Earth Day

Thursday the 22nd of April is Earth Day each year, but what is it? What does it mean? And where has it come from? If you’re from the UK, you may not have heard of Earth Day in the same way, because it started in America. It is now a global event which includes over 1 billion people around the world. So, to mark this day this year, I thought I’d explain some of the history of Earth Day and why it’s important. I’m also going to touch on how brands will be using Earth Day to greenwash, and what things to look out for!

History

The first Earth Day was in 1970, and it marks the start of what we now know as the environmental movement. There has been some understanding of climate change since the 19th century, but it was only in the mid 20th century that people actually started talking about it. A book called the Silent Spring was published in 1962 which started to raise concern about climate change. In 1969 there was a huge oil spill in Santa Barbara, after which there was outrage about pollution. Senator Nelson was inspired by the anti-war movement to start a teach-in at colleges, alongside Denis Hayes. This became Earth Day and gained lots of media attention, with 10% of Americans joining in. This produced the momentum needed for the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (just to name a few). Earth Day continued to 1990, where it became global with 141 countries taking part. Earth Day 2000 focused on clean energy and global warming, and Earth Day 2010 combatted climate denial after the Climategate incident of 2009. So, although this started as an American event, it is now global and has contributed to great change.

Importance

So we’ve seen that Earth Day can prompt big changes, which is one of the main reasons that it is important. It’s another opportunity to use our voices, particularly as we run more and more out of time. It’s also a great opportunity to learn about and appreciate our planet and how much it is capable of. It can help people connect to others who are concerned about the environment, particularly through litter picking and other similar activities.

Greenwashing

However, Earth Day is also a great marketing ploy. Be prepared in the run up to Earth Day, and especially on the day itself, to see brands publicising ‘sustainable’ clothing collections and products, how they offset products or services, and how they’re doing their bit. Of course, some of this is good, and is actually a great example of brands taking some accountability, but most of it is greenwashing. So, don’t take these adverts at face value, ask yourself a few things:

• Has this brand done anything other than this that is sustainable?
• Have they got a section on sustainability on their website?
• Do they pay their workers properly?
• Do they participate in consumption trends like fast fashion?
• Is there any proof?
• Are they trying to trick you with images of ‘green’ things, like trees or recycling?
• Are they using vague terms like eco-friendly or green?

If they’re doing these things, it’s likely that it’s greenwashing. This is really important to look out for so that we contribute to the right companies who are doing the right things, consistently. So, a few takeaways for this week:

• Earth Day is a great opportunity to protest, educate and appreciate.
• Earth Day has played a part in climate history.
• Earth Day can be stolen by brands and used to greenwash.

I hope that this was helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and happy Earth Day!