Decoding #SustainTok : From feed to future

A primer on all things sustainability, consumption, communication, trends and TikTok

After my post last week carrying the announcement of our #SustainTok series, I had a really interesting week. For the first time, I heard from a considerable number of the newsletter subscribers writing to me with a range of questions from - What do you mean by “sustainability trends”, what exactly does “sustainability” mean in the context of social media, why is the focus just on TikTok, to - TikTok is reductionist and sustainability on TikTok is just another superficial marketing gimmick, who is it even for?!

I had many interesting conversations and got to know so many divergent view points more closely through this week. And just as I was about to post the edition on Deinfluencing, I thought that perhaps it would be best if I put together a primer as a prelude to the series for anyone who wanted to know more about the #SustainTok series, where its coming from, why it focuses on TikTok and its purpose.

Let’s begin by talking about the definition of this oft-used, misused and unfortunately abused term - sustainability.

Defining the pillars of “sustainability” or “sustainable development”

As mentioned earlier while we were discussing the NY Fashion Act, United Nations states that -

Sustainable development requires an integrated approach that takes into consideration environmental concerns along with economic development. In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Today, there are almost 140 developing countries in the world seeking ways of meeting their development needs, but with the increasing threat of climate change, concrete efforts must be made to ensure development today does not negatively affect future generations.

Drawing from this holistic definition, three important pillars emerge that form the holy trifecta of achieving sustainability in any realm -

1. Environmental responsibility
2. Social equity
3. Economic viability

Specifically for entrepreneurs, this can serve as an actionable roadmap of developing any business. If a business aims to have a double bottomline of making a profit along with making a positive impact in one of the ways mentioned above - then they will have unlocked the right way to do business. As climate change becomes more palpable and scary, any development will be detrimental if it does not ensure that it is not only minimising its negative impact or indulging in performative activism as we discussed earlier, but is making tangible, concerted efforts to not have any negative impact altogether. It’s crucial to bear in mind that a less negative impact is NOT equal to a positive impact. It is negative impact, nonetheless.

It might be almost insulting, given the high IQ of my readers and listeners, to mention the obvious - that any development that is aimed at driving consumption purely for economic benefits is just exploitative at this point. Without factoring in these three pillars of sustainability any endeavour, howsoever cutting-edge, is inversely proportional to sustainable development.

To understand how our actions are impacting all of us, but specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the generations that qualify to be pigeon-holed collectively as “future generations” - it is important to examine how our current behaviour and conditioning is influencing them and the choices they are already making.

Today, unlike any other time in history, kids as young as 10 years old have the world at the end of their hands with their smart devices. They are dangerously informed at all times but they are also still the most impressionable among us. It is important to move amongst them, see what they are being exposed to and assess how our collective actions and choices are already impacting their future.

Social media offers a stream of consciousness to each of us, one that is so concentrated on our likes and dislikes with its sophisticated algorithms that we have found our comfort living in online bubbles and echo chambers. Of course, when we subject an impressionable mind to an algorithm like this, we have to be really mindful of its repercussions. I’m talking specifically the Herculean influencer industry and its constant quest to sell us something. Somehow jumping through the many marketing hoops on the Internet we have constructed this industry that is constantly communicating with all of us online to promote products or lifestyles that encourage excessive consumption. The platform's addictive nature, combined with targeted advertising, can lead to increased consumption and a distorted perception of reality. Such concentrated exposure to curated, perfect lives on social media, that are based on our specific likes and dislikes - can have serious mental health consequences, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem for those who cannot afford to or do not have the agency to get on this consumption hamster-wheel. On the other hand, those who do fall into the trap can end up buying more, wasting more and chasing the picture perfect life that is certainly not going to conjure up through more consumption. This industry has made it imperative that we acknowledge it’s all pervasive presence and then take a closer look at what it is doing to our consumption patterns and its consequences for the future generations. If only to shift the perceptions in favour of sustainable consumption and impact entrepreneurship, by leveraging the power of its reach.

