This takes the cake. I happened to catch a page from the NY Post while in the subway today. An ad for Bloomingdale's department store in NYC caught my eye.
A sexy-looking guy is featured in some green-ish hued jeans and a blue t-shirt with the word "PEACE."
The promotion is for an Earth Day event at Bloomingdale's, called "Dress for the Planet."
OK, so what's wrong with this picture? The store wants to support Earth Day, is running a promotion, with a supposedly low-energy free concert, and is collecting old, "gently worn" clothing, which it will exchange for a pass to buy at a discount some NEW machine-ripped and gently fake-worn clothing!
No, it isn't even that reasonable. This is USING Earth Day as an opportunity for a SALE, like on President's Day or Labor Day. Sales exist to drive consumption, expressly, to INCREASE consumption (go to Bloomies and hack up a lung, you think that might make 'em happy?).
Bloomingdale's marketers are saying, "Oh, Ye Wonderful Earth-conscious People, come to our store and support the planet by BUYING more stuff that kills the planet!"
George Orwell would have been proud. This is truly doublespeak at its finest.
What does it mean (as Martin Luther might say) if those responsible for fueling the engine that drives the industrial consumption of the planet (not to mention the low-wage slavery of most of its people) not only to claim to be on the side of NOT DOING the very thing that is their highest goal as a corporation (increasing share-holder value), but also encourage us to follow the same contradictory purpose and HONOR THE EARTH by coming out to Bloomingdale's for a great sale for a good cause, you know, DESTROYING THE EARTH?
And the PEACE the sexy model's T-Shirt proclaims? Consumption, and the energy its engines require are precisely what fuels our current imperialist oil WARS, not to mention reinforcing energy-rich totalitarian states that big multi-nationals and super-powers keep in place, despite the violences and suppression (the opposite of PEACE) enacted against those peoples.
Yes, yes, we can all join in! Sing along in our anthem, follow the bouncing sale price label! Let us all celebrate Earth Day in the properly capitalist interpretation of its meaning, by CONSUMING THE EARTH MORE!
Increased consumption is, or can be made to be, after all, the answer to EVERY question. The Bloomingdale's sale proves it.
This is like people who celebrated Earth Hour by turning off their lights to watch a movie on their big screen TV and thinking they had done their bit for the environment. Totally missing the point people.
Posted by: Riayn | April 21, 2008 at 11:10 PM