{"id":196,"date":"2013-02-26T12:20:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T12:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/?p=196"},"modified":"2013-02-26T15:19:42","modified_gmt":"2013-02-26T15:19:42","slug":"whats-the-greater-risk-nonylphenolethoxylate-or-showing-your-knickers-at-the-oscars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/?p=196","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s The Greater Risk: Nonylphenolethoxylate or Showing Your Knickers At The Oscars ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a values dilemma.<\/h3>\n

When\u00a0 Bond-girl and Pirates of the Caribbean actress Naomie Harris previewed an eco-dress for The Oscars, a slew of mainstream media and blogs like The Daily Mail<\/a>, OMG Yahoo<\/a>, and The Sun<\/a> all ran the story, leading on the risk of \u2018the split\u2019 showing her knickers.<\/h3>\n

Deep in the background, behind the role of designers Michael Badger and Vivienne Westwood, who had created the dress under the wing of \u2018Red Carpet Green Dress<\/a>\u2019 \u2018an international dress design contest started by Suzy Amis Cameron<\/a>, environmental advocate and wife of Director James Cameron\u2019, Greenpeace had a hand in the process through it\u2019s Detox campaign. \u00a0It\u2019s own blog by campaigner Valeria Botte Coca<\/em> <\/em>announced \u2018Bond Girl helps Detox the Oscars\u2019<\/a>.<\/h3>\n

\"detox<\/a><\/p>\n

When I looked, the Greenpeace post had received two comments, one of which read: \u00a0\u201cHausson<\/strong> says: I’d love to know the Nonylphenolethoxylate content of this dress.\u00a0 That would really increase your transparency, which at the moment is kind of dubious.\u201d<\/i><\/h3>\n

Well yes and no but thanks Hausson because you\u2019ve crystallised the dilemma which faces campaigners from ethically motivated Pioneer-dominated organisations when they need to influence Prospectors, and you can\u2019t get a lot more Prospector than the fashion industry, celebrity and The Oscars. Namely, can you, should you, get involved in a way that works ?<\/h3>\n

The Prospectors<\/b><\/h3>\n

Who are Prospectors<\/a> ?\u00a0 They are 60 \u2013 75%<\/a> of the population of China and India, the majority in most emerging economies and the epitomy of the fun-loving success oriented mainstream in any country.\u00a0 \u00a0In terms of change, if the Prospectors embrace \u201csustainability\u201d, it will happen, and can happen fast: if they don\u2019t, it won\u2019t.<\/h3>\n

Are they interested ? Well yes, multi-country surveys we\u2019ve been running for Greenpeace (no, I didn\u2019t work on the Detox campaign) show again and again that the Prospectors, at least the uber-fashion conscious Now People Prospector Values Mode<\/a>, are as keen to be \u2018green\u2019 as anyone but it has to be in a way that meets their values.<\/h3>\n

That\u2019s where groups like Red Carpet Green Dress<\/a>, Global Cool<\/a> and JoinRed<\/a> are on the money by starting-from-where-the-audience-is.\u00a0 Because \u2018looking good\u2019 and having a good time is truly important, it means that the biggest risk for Naomie Harris at the Oscars really was the \u201ccringe pants flash\u201d and not actually, the possible presence of Nonylphenolethoxylate.<\/h3>\n

Disaster Averted<\/h3>\n

Fortunately in this case, as the celeb media noted, disaster was averted: \u2018Bond girl Naomie risks Oscars wardrobe malfunction in golden slit dress<\/a>\u2019 but Naomie managed to keep her modestly very much covered as she walked the red carpet<\/a>.<\/h3>\n

In terms of environmental outcomes, what we\u2019re seeing here is the fruits of a long struggle by campaigners, concerned scientists and other very Pioneer groups to recognize the threats posed by toxic pollution and get substances such as Nonylphenolethoxylate phased out. Plus a realisation that the way to do it isn\u2019t always by simply talking about the need to do it.<\/h3>\n

The use of non-toxic and organic materials in Naomie\u2019s dress was combined with re-use of materials.\u00a0 This enabled several media bloggers to focus<\/a> on the more-interesting-to-us \u00a0question of whether she had eaten the chocolates that were once in the candy wrappers used in the golden garment: a good example of \u2018being interesting\u2019, not just significant.<\/h3>\n

