Author: Kim Sheehan

MABR Cohort Perspective: The next step for Brand Activism

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s post is from Haley Cruse.

Brand activism has been centered around Donald Trump and his administration throughout his entire presidency. Brand activism became political because taking a stand against any prominent issues meant taking a stand against Trump. Some brands might view the election of Joe Biden as a huge sigh of relief. They shouldn’t. It is not the time for brands to go back to the way things were. It is time for brands to reflect on their core values and purpose and to keep their promises by pushing to make these values a reality. Corporations need to do their part by holding the new administration accountable and by mobilizing their customers to do the same.

With Trump no longer in charge, it will be easier for companies to stand FOR something rather than stand AGAINST something. As was shown in the Black Lives Matter movement, merely standing for something is a nice gesture, but is not enough. Brands need to express their values through meaningful action. In order to do this authentically, it is important for brands to pick a lane of activism that is aligned with their values and purpose. Blanket statements mean nothing and are not accepted by the next generation of consumers. Brands need to prove their values by standing alongside marginalized communities in the fight for equality and by implementing sustainable practices for our planet.

Nike, for example, stood alongside Colin Kaepernick in the fight against police brutality that took the forefront during Trump’s presidency. Now that a new administration is preparing to enter office, Nike needs to fund activists that are working toward police reform and encourage their consumers to act on behalf of that goal. Other brands that changed their hiring practices to be more inclusive need to hold the Biden administration accountable in their pursuit to make the country a more welcoming place to everyone.

Brand responsibility has never been more important than it is now. The next generation of consumers seek service from companies that are involved and dedicated to helping their customers. Activism that is purpose-driven and reflective of core values is key to business success.

MABR Cohort Perspective: TikTok and Responsibility

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion piece is from Chloe Peterson.

When Nathan Apodaca posted a TikTok on his skateboard driving down the highway in Idaho while drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray, I doubt he thought it would lead to what it did.

The TikTok, which can be found here, where he was lip-syncing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac drinking Ocean Spray riding down the highway after his car broke down on his way to work. The video has 70.8 million views and made the song reach number one on the charts. Even Mick Fleetwood reposted himself doing the same trend, so did Dr.Phil and plenty of other celebrities. Ocean Spray received a lot of free advertising from it. They could have basked in the free advertising and kept moving instead they decided to buy him a truck.

A few days after the TikTok went viral, decided to buy him a car and give him a bunch of free products. It’s not something a big brand was expected to do but it impacted someone’s life in a big way. Apodaca now has 5.8 million followers and he regularly meets with celebrities. His TikTok went viral without the help of Ocean Spray but they helped to change his life. Buying him a car allowed him to get to work, he meets big named people on a regular basis, and so many still recreate his first video. He also received $10,000 in donations to help upgrade his current living situation. He’ll soon have a shower, sink and a toilet.

This is a prime example of a brand doing something for the better when it wasn’t expected or necessary of them. They also bought Nathan a truck without too much exposure. Instead of posting about it, they bought him the truck and let news organizations post about it. He created happiness for others, Ocean Spray decided to pass on those same feelings.

MABR Cohort Perspective: Single-Use Containers In Sports Venues

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s post is from Cole Rothman.

Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean and more than 150 million people attend live sporting events each year in the US alone. While these two statistics seem entirely unrelated, think about the last time you went to a sports game. What did you eat? What did you drink? Whatever it was, it was likely wildly overpriced, but what didn’t you notice? What you might not have noticed —and what the sports industry has yet to notice— is that your food and drinks likely came in a single-use container.

Every time I go to a sports venue, I feel guilty about the amount of single-use containers I use. The problem is there isn’t usually a viable alternative. Venues typically don’t allow you to bring in outside food or beverages so that they can charge you $50 for a hot dog because they know you’re hungry. Venues, for the most part, don’t use reusable containers because they don’t want to deal with the cleanup after the game. That leaves you with one alternative. single-use containers… an absolute mountain of them.

One study estimated that sport event attendees account for more than “39 million pounds of trash per year in the U.S.” A small portion of this total is organic waste, but the majority of this astronomical figure comes from single-use containers. Many organizations around professional sports have committed to increasing their recycling efforts in their venues, but don’t understand that they’re missing the point entirely. It’s not about marginally improving their already incredibly environmentally damaging practices. It’s about addressing the foundational problems in the sports concessions business model.

We don’t need recyclable single-use containers. We need no single-use containers!

