips for simple, slow, and sustainable living. Her recent book, Sustainable Home, inspires readers to find the beauty in simple living. She encourages her viewers to better their own lives and the planet they live on.

Krist Yu (@kristsoup)

Krist is a leading lifestyle creator on YouTube, with over 350k subscribers. She loves to talk about food, travel, fun and family (including the latest feline addition, Uni). Krist provides her audience with a huge variety of content, from her productivity recommendations to her follow along style vlogs and room tours.

Jasmine Truong (@jasminetfleur)

Jasmine Truong is a leading content creator known for her YouTube channel ‘Jem’ where she expertly produces content on her life for her c.0.5m following. Her videos can often have an almost cinematic feel and a calming effect that her followers love. She loves highlighting the little things in life!

4. Sustainable growing creators

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Summer Rayne Oakes (@homesteadbrooklyn)

Summer is the internet’s ultimate plant Mom. Trained as an environmental scientist and entomologist, Summer Rayne now uses her passion and knowledge for nature to help us make better lifestyle choices—from what we wear, to what we eat, to what we grow.

Her YouTube is the go to knowledge hub for anyone who owns a plant, and is interested in keeping it alive! She reports on life living in a Homestead from her Instagram, where she shares more plant guides and sustainable living tricks.

Moji Igun (@hippiemoji)

Moji uses her platform to spread awareness of the importance of supporting small businesses, reducing waste and embracing gardening and nature.

Krist Reed (@windypeakvintage)

Kristi is a vintage shop owner, mother and slow living enthusiast living in the countryside of Montana. Her Instagram page is a beautiful curation of the earthy tones of Homestead life and her accompanying blog details life at the base of the Absaroka Mountains.

Deanna (@deannacat3)

Deanna is a homesteader focused on creating content around gardening, food & cooking, chickens and natural health. She is based in CA, USA and focuses on sharing healthy, organic gardening tips to her Instagram audience of 200K+. She hopes to inspire love for her kind of lifestyle and for her hobbies by sharing tips and tools for modern Homesteading to make the process easy, understandable and enjoyable.

Ksenia Avdulova (@athomewithksenia)

Ksenia left the city for a quieter life in a cabin. Her channel features morning rituals, mindfulness, thrifting and grown-your-own, all while advocating a slower, less consumerist, more meaningful lifestyle.

5. Sustainable food creators

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Ela Vais (@elavegan)

Ela is a plant-based recipe creator and chef with a significant global following. Specifically, she has a strong following in North America and Europe. Her blog, which is read by a huge audience, has a separate German speaking side.

Yasmin Johal (@yasminjohalx)

Yasmin creates content on veganism, sustainable beauty and lifestyle, as well as illustrating what everyday life is like as a young mum with a young toddler.

Bo Porterfield (@bos.kitchen)

Harriet, also know as Bo, is a vegan recipe developer, photographer and stylist. Her Instagram feed consists of a beautiful curation of vegan treats and dishes that form a gallery fit for any lover of food, regardless of their dietary requirements.

She is well known in the vegan world and has worked for a number of leading brands including Waitrose, Kenwood and Tate & Lyle. She is based in the UK.

Sam Hadadi (@samanthahadadi)

Sam is a home cook, mother of three, recipe developer, health and fitness journalist, and blogger. She is driven by her passion for health and well-being and desire to bring joy and fun to nutritious food.

Niki Webster (@rebelrecipes)

Niki is a plant-based chef and author with a particular focus on savoury food. You can find her delicious recipes and stunning images on Instagram, or you can visit her website (www.rebelrecipes.com) for a deeper dive into vegan eating for foodies. She hopes to convey that you can have an indulgent meal that doubles up as a healthy one!

She has worked for a number of leading brands including Waitrose, Kenwood and Victorinox. She is based in the UK.

No Logo Agency & Plantalist

We are a digital agency and platform driven by creators and focused on sustainable living. Plantalist, our private marketplace, is the place to partner with the world’s leading sustainable wellness creators globally.

We have conducted promotions for hundreds of leading brands across three continents. Through Plantalist, we can reach 10m (as of Feb 21) consumers, primarily climate conscious millennials. If you are a brand or creator and would like to join our platform or discuss working with us, please email partnerships@plantalist.com or creators@plantalist.com

Plantalist is part of No Logo.

