In addition to once again showing how the fossil fuel industry and its stooges dominate Facebook ads and organic content, this week's edition of the Climate Monitor also covered how "a pro-climate brand discovered the secret sauce to going viral online."
"Now, on the surface," Climate Monitor explained, "this account – and the brand behind it, LIVE KINDLY– is a luxury eco-friendly shopping experience that offers products in beauty, home, food, and fashion." With locations in glamorous "Los Angeles, New York, London, and Dubai" and numerous vegan-focused articles on its blog, "Live Kindly gives off a very strong Goop-esque vibe – an ultra-luxury, self-care-based climate activism experience." (For the uninitiated, Goop is actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury wellness brand that has been accused of spreading medical misinformation.)
But despite its similarities with Goop, LIVEKINDLY regularly posts viral climate content, the tone and tenor of which targets Goop's elite spenders:
"Online, however, LIVE KINDLY has cultivated an incredibly strong presence in the climate-related space – a 'community of 774k+ planet champions' that pulls no punches when it comes to attacking people who harm the planet. With snarky posts that bash consumerism and billionaires (which is exactly how Gen Z likes their social media), the @livekindly Instagram account has amassed a lot of attention and a huge following."
What's more, they're multi-platform:
"Their high-performing content isn’t just limited to Instagram. LIVEKINDLY also has a TikTok account that has amassed 125,000+ followers, which they use to post videos to 'de-influence' people from popular trends, products, and brands that harm the environment."
"There is undoubtedly some irony at play here" because "this is a brand that hates capitalist consumerism… but also seems to position itself as a luxury experience based out of some of the world’s most expensive cities."
Nevertheless, as Climate Monitor explains:
“By using some biting Gen Z humor and tapping into the 'give no f***s' energy that has permeated the Internet since the COVID-19 crisis, they have created a blueprint for how people can get important topics in the climate conversation to go viral. It’s an impressive feat – and a strategy that other pro-climate brands should definitely consider trying.”
Now, excuse us as we go read a LiveKindly post about how “Soon, [We’ll All] Be Wearing the Scent of Old Carbon Emissions!”
[Seriously though, The Climate Denier Roundup will be out next week-- see you after Labor Day!]