It’s high time professional sports organizations stop doing the bare minimum environmentally and use their enormous platforms to make meaningful and lasting change. The Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Florida) is doing just that. The Miami Dolphins Stadium recently committed to phasing out 99.4% of single-use containers in their venue. A promise, if kept, would eliminate more than 2.8 million plastic items annually.

THAT’S JUST ONE VENUE!

Imagine what the world would look like if every venue did that. It’s not like it wouldn’t be profitable either. If anything, it could reduce some concessions margins to have reusable containers. The Miami Dolphins are selling reusable, stainless steel cups for more than their plastic counterparts. The reasons for change are endless, but it comes down to sports venues around the globe stepping up and making the environment a priority. It’s our job, as consumers, to put endless pressure on sports organizations and venues until it happens. Climate Change is the fight of our generation. Everyone must do their part.

Thomas J. Grant Jr., Green Monsters: Examining the Environmental Impact of Sports Stadiums, 25 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 149 (2014).

MABR Cohort Perspective: The Value of Small Brands

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s post is from Leah Olson.

Small Business, Big Impact
How small actions from small businesses can change the world

In a world of tight competition, small margins, and whip-smart and attentive customers, focus on maximizing profit alone is no longer a viable strategy. According to a November 2019 article in Inc., “Business must be a force for good, rather than profit alone.”[1] Small businesses need to take a stand in order to stand out. In fact, small businesses can’t afford to not care about social and environmental responsibility. Apathy is costly in today’s highly competitive markets, and not “caring” is expensive in terms of customer acquisition, employee retention, and revenue in general. By adopting and demonstrating brand responsibility, you can improve your product, reputation, community, planet, and your bottom-line. Because what is good for your customers, your employees, your community, and your planet is also good for business. Doing this work is worth the effort.

Before we get started, I have a few words of caution: In the arena of brand responsibility, authenticity is everything. Don’t talk the talk without walking the walk. Your incredibly intelligent and discerning customers, team, and community will hold you accountable for your words, actions, and intentions.

Where to start:

Find your why and articulate your purpose
Start by taking a good long look at your business. Authenticity is everything, but authenticity is also just the beginning. Start by asking “why?” Why are you in the business of ____ ? What are you, personally, trying to accomplish? Once you’ve found your “why,” you can begin to define and articulate your purpose. According to a study by Kantar Consulting, “Brands with a high sense of purpose have experienced a brand-valuation increase of 175 percent over the past 12 years compared to the median growth rate of 86 percent.”[2]

“Determining your company’s purpose should involve employees, customers, suppliers, and members of the communities you serve.”[3] Answer these questions: Who do you serve? What do your customers need? What products or services do you provide? How well are you meeting that need? What makes you uniquely suited to meet that need? How can you become a more responsible brand? In terms of brand responsibility, what are you already doing well? Where is there room for improvement?

By asking these questions, you can identify some potential areas to integrate and align social and environmentally responsible initiatives and goals. Again, be sure that any direction you pursue is authentic and meaningful to your company, your community, and your brand.

Ask any small employer on the Oregon Coast “What’s the hardest part of operating a business here?”, and they’ll tell you “finding good help,” “employee retention,” or both. Brand responsibility may be the solution. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Many people—not just Millennials—want to work for organizations whose missions and business philosophies resonate with them intellectually and emotionally.”[4] It is hard to find and keep good help if your brand and purpose do not resonate. In Start with Why, Simon Sinek reminds us that “Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. […] Average companies give their people something to work on. In contrast, the most innovative organizations give their people something to work toward.”[5] Meaningful work can lead to great work and great work can lead to excellence—that is your competitive edge. One way to inspire customers to action and employees to greatness is by doing meaningful work.

Commit

Demonstrating brand responsibility is not just about supporting causes and donating money. It’s about committing to social and environmental good and adapting and outfitting your business and team to make a difference. Sometimes these changes are just small tweaks or realignments, but sometimes these changes require drastic deconstruction and/or reconstruction of complex systems. Either way, Amy Webb, Founder of The Future Today Institute, would encourage you to “Think exponentially. Act incrementally.” Here are two approaches to getting started:

Pick a problem area that needs improvement and start small. This could mean assessing inventory and suppliers and switching to more local, environmentally friendly, and/or sustainable options.
Pick something doable (that aligns with your why and your purpose) and do it. This could mean shifting to compostable to-go containers, swapping out all of your lightbulbs for energy-efficient LEDs, or placing a Black Lives Matter sign in your storefront window.
Need inspiration? Look to a business you admire. Remember: there is no correct place to start. The important thing is that you start and then keep going.