Sustainability trends are an attempt to do the same. They aim to drive a positive shift towards a more environmentally friendly and conscious world. They do that by empowering individuals to make a difference and contribute to a greener future. Whether they can capture the true essence what sustainable development is and achieve what they set out to achieve - is a discussion that we will take up trend-by-trend in the coming weeks. We will see how these sustainability trends offer a different perspective on our individual choices and encourage us to believe that these micro actions on an individual level have the power to coagulate and bring about a macro change in a positive way.

Driving consumption on TikTok

Earlier this year, Sprout Social shared insights about the top social media demographics and how they have evolved over time. They report that as of 2023 - Not only is TikTok’s user base booming but also its daily activity. TikTok boasts the highest average time spent per day of any network. Daily time spent on the platform grew by almost 10 minutes compared to the previous year’s 45.8 minutes.

Increased average time spent on one platform also means more exposure to the various kinds of marketing content being dropped on that platform. Which in turn increases the chances of converting the call to action into an actual action. A nugget of wisdom not that has not been hidden from the marketing industry that is responsible to find constantly find new and innovative ways to sell products and services.

In this context, a report by HubSpot surveyed over 1,400 marketers around the world to find out which social media channels are gaining steam. Unsurprisingly, they concluded that social media marketers using TikTok are going to strengthen their investment in TikTok in 2024 - more than marketers on any other platform.

In the report, Co-founders of Wyze, Yum Zhan, Dave Crosby and Dongsheng Song share their astonishing experience with TikTok Shop and emphasised the importance of taking stock of the growing consumption, influenced by the platform -

We've only been on TikTok Shop for a few months, this feels like 'internet shopping in the late 90s' huge. We've been blown away by early results. Content-led commerce looks like the next paradigm shift in online shopping with TikTok leading the way as the next big e-commerce platform in the US.

Read the full HubSpot report - here

These numbers are a testament to why entrepreneurs use TikTok and its in-app features such as the TikTok Shop to drive sales successfully. But our discussion aims to zoom in on the how. In the coming weeks, we will be discussing terms such as “ influencing” and “micro trends” - what they signify and their impact on the human psyche.

Sustainability Communication on TikTok

In the context of entrepreneurship and sustainability - we need to reassess what are our priorities are, how we collaborate, strategise and develop our businesses - yes, we do. But we also need to pay close attention to how we communicate today. Seminal research works in the field of sustainability communications have concluded that, news reporting on sustainability do not focus enough on solutions and rely too heavily on sources from government and mainstream business.

Delve deeper into the aforementioned pieces of research on this point here and here

It is for this reason that researchers are increasingly interested in assessing new directions in science and environmental communication on social platforms.

In 2022, a group of researcher in the European Union took EcoTok, a collective of environmental educators and activists who use TikTok as a platform for good, as a case study, to explore sustainability communication of eco-influencers on TikTok. The researchers aimed to explore the platform's potential to promote environmental awareness and action. They found that -

1. While TikTok videos often emphasised personal actions to protect the environment, a shift towards broader systemic issues was also observed. This indicates a growing recognition of the need to address sustainability challenges beyond individual behaviours.
2. One out of every four TikTok videos about the environment included facts and numbers. The inclusion of numerical and scientific evidence in a significant portion of the analysed videos suggests that TikTok can effectively convey complex environmental information in a digestible format. This platform holds promise for scientists seeking to communicate their research to a wider audience.
3. Videos on TikTok use a lot of images and short clips to tell stories. TikTok's visual nature and interactive features facilitate the creation of emotionally engaging content. Eco-influencers successfully utilised these tools to mobilise their audience and inspire collective action. The platform's unique characteristics make it a powerful medium for environmental communication.
4. The study also highlighted the need for further research into the effectiveness of different communication strategies. While emphasising individual responsibility can increase environmental awareness, it may also induce feelings of guilt. Moreover, the relationship between knowledge and behaviour change requires additional exploration.

Even though this study records some limitations to its research, it is still a leap in terms of understanding the power this platform yields in making communication of ideas more accessible with this features, its ever growing subscriber base and its dominance in average screen time over other social media platforms.

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It is predominantly for this reason that TikTok piqued my interest with the possibilities it offers, the challenges it poses as well as its growing potential to make an impact on those whose future we are all shaping with the choices we make.