(This article includes a gift and an affiliate link, both of which are clearly mentioned in the text)
You know, April is definitely my favourite month. Spring is in full bloom (at least where I live), I'm celebrating my birthday and we have two important global events. Both of which have to do with promoting and fighting for the future of our planet.
First, the most important fashion week is happening: the Fashion Revolution week. Considering that the fashion industry is a major polluter, is a deeply unjust system, and is something we are all a part of, April is the moment we focus on this. I firmly believe that fashion holds an important key towards a safe future for all. I see it as an important part of Earth Month.
And the second event is, of course, Earth Day. What started as a US-focused movement in the 1970s, has grown to be one of the largest global movements in the past 30-or-so-years. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the movement, and it seems like we need it more than ever.
There are of course many ways anyone can participate in these events. And chances are, you heard already many ideas, like picking up the trash in your local park, planting something, or asking the brands #WhoMadeMyClothes. These are all great but I want to give you some new ideas as well. Especially if you’re an online business of any kind, these might be particularly interesting for you. But they are also for anyone who wants to do something different!
Shall we?
1. Use link-in-bio that plants trees
If you’re on Instagram as a brand or business owner, creator, or activist (or anything in-between), you know the importance of a good link-in-bio tool. Since you can only put one link in your bio, many of us are using some sort of tool, like Linktree.
Well, what if you could use a great link-in-bio tool and plant trees at the same time?
I recently switched to mælt (pronounced as “melt”), which allows you to do exactly that!
They reached out to me and offered me to test their tool and I am impressed. It’s beautifully designed, super easy to use, and they are highly transparent about their tree-planting actions. You can set up your profile within minutes, and they offer free and paid options. I definitely recommend checking them out because it is overall a great tool to use on any social media or even in your email signature.
If you’d like to test mælt out this Earth Month (or any other month), you can sign up here. This isn’t an affiliate link, but it will help me plant more trees.
2. Attend a sustainability-focused virtual event
What a better way to honour Earth month than to participate in an event and connect with other passionate people?
As every year, Fashion Revolution has some fantastic and free events. I never regretted attending their events and I always learn something new.
But if you’re an entrepreneur and you’re using your business to do social and environmental good, you might want to check out Ecopreneurs for Earth Day.
This is a 2-day virtual retreat for those who are ready to make a bigger impact with their business. It is designed for small ethical business owners who have great ideas but struggle to make all the pieces fit together. During 2 days (22nd & 23rd of April), you will be surrounded by a community of other entrepreneurs who have all been there, and who can help you see things from a different perspective. Expect talks about anything from the circular economy, business plans, to ethical marketing and accounting.
If you’re interested, can book your ticket here (affiliate link).
3. Do a 3 Day challenge
Being on social media and using it as a platform to make an impact can be a double edge sword. There’s a lot of work you need to put in to cut through the noise. Still, it can be a great platform to connect to the right audience. While some would brush off social media as either a waste of time or a pure marketing tool, it had a crucial role in many social and environmental movements in the past years. Just last year, we have seen a rise (and a large success) of the #PayUp campaign.
Ready to do the same, in a 3 day, focused challenge?
What The Hack (along with Fashion Revolution) is organising a Hashtag Revolt Campaign. This is a 3 days event where teams get to create social media campaigns to spread awareness of issues in the fashion industry and push companies towards transparency. The team with the most engagement on their campaign wins the challenge.
It’s free to join, from anywhere in the world, either as a pre-made team or you will get matched with other participants. The event also includes workshops and mentor sessions. Oh and, I’ll be one of the judges deciding on the winner :)
You can join here!
4. Sign and share a petition
Whether you are ready to start your own campaign or not, many great initiatives are going on already. So now might be a good time to engage with some of them.
Like I mentioned above, campaigns can make a real difference, and social media is a powerful tool when used wisely. Apart from signing petitions yourself, perhaps you can use this Earth Month to give them further support. By sharing and talking about the petitions, as well as inviting your audience to sign them, you will help initiatives go even further.
I suggest picking up something that resonates with you and your audience the most and focusing on that. If you’re in fashion, you can support #PayUpFashion, a spinoff of the Pay Up campaign, that fights for big and long-term changes in the industry.
5. Take time off
Even though Earth Month is usually focused on the activities and actions we can do, I think that this is also a good time to rest.
Rest is truly revolutionary. Many of us are spending almost every waking hour working on our projects, campaigns, businesses, and brands. And we always feel like we are only catching up with our to-do lists, things-to-check-out, and the growing number of open tabs. Trust me, I know how exhausting it is.
So, if you can, try taking some time truly away from the work, news, and networking. You may not be able to take holidays but taking just a weekend off is valuable too. And I mean truly off. Put social media away, don’t check your emails, and skip the calls unless urgent. Instead, do whatever you like and allow yourself not to “be productive” for once. It sounds banal but when was the last time you seriously took a break?
Audre Lorde said it the best: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Rest should be an integral part of our action. I invite you to use the time to rejuvenate your mind and your body, so you have the energy and strength to continue the amazing job I know you’re doing.
What are your plans this Earth Month?
Comentarios