How to be a More Ethical Influencer
Something has been bothering me recently. I’ve always got one eye on the global news, looking at what is going on in the world and more often than not getting worried about topics such as climate change. I’m always conscious of the decisions I make every day - turning down single-use plastic items, choosing to make purchases for small, sustainable brands rather than fast fashion, sticking to a vegetarian diet and eating plant-based as often as possible. Yet I have a blog and am classed as an ‘influencer’ on Instagram (note: I hate that word) where I frequently promote things such as buying new clothes or flying to far-off destinations. It can sometimes feel very contradictory. I’m talking about living slower and more sustainably, but as a blogger is that even possible?
I honestly think it’s possible to be an ethical and sustainable influencer (I’m going to continue using that word, even though I hate it, for want of a better term). It’s all about being careful who and what you talk about and not just saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes your way. I often turn down proposals from brands if they’re companies that don’t align with my own values and promote a sustainable way of living. I promise you’ll never turn up to my blog and see me talking about how much I love Pretty Little Thing (or any similar throw-away brands).
If anyone else is struggling with the same conflicting thoughts as me, wondering how they can continue creating content and working with brands while honoring sustainable and ethical values, I thought I’d share a few rules that I try to abide by.
DON’T PROMOTE FAST FASHION
I will never, ever work with or promote a throw-away fast-fashion brand on my content. I focus on sharing slow, sustainable, ethical and independent clothing brands (ones that I collaborate with and others that are my own purchases) across my blog and Instagram. Even if you have high street garments in your wardrobe, you can share what you wear and your daily outfits - just don’t make a big deal out of promoting the brands with dubious ethics. I’m often wearing high street items in my photos (old garments that I’ll continue wearing until they wear out) and either just don’t mention them or label them as ‘old’ or ‘high street’ rather than giving the brand free promotion. I want to encourage my followers to continue wearing the garments in their wardrobe - not to continue shopping from unethical brands.
RE-WEAR YOUR EXISTING CLOTHES
This brings me on nicely to my next point - be conscious of how often you promote new garments on your Instagram or blog. Instead of wearing something brand new in every photo, show how you continue to re-wear your existing clothes, showing different ways of styling a garment. It’s often assumed that Instagrammers are buying a new outfit for every single photo, but the people that I love to follow are those who promote a considered wardrobe full of garments that they love to wear, showing how one piece can be worn in many different ways or at different times of year. Slow fashion brands are often expensive, so this is a great way of promoting the cost per wear of one piece.
DISCUSS THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE
Use your blog and your Instagram captions to talk about the decisions that you make and why you make them. For example, if you frequently share travel content and fly (as I do), talk about why you fly, how you offset or balance out your carbon emissions and if you are planning to make any changes. I went vegetarian to help balance out my flights and aiming to fly less and visit more places by rail, boat or car. Travel is one of my greatest pleasures in life, but I think it’s important to show that I know the environmental costs of taking a flight.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Do your research and choose to work with brands that have ethical and sustainable practices, taking the time to thoroughly check a brand out before agreeing to work with them. Be able to back up what you are saying about a brand with facts and figures if necessary, such as where and how their products are made, the materials they are crafted from and the people who make them. Don’t be scared to ask questions if you’re not sure of the answers.
ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY
It’s important to encourage diversity by partnering with brands that work with a diverse range of influencers. Do you really want to be another pretty white face in a sea of pretty white faces? When a brand approaches you, take some time to check out who else they have worked with, the models that they use and the variety of the content on their Instagram grid. Look for brands who show people of different ethnicities, sizes and genders on their imagery.
TALK ABOUT SUBJECTS THAT MATTER
Instagram is a brilliant tool for speaking out on important subjects, especially if you have a large following. Just look at all the money that was raised for Australia over the past couple of weeks. If you have a voice - use it. Whether that means talking about climate change, politics, racism, sexism or anything else that riles you up, use your platform to talk about or share important information that can help others or raise awareness. Don’t be silent.
GIVE ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
So many ‘influencers’ use their platforms to gush about fast fashion brands and constant travel. Be the alternative voice that we all need to hear. Talk about alternatives to popular fashion and beauty brands or promote travel by train. Shout about other influencers and brands in your Stories, recommending ethical and sustainable places to shop or people to follow.
PROMOTE MORE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
This is a subject close to my heart, as I want to start sharing more sustainable travel recommendations on my own content. I’m aiming to halve the number of flights I took last year and to talk about other ways that you can see the world than jumping on a plane. Following my once-in-a-lifetime trip to America, I’m going to be focusing on exploring Europe by train and taking stay-cations in the U.K. If you regularly show travel content and want to be a more sustainable blogger, make an effort to change the way that you travel this year, but also to talk about it as much as you can, inspiring others to do the same.
In these photos I’m wearing my Babaa cardigan that I saved up to buy. I considered this purchase for YEARS and basically wear this cardigan every other day. I’ve already posted several times on my Instagram talking about how much wear I get out of this garment, promoting a sustainable brand and making more considered purchases.