The post The sustainability influencers to watch in 2021 appeared first on No Logo.

Examples he gives of this include:

• 1. Initially starting out to protect the ecology of the environment (e.g. protecting turtles and sharks). By protecting them and ultimately the broader environment, you also make a better place for visitors to explore and dive
• 2. Using wood that grows quickly (e.g. not dark wood from the rainforest) you protect fragile environments and create a carbon sink
• 3. Using their own desalination plant, they both save money and remove plastic water bottle waste
• 4. Leading the way in sustainable pest management by implementing an insecticide-free mosquito management solution in the Maldives
• 5. Teaching locals how to swim so they can further experience the natural beauty and therefore be further engaged to protect the environment
• 6. Focusing on marine conservation where they pledge to protect biodiversity and habitats around their resorts.

Soneva Fushi, Maldives. Luxury Hotel, Image by Soneva

So, what does this have to do with creator marketing? The answer: I believe in this new age, the more sustainable we are as businesses, the more influence we will have.

We want to redefine the meaning of influence for brands and creators. Our purpose and tagline as a business is to ‘influence well’. The very nature of influencer marketing is that a brand partners with a person who they believe will act as more than a mouthpiece or a billboard; it is about partnerships that identify common ground between the brand, the creator and their audience.

To influence well requires content that has a purpose. Any brand can partner with a creator to produce an ‘advert’, but consumers want more than this.

To have purpose, partnerships need to present the brand in at least one of three ways. We define these as being either aspirational, creative, or educational. Encompassing this in a real message of sustainability means that not only is a creator partnering with a brand for a campaign, but they are also ultimately partnering with the planet. This is a powerful story for many to consume. 

Just as today Soneva resorts are so successful because they focus on more than hotel rooms and pools (they have an observatory and the biggest telescope in the Maldives), they help people to appreciate the natural environment. By doing so, they highlight the importance of sustainability, and what will ultimately be, regenerative tourism. They are a luxury brand that partners with the planet.

Governments can set agendas and targets, but it is brands that have the real power to make actual concrete changes to protect our environment. If you are a brand, we would love to hear how you are improving the impact you have on the environment and how you are telling this story to the wider world.

 We have created a platform for brands to embrace partnerships that ‘influence well’. We represent some of the world’s leading sustainable creators including Kathryn Kellogg, Shelbi, Jessica Clifton, Jessica Carpenter, Immy Lucas. Our creators range from vintage shoppers, vegan chefs and minimalists to explorers, off-gridders and much more. Despite this variation, they all maintain a purpose-led approach to each partnership that they take on. 

You can listen more to Sonu’s story and approach in this podcast here

No Logo Agency & No Logo X

We are a digital agency and platform driven by creators and focused on sustainable living. No Logo X, our private marketplace, is the place to partner with the world’s leading sustainable wellness creators globally.

We have conducted promotions for hundreds of leading brands across three continents. Through No Logo X, we can reach 60m+ consumers, primarily climate conscious millennials. If you are a brand or creator and would like to join our platform or discuss working with us, please email yes@nologo.agency

No Logo X is part of No Logo.

The post Sustainability and the future of influencer marketing appeared first on No Logo.

A little background:

Food is something we have always shared, enjoyed together and used as a tool of creativity, but over the last few years, the way we share food has changed. It has become something we don’t just share around a table (pass the bread or wine please) but an item we share with our friends and our followers in picture form online. But why is this? So much of what we love about food is what it smells like and how it tastes. Why do we want to see a beautiful avocado on toast in a small screen on our hands?

Artist and restaurants have entertained us for centuries; still life painters have recreated and fascinated us with things we see every day and chefs have created things we didn’t even dream of. On average we spend around 4.5 years of our life eating.[1] Food has always fascinated; both the real thing and its representation. Still life paintings were often created to celebrate material pleasures or to remind us of our humanity; Instagram food shots are a new version of this life of food.[2]

Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples’ (ca. 1895) (Photo via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)

A new type of meal:

We now share food over a screen. We actively enjoy seeing new ways of presenting food or creating recipes. Whereas other areas of social media (e.g. fashion / sport) may seem unattainable to a lot of us (what that person is wearing is cool, but I would never wear it), food is something most can experience and enjoy equally. It reminds us of our humanity. With this trend, a new breed of chef whose food we enjoy through our screens has been created. Different to people like Jamie Oliver, these individuals can potentially be more deeply and directly connected with their communities.

