BETTER Climate Store Makes Earth Cooler
A new experimental marketplace spreads planet positivity in the fight against climate change
Climate change has a marketing problem. It’s been well-established that our climate is in crisis and large swaths of millennials and Gen Z (along with others) want to do something about it. Yet, in a society fueled by consumerism, it’s hard to fight the urge to “add to cart”—a negligible tap on the screen that often contributes to climate change— while also taking meaningful action to combat the issue. Consumerism isn’t going away, and neither will the climate crisis, unless the earth gets a cooler brand.
Enter: BETTER, a new collective made up of award-winning creative industry veterans who set out to combat the issue through art, humor and technology. The collective introduces sustainable physical and digital goods that incite participation, conversation and brow-raising provocation around the climate narrative vis-à-vis BETTER Climate Store, a new experimental digital storefront. Featuring slick design, catchy tags and irreverent product descriptions, the shop’s inaugural release is GREENWASH, a bar of soap to “wash away the climate guilt with the only greenwash that actually helps the planet.”
BETTER goods are all sustainably made, responsibly sourced and outrageously conceived. In addition to candles that “bring the stunning scents of nature inside your home before they’re destroyed and gone forever” and survival bunker pre-orders, they dropped a collection of Trash Tees with Everybody.World, the LA-based apparel company and pioneer in biodegradable materials. Made from 100% recycled cotton waste and printed with cheeky, apocalyptic graphics, the collection inspires both chuckles and impending doom.
Adding another sustainable goods shop to the internet isn’t revolutionary, but the sales model behind the Climate Store is worth noting: proceeds are directed to the BETTER Climate Fund, a community-governed endowment established to finance climate mitigation and adaptation projects. The Fund is controlled by members of the BETTER DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), which proposes and votes on key initiatives that support planet-positive initiatives. The BETTER Climate Fund prioritizes transparency and equity by leveraging the Ethereum blockchain (which in 2022 updated its technology to reduce 99.9% of its energy consumption), and enlists the guidance of a council of climate advisors to ensure the Fund’s integrity and mission.
With a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach to consumer culture, BETTER welcomes like-minded products to be hosted on their site that help to finance the fund, and invites everyone to “shop til you drop…global temps.”
What are your thoughts?