In this day and age, we are all aware that we need to take conscious steps towards a greener Earth by doing our part. It should go without saying that contributions to sustainability should actually be real, right? But in the world of views and business ventures, many big brands and influencers can hint at doing their part while in reality not doing anything at all.
One of the influencers who is most guilty of this performative environmentalism is YouTuber-turned-businessman Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast’s two popular brands, Feastables and Lunchly, attract younger audiences with their showiness and constant giveaways. One of the Feastables’ branding techniques is that it tastes better (and therefore, is better) than Hershey bars; however, unlike Feastables, Hershey is actively trying to reduce their plastic use. Meanwhile, Feastables is more worried about things on the sales front. Additionally, Mr. Beast’s most recently launched brand Lunchly contributes to the problem of plastic waste in a more extreme way.
In theory, most of Lunchly packaging could be recycled, as long as the child who is consuming the meal takes the time to wash out the Prime bottle, candy wrapper and container. But out of the 15% of all used plastic that is collected, only 9% ends up in recycling facilities. Plastic usage cannot be canceled just by throwing it into recycling. Soiled plastic is not recyclable. Even after plastic is washed, it still must be carefully sorted by its number. Recycling should realistically be a last resort to reducing and reusing plastic materials, but this has not been the case in our society. Plastic usage has become so widespread that it would take eliminating all plastic packaging to make a real impact. Mr. Beast has yet to make this move, but his significant carbon footprint doesn’t end there.
To an average viewer, these giveaways are entertaining. I would have even called myself a fan a few years ago; however, things have gotten out of hand. Aside from giveaways, Mr. Beast has gone as far as to blow up houses, hydraulic press cars and crash trains all for entertainment. The amount of waste produced in videos like these adds to the carbon emissions produced on the regular, with no real purpose. It is already a problem, but an even bigger one that he is very much aware of.
In a Team Trees video, Mr. Beast pledged to plant a tree for every one dollar raised, claiming to be conscious of the terrible condition that the Earth is in due to climate change and deforestation. The video gained traction and raised over 21 million dollars and planted 20 million trees. Mr. Beast received a lot of credit for this environmentally-conscious act. However, planting trees does not do much if you are the reason why more trees need to be planted in the first place. This video was posted in 2019, and since then Mr. Beast’s videos have only gotten more environmentally destructive with no other similar initiatives, whether performative or not, to “reverse” his impact. Unfortunately, his is not the only brand to put on this eco conscious facade when it comes to plastic and carbon emissions
Influencers, and even the biggest brand names, are guilty of claiming to care about the environment when in reality, they are the problem. But with brands who want to make a difference, their efforts are also more performative than anything. In 2018, Starbucks claimed to phase out plastic straws by introducing their “sippy cup” lids, which eliminate the need for a straw. This initiative came with the hope of removing straws worldwide by 2020. If you walked into a Starbucks today, you would see that the straws are still very much present, and the changing of lids was a step to only seem green, when they truly weren’t.
Other big name companies, like Coca-Cola, who have a commitment to recycle their plastic bottles all into new ones by 2050 have not lived up to their promise. Coca-Cola still remains one of the top plastic producers in the world and does not plan on eliminating their plastic bottles because they are too popular among consumers.
Influencers have taken the “just because you can, does not mean you should” mentality to a new level by trying to undermine their destruction of the climate with a few eco-conscious actions here and there. Greenwashing is all too present in a society when it is way too late to pretend to care about the environment. Holding brands accountable is much more important when they know all too well how to cater to an increasingly aware world.