Partner up!
I’ve heard it said that “a rising tide floats all boats.” Here, at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River, that is a particularly apt sentiment. We are all stronger together. So, reach out, band together, and find or create communities committed to social and environmental good. Local businesses, suppliers, alliances, coalitions, and even your competitors are a great place to start. Band together, make changes, speak up, and redefine the playing field together.

4. Track Your Progress

You can’t measure success without first defining it. “Build a baseline” and measure against it.[7] Select three to four measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and make a simple quarterly, bi-annual, or annual report card to help keep you on track. Review the matrix, assess your progress, give yourself a grade (or better yet: ask your employees and customers to give you a grade!), and, most importantly, take time to reflect and course-correct.

Small businesses may be small, but they are mighty. And when small businesses band together their small, steady, and incremental actions compound. And that, my friend, is how we change the world.

[1] Mestrich, K., Pinsky, M. A., Blakely, L., & Saporito, B. (2019). The Rise and Rise of Business as a Force for Good. Inc, 41(7), 70–78.

[2] Dupont, S. (2020, April). Green Days: Building a Purpose-Driven Brand. PRSA. https://www.prsa.org/article/building-a-purpose-driven-brand.

[3] Determine Your Company’s Purpose With Your Constituents. Harvard Business Review. (2020, November 9). https://hbr.org/tip/2020/11/determine-your-companys-purpose-with-your-constituents.

[4] Blount, S., & Leinwand, P. (2019, November). Why Are We Here? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/11/why-are-we-here.

[5] Sinek, S. (2013). Start with why: how great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio/Penguin.

[7] Fort George Brewery + Public House Sustainability Report. Fort George Brewery. (2019, April 5). https://fortgeorgebrewery.com/about/sustainability/.

MABR Cohort Perspective: Brands and Body Image

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s post by Britnee Speice-Will

I’ve gone through many phases when it comes to my body image. I’ve struggled with being comfortable with my body, sometimes wishing it looked different. Many young women like me feel this way. Men, too. It can be hard to find confidence and self-love when most of the media portrays the “perfect” body.

Brands have the ability to help shift our perspective of ourselves. One brand that could contribute to this is Snapchat. I was on the app a few months ago, scrolling through the filters. As I was scrolling, I noticed a small “glitch” as I was swiping from filter to filter. A glitch that showed my realself, without the filter on it.

When I noticed the glitch, a common theme with the filters became apparent to me. Most Snapchat filters slimmed my face, made my nose smaller, enlarged my eyes and lips, and removed skin blemishes. Snapchat was normalizing a “perfect” look for users. For a moment, this left me feeling self-conscious and paying attention to my flaws.

According to the International OCD Foundation, there are about one in 50 people that have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). People with BDD have repetitive and compulsive behaviors relating to their appearances, including constantly checking themselves in the mirror (NCBI). The term, “Snapchat Dysmorphia” was coined because people are losing perspective on what they actually look like after applying so many filters on social media (NCBI). The National Center for Biotechnology Information and WBUR state that many plastic surgeons have encountered patients that want to look like their filtered photos, enhanced versions of themselves that social media apps have helped them create.

Filters should be used as a fun social media tool (e.g., putting dog filters on your face, adding a flower crown), not making users feel self-conscious. Younger generations using Snapchat are still learning about themselves and are vulnerable. Snapchat should make the responsible decision to remove and ban filters that enhance one’s face in any unrealistic or “ideal” way.

Snapchat should join the body positivity movement, and empower young users to feel confident about their true selves.

Goldberg, C. (2019, January 25). In Selfie Era, Cosmetic Surgeons Confront ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2019/01/25/selfie-filter-snapchat-dysmorphia
Phillips, K. (n.d.). Prevalence of BDD. Retrieved from https://bdd.iocdf.org/professionals/prevalence/
Ramphul, K., & Mejias, S. (2018, March 3). Is “Snapchat Dysmorphia” a Real Issue? Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5933578/

MABR Cohort Perspective: Should student athletes be paid?

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion is from Cam McCormick.

Should student-athletes be paid? It seems to be an age-old question and debate year after year. Just recently, the NCAA announced student-athletes will be permitted to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness in 2021, however, not everyone will benefit from this new rule. Although the new ruling is forward progression, there is still money on the table in which many feel entitled.

