Arnold on ethical marketing

CHRIS ARNOLD

In these recessionary times we are all looking for that bargain and I’m sure most of us can’t help checking out the free offers, especially on magazines and newspapers. I was struck by the promotional offer on the front page of the Daily Mail “Free bulbs for every reader”. Oh no not another free eco-bulb I thought, but no it’s not and it’s not a tulip bulb either. It’s a good old fashion 100w incandescent light bulb. • • Seems that the Daily Mail, the champion of middle England, middle aged women and conservative values hasn’t got the message about the environment. I know they and their readers hate change, muttering “things were better in the good old days” as they sip their tea from a proper cup while complaining about there being too much swearing and sex on TV. But offering their readers free incandescent light bulbs seems one dumb promotion! (Incandescent are the old energy wasting types, CFLs are the new energy saving type.) • • Now I’m all for a bit of nostalgia but incandescent bulbs are being phased out (Australia have already stopped selling them completely) because they are energy inefficient. Why the Daily Mail wants to make a stand against this must baffle anyone. OK, so the old style bulb is finally vanishing after 120 years, but to make out that this is a battle against the EU is barmy. In the light of a piece of research that the media is influencing women about their environmental behaviour, seems the Daily Mail are encouraging their readers to be anything but green. • • According to the Lighting Association, 85% of light bulbs in European homes are energy inefficient, if we all switched to lower energy bulbs (CFLs) we would save the equivalent of 10 power stations. The Energy Savings Trust reckons you’ll save £7 a year per CFL bulb, but I guess Mail readers are wealthy enough not to need the savings, or have shares in coal. • • The promotion flies in the face on energy companies who have been giving away free CFLs, the result of which is that I now have a cupboard full of eco-bulbs, alas most have the wrong fittings. British Gas, who sent me loads never asked what fittings I have. I know they sent out millions, I wonder how many ended up in landfill and think of the carbon footprint of all those deliveries. Those of us who buy at IKEA all need screw caps, so that’d be most of us in North London. • • FROM SEXY WITCH TO GREEN ACTIVIST • • The Daily Mail has shown its true anti-green colours by attacked the Heathrow expansion protest and the group Climate Rush, claiming that “One of the organisers (Marina Pepper) of a mass protest trying to shut down a Heathrow terminal is a former soft-porn model turned witch.” Worse still, she’s a Liberal Democrat town councilor! Of course the so called porn is the Sun page 3 and Playmate of the month in Playboy, hardly heavy porn by today’s more liberal standards (have the Mail writers looked at a copy of FHM or Nuts recently?). But then to the frumpy Mail readers revealing any flesh is pornographic. However, I think the fact she’s listed as a ‘sexy witch’ and has written books on witchcraft for teenagers will have the average church going Mail reader wanting to burn her at the stake. Mind you, a visit to the ‘sexy-witch.blogspot.com’ site does change your view of witches (and you can see why Mariana had a successful modeling career- Parental Warning needed here.) My own view is that what she does in her private time and in the past is not relevant to the good work she’s doing now. Maybe if a few more Mail readers would get out of their heated conservatories and woke up to climate change they’d join her. • • If you still have a few Christmas presents to buy, (a larger percentage of us are now buying the main present after Christmas to take advantage of the sales) is the OWL (check it out on Ethical Superstore). This electricity monitor tells you how much energy you are using and your CO2. It really does make you energy conscious. It’s also a great thing to check your consumption before you leave in the morning, if it’s above average you’ve probably left the iron on again! • •