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So who is going to solve climate change? Even most casual observers of COP 26 concluded that it’s not going to be politicians. Before we depressingly conclude we‘re all doomed, let’s remember creative individuals have already designed and built many of the technologies and products we need to solve climate change. The scope of human ingenuity is boundless. These products have slowly begun to create a new model, slowly being the operative word.
To move at pace and power a new economic model we need something more. We need a narrative that makes the model enticing. This is where publishers come in. Publishers create alternative realties that span public and private spaces. Through features, reporting, think pieces, personal essays, and lots of stunning imagery, we have the ability to present the world as it could be. To take familiar elements of people’s lives, and alchemize them into something new and exciting. To paint a picture of a world we want to live in and show the path to get there. That’s the creative challenge for publishers. And we feel RIISE has risen to the challenge of selling this dream.
We understand that when we make a purchase we’re doing more than selecting an object or service. Shoppers are already wondering how their economic habits are building the societies they inhabit. It’s not much of a push to introduce the planet into those considerations. But there’s an issue. One that even the most clear-eyed activists might be a little sensitive to admit. Sustainability has an image problem.
It’s not about creating total fantasies (we’re publishers, not novelists), but instead showing the audience another way to live. And then helping them find themselves within that new reality. Guiding and reassuring them that it’s really not as far away as it might seem.
This strategy has worked countless times: from fashion to beauty, food to tech, wellness to real estate, and every conceivable industry in-between. Which brings us back to sustainable consumerism. Who better to give it a makeover than publishers?
At RIISE, we see ourselves as “curators of climate.” Our mission is to shift the issue of climate change and conscious consumerism from niche to normal by empowering our readers to make better purchase decisions. We make being environmentally friendly easy by directing consumers to brands and products that align with their values (and aesthetics).
In practice that’s about more than recommending plastic-free foundations and carbon-negative knitwear brands (although we do love to do that too). But rather it’s a chance to show the audience how beautiful a life curated for the climate can be. This month we’ve gone one step further and created a marketplace, RIISE.shop, underpinned by our climate credentials framework where we only sell products that lead to real impact.
In the past, rebranding sustainability might have felt like a mammoth task. But in 2021 we’re welcomed in by an enthusiastic and ever-swelling market. Of course, this valuable and informed new market isn’t made up of countless walking bank balances just waiting to be sold to. They’re a smart, powerful force who understand they have the ability to revolutionize the way brands and corporations think and act. They have the motivation, the values, and the cash…and as publishers, we’re happy to help them spend it.
Sara Bell
Founder of sustainable lifestyle platform, RIISE
RIISE is the new lifestyle destination for a generation who choose – and remain loyal to – the brands that align with their values. Based out of Sydney and launched in 2021, RllSE is moving the issue of climate change from niche to normal by empowering a gen Z and millennial audience to make better purchase decisions. They champion the businesses and thought-leaders who are working to minimise their footprint and, in doing so, hold others accountable to follow suit.
As CEO of an energy tech company in London, Sara Bell spent four years legally challenging fossil fuel subsidies worth $billions in the European Courts. Her first win marked a massive career-high, but the process showed Bell that with the clock ticking rapidly, value creation for the brands leading the charge is imperative.
