The Word Sustainability Is A Lie

Full disclosure, I hate the word sustainability. I hate it. And that’s mainly because I think it presents a false perception to people. And not that it’s a laudable goal. But when it’s used in a marketing sense, it’s a dangerous thing. Because what you’re telling people is to “Buy my thing and save the planet”. Right? Let’s think about that for a moment. “Buy my thing and save the planet” is a lie in most cases. And so I like to speak clearly and directly and say, “Buy my thing” will not save the planet. “Buy less things and you will move us in the direction of saving the planet”. So it’s like this. You’ve got to think of it like an engineer or as a long term build project. It’s not the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that’s got the little green leaf on it that makes you feel good about your purchase.