Nuance in marketing

In my opinion, sustainability only starts making sense when it is addressed within a certain context. For example, claiming that a product has been made in a sustainable way only makes sense when described what these sustainable matters are. Otherwise, using the term ‘sustainable’ is just another way of marketing abusing the noble meaning of the word which is a hot topic nowadays. The context in which it is used however can create an interesting discussion about how it is or isn’t sustainable regarding different perspectives from people with different backgrounds. For example, the popular electric Tesla cars are widely seen as the sustainable answer to cars which are powered by a combustion engine. Looking at electricity as a sustainable fuel this can obviously be acknowledged as a sustainable improvement. ’If we look at the materials used for the battery production however, the used cobalt and nickel are harmful for both health and environment and the extraction of lithium has significant environmental and social impact, especially due to water pollution and depletion.’¹

Only when all these different perspectives are thrown on the table, thorough conclusions can be formed by each and every individual. What I’m trying to say, is that everybody has their own piece of knowledge regarding a sustainable future from their own perspective and since no one has a patent on truth, discussing these visions is the only way of generating a transparent view from which we as people can make clear choices.

I’m bothered by the fact that these different visions never get an equal amount of attention and that marketing and media play such a huge role in promoting one specific perspective that makes us want to buy a certain product. To be clear, I’m not against the use of media and advertisements to promote products in general since I understand the market model that we use in this modern world, but I would really encourage more strict rules regarding what can be stated as truthful and more importantly, what information should be added to create nuance in the marketing instruments.

Regarding the previous example of the Tesla cars, I do believe that these innovative vehicles are an amazing step forward regarding sustainable development since it has already inspired so many others to think differently and to innovate the car industry further. But we shouldn’t blindly consider this to be the final destination which has solved all problems regarding unsustainable car usage. And in my opinion, the media has focused too much on the pros of this car and has neglected the cons that still exist in this solution.

^{1 Tesla motors dirty little secret is a major problem}