Be an accomplice

to social and environmental justice. Here's how to do it without diverting to savior complexes in communication.

Welcome to another issue of The Crisps – your newsletter on anti-greenwashing and honest fashion communication. In case, you’re not subscribed yet. Let us help you with that:

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As sustainability and communication professionals, how can we be better accomplices for social and environmental justice without diverting to savior complexes? And how can businesses do the same? We published our intro to business saviorism in our free issue last week but we asked us afterwards what practical tips we could give you for the future.

Chances are high that you’ve internalized savior complexes, especially if you were socialized in the Global North. Ditching this way of thinking and communicating is hard because you might feel like you’re doing something good. And when has helping someone ever been a bad thing, right?

We could get theoretical now but we want this issue to be as practical as possible. Even writing it, we’ve double-checked and erased phrases again as we caught ourselves falling back into the narrative of “helping” as in “being superior”.

So we created a lexicon of words (and the narrative they tell in the context of business saviorism) we should better leave out of our communication. Plus, we want to encourage you to challenge your internalized savior complexes and provide a short guide on how to get active.

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In case you missed it, here’s last weeks intro to business saviorism:

We're all guilty of the savior complex

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8 steps to be a better accomplice for social and environmental justice

1. Stop Imposing Solutions: Western brands tend to impose solutions onto other regions without engaging with local stakeholders. Instead, follow approaches that prioritize community-led development and empower local stakeholders to shape their own futures.

2. Listen to Marginalized Voices: Actively seek out and prioritize the perspectives and experiences of marginalized individuals and communities in decision-making processes.

3. Foster Genuine Connections: Instead of approaching interactions with marginalized colleagues or communities from a place of charity or pity, focus on building authentic relationships based on respect and understanding.

4. Understand the Problem: Truly understand the root-causes of social and environmental issues within the fashion industry before jumping to solutions.

5. Work with Local Communities: Engage directly with local communities to co-create solutions instead of imposing top-down fixes. This ensures that solutions are culturally relevant.