The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. However, we’re buying more new clothes than ever before. The Swedish online marketplace Tradera have been pushing circular consumption for 20 years, and wanted to find a new way to reduce the purchasing of newly produced clothing. The campaign run just in time for the commercial feast of the year – Christmas.
To urge consumers to choose sustainable Christmas gifts, Tradera hijacked Google during the most intensive period of Christmas shopping, and exposed internet shoppers to facts about the fashion industry. Facts such as that “the fashion industry is responsible for 8% of the global emissions” and “20% of the world’s water pollution” was hidden in 3D replica images of the products which were most in demand from fashion brands December 2019. The replicas were also tagged with the same search engine data as the popular products.
This made Google interpret the replicas as sought-after products, and indexed them at the top of the search results. So when people Googled for products like white Fila sneakers, H&M faux fur and Moncler down vest, they got exposed to uncomfortable climate facts.