As a student athlete myself, playing a sport while carrying a full academic load is extremely demanding. Our mental, physical, and emotional state is tested on a daily basis. There are insurmountable pressures on us that the average student doesn’t have to endure, as well as expectations and commitments a typical student doesn’t experience. Most college students are able to work to bring in money to survive, and can also control their school load. Student athletes are unable to work due to the demands of the sport and the time it takes to perfect our craft. We are also required to perform a certain number of community service hours each year to give back to the communities in which we reside. It is not uncommon for our sport to take up to 40 hours of effort each week. Playing a sport in college is simply a full-time job, and the number of credits we need to take each term cannot be adjusted.

Additionally, every time we step onto the court, field, track, pool, etc, we are putting ourselves atrisk for physical injuries, and sometimes those injuries are life-long and also life-ending.Although every athlete chooses to take the risk, the university benefits greatly by the risks wetake. When injuries occur, they don’t just affect the individual physically, but mentally as well.Mental set-backs from injuries can take a huge toll on a person, and, sometimes, they unfortunately don’t recover. Does a free education justify the risks? What price can be put on aloss of life, mental illness, or life long pain from an injury sustained while playing?

As a football player, it is clear the amount of money our sport provides to universities across the country. When the pandemic hit, the threat of seasons canceling raised alarms that some schools may close due to the lost revenue of not having a season. Many canceled multiple sport programs, because they could no longer afford to have them. This tells me, the revenues are extraordinary. At Oregon, in 2019 alone, the football program brought in $72.8 million dollars. The universities reap the financial rewards while the student athlete assumes the majority of the risks. For these reasons, paying student athletes beyond their “name, image, and likeness” seems like the right thing to do.

MABR Cohort Perspective: Why businesses should take the mental health crisis more seriously

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion is by Stephanie Legault

It is no secret that mental illness rates have been steadily increasing with about one in every five adults experiencing mental health-related illnesses every year. Society has made no significant efforts to collectively destigmatize mental illness and offer better health coverage for those truly in need, so the responsibility now lands on businesses. If society isn’t brave enough to talk about and normalize mental health, then it’s up to the business world to make that change.

Expecting employees to show up to work to produce something valuable and meaningful to your mission when they are personally struggling with finding value and meaning in their life is an impossible reality. This describes the idea of presenteeism, which costs 1.8 times that of absenteeism. Your employees are assets to your business operations, and just like assets, employees’ work can depreciate over time if their mental health is declining. Not to mention how expensive it is to ignore. It’s estimated that mental illness accounts for nearly $200 billion in lost wages annually.

Gen Z is notoriously known as the leaders of the mental health, especially as more individuals report their increasing levels of stress and depression-like symptoms. In APA’s 2020 Stress in America Report, about 82% of Gen Z respondents said that they could have used more emotional support than they received that year. Gen Zers, with all our emotional baggage, are starting to make our way into the workforce, so what does that mean for the new era of business?

Start the conversation
Employers need to initiate the conversation of mental health in the workplace with empathy and understanding. Choosing to make mental health a more consistent part of communications from leadership will eventually trickle down the organization. Consider hosting empathy workshops for employees to work on their empathetic skills and active listening.
Encouraging open and honest conversation
Offering meditation or mindfulness workshops gives employees the opportunity to expand their mental health toolkit and discover what works best for them. You might implement compassion and empathy training for those skills on human interaction and crisis evaluation. Or even, doing monthly yoga as a team-building exercise.
On-site therapy
Consider offering on-site therapy as a benefit to employees. When Americans were worried about the increasing obesity rates, we brought gyms to the workplace. On-site therapy gives businesses the chance to invest in the increased productivity and wellbeing of their workforce while saving money in the long term.

Remember, mental health is not a one-and-done effort. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. It takes constant work, dedication, and improvement. But, that constant work and improvement feels a little less daunting to a Gen Zer when they have the support of their organizations behind them. Be compassionate. Be understanding. Be patient.

MABR Cohort Perspective: Social Responsible Extends to Influencers, too

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion is from Meg Krugel.

The personal is deeply political, this year more than ever before. In the weeks and days leading up to the 2020 November Presidential election, my social media feeds were ablaze with progressive posts supporting the candidacy of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. On Election Day, I remember feeling such a sense of disassociation anytime I’d stumble across an Instagram post that wasn’t election-related. Who has time to think about reorganizing pantry shelves on the precipice of such a huge turning point for our democracy and our world? Influencers, as it turns out.