The trend for re-use (upcycling, embellishment, swishing<\/a> etc) of materials in fashion has been discussed at this site previously, as an example of something mainstreaming<\/a>; spreading from Pioneer to Prospector audiences.\u00a0 The Now People bible Grazia magazine pointed out that <\/a>\u00a0alongside Naomie, a rival \u2018green\u2019 dress appeared at the Oscars, one from Prospector retail brand H & M, worn by Helen Hunt.\u00a0 Grazia wrote<\/a>:<\/h3>\n

\u201cSo as well as Stella McCartney visibly leading the way with her sustainable fabrics and (sexy) vegan shoes, Sophia Kokosalaki launched an ethically conscious capsule range on ASOS<\/a> called Kore and the website\u2019s existing Africa range is top notch trend-ticking stuff.<\/i><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve noticed a real rise in upcycling (using existing clothing to create new pieces), but it\u2019s high fashion labels like Edun (designed by Bono\u2019s wife Ali Hewson), Suno, Henrietta Ludgate and Ada Zandition that are leading the way. Many more brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Vivienne Westwood are following suit, and starting to dip into the sustainable sphere with dedicated sub ranges or accessory lines.\u00a0 Watch this space ladies, sustainable fashion just got serious.\u201d\u00a0 <\/i><\/h3>\n

Converting \u2018an issue\u2019 into a story about real people doesn\u2019t just attract Prospectors. The Daily Mail<\/i> has a lot of Settler<\/a> readers, too and older women across the board, as perhaps reflected in its tetchy headline \u201cShe’d better be wearing granny pants!<\/a>\u201d and the Mail<\/i> managed to convert the green dimension to a grumble: \u201cWhile it might be revealing, the dress itself is at least good for the environment – it is made from recycled materials\u201d.<\/h3>\n

Similarly, the Huffington Post, much loved by Pioneer posters, reported<\/a> prudishly \u201cNaomie Harris’ Oscar Dress Features Way Too Much Leg For Our Comfort”.\u00a0 For other eco-fashion coverage of that dress, which would be read by younger Pioneers and Prospectors see Ecorazzi<\/a> and RollingOut<\/a>. \u00a0Meanwhile Michael Badger\u2019s involvement spread the story to ghanaweb.com: Ghanaian designs Naomie Harris\u2019 2013 Oscar dress<\/a>.\u00a0 For a Pioneeresque report on the \u2018bigger picture\u2019 see the \u201cback story\u201d in LA Times<\/a>.<\/h3>\n

Strategy Questions<\/h3>\n

Clearly, The Oscars are not an opportunity for an ecotoxicology lecture, and Greenpeace\u2019s GP Detox<\/a> campaign has been amazingly successful, using a mixture of classic Pioneer protest tactics and Prospector-slanted communications. BrandChannel reported a month or two ago that it rolled over retail giant Zara in just nine days<\/a>, leaving Benetton, C&A, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Emporio Armani, Esprit, Gap, Levi’s, Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret, and China’s Meters\/bonwe apparel brand on the \u2018Toxic Threads<\/a> blacklist\u2019.<\/h3>\n

So whether its\u2019 about health or human rights or environment, Pioneer type campaign groups can deploy strategy to catalyse and cascade change through other more Prospector messengers, actors and channels which mainstream the change.\u00a0 So long as they resist the Nonylphenolethoxylate-temptation (N-factor ?), it can work.<\/h3>\n

Yet there\u2019s a political and social limitation in such strategic stealth. If you want to have political clout, to play an active role in social conversations that reach beyond the \u201cusual suspects\u201d, and to \u2018mobilise\u2019 society more widely, you need to develop the capability to talk to Prospectors, Settlers and Pioneers.<\/h3>\n

Many Pioneers may take the view that it doesn\u2019t matter who gets the credit, so long as you get the result and that is often true but Prospectors in general, do not see it that way, and if you need to enlist<\/i> them, that\u2019s a problem .\u00a0 Prospectors err more to the Oscar Wilde view that \u201cthere is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about\u201d.\u00a0 So by not publicising its role in achieving success, any organisation robs its followers, especially Prospectors, of the chance to bask in reflected glory, and it denies them the opportunity to pass on the good news.<\/h3>\n

For all Pioneer-dominated groups seeking change, this is the real dilemma: it is sometimes possible to be simply too serious-minded.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a values dilemma. When\u00a0 Bond-girl and Pirates of the Caribbean actress Naomie Harris previewed an eco-dress for The Oscars, a slew of mainstream media and blogs like The Daily Mail, OMG Yahoo, and The Sun all ran the story, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions\/199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}