This has changed how we experience food; we are in a generation of the photo and restaurants understand that. Food influencers inspire us to eat new things, but they are also shaping how restaurants make food; people want to share their own experiences of food. Restaurant food needs to taste good but today it also needs to look good.

Who knows how much time we now spend looking at food; maybe one day it will be more than the time we actually spend eating it!

The business of food influencers:

Foodies who have large social media followings can make this their full-time job; brands realise the power and creativity these individuals have to promote products to engaged communities. Companies pay to have their products featured in recipe creations and for these to be promoted via various social channels or websites. It is much more than just a billboard – it is an interactive experience for consumers.

Brands are also partnering with these individuals in other ways, having them host live-streams or workshops. This kind of ‘influencing’ can be much more authentic and relevant to the audience.

We at No Logo think this area of influence is in its infancy and there is a lot more to come.

Food may not be in paintings and hanging on our walls much these days, but it is definitely on our screens.

[1] https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/your-life-in-numbers-infographic/

[2] https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/still-life

The post The business of influence: food appeared first on No Logo.

Three reasons the word ‘influencer’ is under scrutiny:

1. It under emphasises creativity

The word ‘influencer’ was invented by marketers. This means that it highlights the creator’s ability to get more ‘likes’ and monetise their content, rather than their ability to create. This makes it seem inauthentic: the greatest millennial sin. And when we do get round to recognising their creativity, that can be undervalued too. There is an age-old notion that creatives who monetise their work are ‘sell outs’, as if art and business cannot collide. The popularisation of things like Fyre Festival has connected it further to an idea that its all about money and has thrown authenticity out the window.

2. Influence means many things to many people
I’m guessing if you were to name 3 people who had truly influenced you in your life, the list wouldn’t include Kim Kardashian (or any Kardashian, for that matter). In fact, it’s more likely that your mum is on that list. Or perhaps it’s a business leader or a creative icon who has inspired you to pursue the path you are currently on. Social media personalities are influential in different ways – they can entertain, inform, and yes, inspire. It’s a totally different category of influence.

3. Popularity is taboo
Whether online or offline, no one wants to be seen as a try-hard. Where we ourselves do not want to be defined by how many followers we have or how many likes we get, we resist those who make a living out of it.

It’s not always easy to find language that works for everyone. Here are three things which we believe at No Logo can change the conversation:

1. Recognise them as leaders and entrepreneurs
Someone who has followers is a leader. The job of a CEO is ultimately to create followers. If you’ve tried to manage a team or a business, you know that casting vision isn’t easy. Creators and artists throughout history have led the way in culture. Now that is showing up online, too. We must not mistake follower numbers for superficial popularity. What’s more is that every influencer has had the gusto, the consistency and the creativity to actually start their own business. They should be valued as entrepreneurs.

2. Call them by what they do
If someone is a fashion editor, a food stylist or a meme-maker, say it! Unsurprisingly, influencers don’t want to be defined by their numbers either: their content is the reason people follow them. While followers can be bought, those with real engagement have worked hard and used their creativity to get where they are today. Identify which industry they belong to, or the skill that they have, and use language which reflects that.

3. Think of them as expert communicators
They create content which people love, whether to inspire, amuse or educate. There is a reason marketing managers are so keen to tap into their skills. Influencers do more than just populating their feed: they are experts in engagement and community management. They can spend hours a day replying to comments and questions. Ultimately, they nurture and grow their communities in a way which most companies can only dream of!

In Summary

The term ‘influencer’ isn’t going to go away. While ‘influencer’ is useful as a term for a type of marketing, it falls flat when describing individuals across varied creative industries. Let’s emphasise what people truly are: content creators, entrepreneurs and communicators and not fall into the trap of defining them by just their followings.

The post Is influencer the right word? appeared first on No Logo.