As I assessed who was communicating about voting and the election, and who wasn’t – a pattern emerged. Lifestyle bloggers (also known as influencers – or a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by recommending it on social media) were by and large the ones making off-topic posts about food, fashion, beauty, family, and home interiors on Election Day. Some owned up to ‘keeping quiet about who they voted for’ and some never mentioned that an Election was happening at all, perhaps due to the threat of losing a corporate sponsorship – and the income that comes with it. The truth is we don’t live in a world that’s this untouched by the outcome of the most consequential election in our lifetimes. The novel Coronavirus has ravaged our communities and death counts continue to skyrocket across the country; the long-overdue reckoning around racial justice has amplified the experiences of being Black in America in profound ways and called our attention to anti-racist practice; our economy is on the brink of collapse and our environment in the throes of massive climate change. Is it influencers making this decision to keep quiet amidst this upheaval, or the corporations who sponsor their content?

Over the last five years, influencer marketing has grown from an ancillary marketing tactic to a $5-10 billion dollar industry, according to Rochele Bailis’ report “The State of Influencer Marketing” done for MediaKix.1 If corporations really want to lean into their commitment to social responsibility, then they must acknowledge the role that their paid social media influencers have in representing the brand in authentic and resilient ways. This includes the freedom to express opinions that align with a brand’s social justice values, even if it means losing a few followers (and some revenue) in the process. It’s no different than we’d recommend to a brand in the process of building a more socially responsible way of advertising. It’s a two-way street, of course, and not just the responsibility of the influencer. Brands need to look beyond aesthetically pleasing Instagram feeds, and seek out diverse social justice messengers who can authentically carry the brand’s voice on issues of social responsibility in this digital space.1 Bailis, R. “The State of Influencer Marketing: 10 Influencer Marketing Statistics to Inform Where You Invest.” BigCommerce, November 15, 2020.

Since March of 2020, the Center for Media Engagement has been studying the role of influencers in the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. elections.2 According to the influencers interviewed in a report titled “Social Media Influencers and the 2020 Election,” there’s been a change in audience demand for clear communication from an influencer. The report notes that “the current influx of personally motivated political activism is causing ripple effects throughout the social media landscape, provoking and inspiring others, and, subsequently, establishing an expectation of political discourse.” (Goodwin, 8.) The idea that influencers must shy away from hard-hitting topics like race, climate and politics is done. BuzzFeed News reporter Stephanie McNeal conducted a recent survey about the importance of an influencer’s voice on issues of social responsibility from a follower’s point of view, and found that 81% of Instagram users notice when an influencer has ignored politics, the election, Black Lives Matter, or COVID-19. Of those surveyed, 58% said they unfollowed an account because of the omission.3

Socially responsible brands need to start building and strengthening these relationships immediately, to counter the influx of alt-right groups who are increasingly using influencers and well-packaged Instagram aesthetics to convey an entirely different message. Conspiracy theory groups like QAnon have successfully used mainstream influencers like fitness gurus and beauty bloggers to push radical theories about Donald Trump saving the world from a global child-trafficking ring run by ‘liberal elites.’ Innocuous hashtags like “#savethechildren” can lead followers to more radical conspiratorial content tagged with #thegreatawakening and #wwg1wga. A recent article by Kaitlyn Tiffany for The Atlantic noted the ingenuity in this tactic — “what’s startling about QAnon’s new presence there is the way it slips in: easily, and with little visible pushback from the influencers’ communities or from the platform that hosts them.”4

Now is the moment for socially responsible brands to counter the work of alt-right groups and reclaim space on social media platforms through the active voice of the influencers who push their product. Instagram, in particular, has a highly impressionable audience – 68% of its users regularly engage with brands (while just 32% of Facebook users do).5 Brands need to court influencers who are willing to take this risk and who can stand firmly for the values the brand holds dear. In the words of one influencer platform executive from the Center for Media Engagement report: “It’s become a place where influencers are expected to say something, and they are expected to be on the right side of history if they want to continue to operate their businesses.”22

Goodwin, A.M., Joseff, K., & Woolley, S. C. (2020, October). Social media influencers and the 2020 U.S. election: Paying ‘regular people’ for digital campaign communication.
Center for Media Engagement.https://mediaengagement.org/research/social-media-influencers-and-the-2020-election

3 McNeal, S. (2020, September). “The Era of Influencers Being Apolitical is Over.” BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/the-era-of-influencers-being-apolitical-online-is-over
4 Tiffany, K. “The Women Making Conspiracy Theories Beautiful: How the domestic aesthetics of Instagram repackage QAnon for the masses,” The Atlantic, Shadowland Project, August 18, 2020.
5 Atkins, C. (2020, October).
6 Business Benefits of Being on Instagram. Zimmer Communications.https://info.zimmercommunications.com/blog/6-business-benefits-to-being-on-instagram

MABR Cohort Perspectives: Time for Fast Fashion to adopt Sustainable Practices

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion is from Haley Justus.

The time is now for fast fashion retailers to adopt more sustainable practicesFast fashion, stores like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21, has shaped how people shop for clothes in society today. By giving constant options and encouraging a consistent rotation of new attire, the consumer has become accustomed to searching for the next best thing. This has created a faster consumption of items that has a life span of about of no more than 10 wears, according to the New York Times. This system perpetuated by fast fashion brands fuels the amount of clothes that end up in landfills each year. According to the EPA, “Landfills received 11.3 million tons of MSW textiles in 2018. This was 7.7 percent of all MSW landfilled.”

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic retail sales are in free fall as people reallocate their spending priorities. The pandemic has caused consumers to pull back spending by two-thirds according to Refinery29. As profit continues to fall across the board, retailers are looking to ecommerce as their primary revenue stream. This, however, presents a new set of sustainability issues for the fast fashion industry.The transition to more digital shopping in response to the pandemic also means an increase in shipping, handling, and packaging that brings those items to the consumers doorstep. According to the BBC, “Returning items can effectively double the emissions from transporting your goods, and if you factor in failed collections and deliveries, that number can grow further.”

As the fast fashion industry continues to dive into a deeper hole, CEO’s are wondering how they keep business alive. A Refinery29 article states, “The bigger question for fast fashion is whether the model, which hinges on its prodigious volume to make the razor-thin margins work, will survive the pandemic.”

If they are already going to have to think about how to reshape their business because of the pandemic, why can’t they rethink their business models and encourage more sustainable consumerism?As much as people have stopped spending, they have also started caring. Caring more about who or what they are giving their money to and what those entities represent. An AdAge article about Gen Z stated, “73 percent of those it surveyed would pay more for sustainable items, with the majority of that chunk willing to pay a 10 percent price premium.”Fast fashion brands have an opportunity here to help save our planet as well drive some consumers back to opening their wallets for their products. They will need to vet their authenticity and actually follow through with affective strategies that address their sustainability issues if they hope to see the shift save them from decline. It’s time for them to authentically step up to what their consumer base is demanding more of and start to put planet over profit.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/04/9714553/coronavirus-effect-on-fast-fashion
https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/generation-z-willing-pay-more-eco-friendly-products/2227101
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/sustainable-clothing.html#:~:text=A%20separate%20study%20found%20that,of%20textile%20waste%20per%20year.

MABR Cohort Perspectives: Harry Potter and Inclusivity

Kim Sheehan on

Today’s opinion piece is from Haileigh Farrell.

Silly Bandz, Webkinz and Harry Potter are just a few of the staples of my childhood. Curled up on a classroom beanbag during reading time, I would find myself getting deeper and deeper into the story.

Fast forward and Harry Potter has done it yet again, capturing the hearts of many with an exclusive line with MeUndies, an underwear, loungewear and apparel company. While some fans have eagerly ordered the five epic Potter prints, which include a unique “Mischief Managed” pattern as well as one embodying each fictional house, a more serious conversation has rose around MeUndies.

On June 6, 2020, J.K Rowling created controversy with a series of transphobic tweets. This did not stop the brand from releasing the Potter collection featured in its Fall 2020 product line. Once a champion for diversity and inclusion, MeUndies had a history of being a “friend” and an “ally” to consumers. For example, the Company celebrated Pride Month in 2017 with a Rainbow Collection that showcased influential LGBTQIA+ members and has partnered with the It Gets Better Project to further empower this community.

After receiving backlash from releasing the Potter line, MeUndies went on to issue a ten-slide carousel “apology” in an Instagram post on October 30, which read “Please know that it was never our intent to hurt or offend anyone.” Rather than pulling the line, MeUndies removed the collection from the homepage wall. Yet, the prints are still available for purchase.

User comments from some quickly responded to the post, identifying an underlying motive, profits. One comment from @ohmygodsquad read, “lol just say *shrug* we don’t care because capitalism.”

Since this decision, MeUndies has dealt with a loss of trust for many customers who now feel alienated from the brand, although they once viewed it as one who empathized with their struggles and promoted inclusivity.But, this matter of mistrust is bigger than just MeUndies. It also applies to any brand associated with Harry Potter like Warner Bros, Universal Parks and Resorts, as well as bookstore or online suppliers.

So, what’s a brand to do? Stick to its values, it’s a compass that will guide their way.