Note: This letter was originally published in our weekly newsletter and is being republished here.?
Hey guys,
What an amazing year 2018 was, from a women in politics and climate change awareness perspective.
More of that this year please! And then some!
Now last year, one of my self-commitments was to get out of the online sustainably-minded community because I noticed it was becoming too much of an ‘eco’ chamber and “preaching to the choir” is an inefficient use of limited resources if we’re hoping to accelerate the movement. Plus, having many close friends outside of this space keeps one in expansive, forward, what else can we be doing? kind of thinking.
Stepping away to observe the community I started becoming concerned with what I saw: a community acting exclusively rather than inclusively, a ‘core’ social media demographic that appears to be millennial, white, female, urban-dweller in the developed world (not that that’s a bad thing, just that what this demographic cares about overwhelmingly dominates the narrative and that’s not a good thing from an inclusivity perspective) and there’s also a huge lack of diversity; racial, ethnic, cultural, age, gender, experience, education.
Addressing these concerns is what has helped shape the media brand Eco Warrior Princess is now, and continues to become. We have more male readers following and engaging than ever before, more people from diverse ethnicities following what we do, a hell of a lot of readers from professional backgrounds, and one I’m really proud of, a hell of a lot more mamas too (they are the ones who provide the most ideas when it comes to article topics, for which I am super thankful!)
That I dedicated last year to remove myself from social media and focus on delivering to our audience and the needs of the growing community has only helped us develop a solid business and media strategy whch has enabled us to reach even more people than ever before.
Eco Warrior Princess had its biggest year with almost 600,000 people visiting our website last year. Judging by data trends for this month, 2019 is set to break this record easily.
Anyway, thank you for all your ongoing support, for believing in our mission, for donating to Patreon or directly through PayPal/bank transfer, for making us accountable with your constructive feedback and suggestions, and for liking, sharing, commenting, forwarding, discussing, debating our articles and posts. We value each and every one of you as you’re the reason we’re still alive and kicking (except we don’t value the trolls who hate us and tryto fuck with us emotionally and mentally, you can return to the swamp from which you came trolls hahaha!)
As we approach our ninth year in existence, we will be stepping it up a notch. This year you’ll have more of an opportunity to connect with us, and me particularly, in person but I’ll share more about this as projects and events are confirmed throughout the year.
So let’s make 2019 our best, most progressive, most fulfilling year yet on all fronts, personal, environmental, emotional, physical, professional, political etc and don’t forget to follow on Instagram if you want to catch daily updates at EWP HQ.
Until next time, peace, love and all that jazz,
Jen xx
p.s. If you don’t do New Year’s Resolutions but still want to challenge yourself, here are some minimalist, zero waste and eco-friendly lifestyle challenges you might want to experiment with instead.
Recommending reading:
- 10 B Corps Using Fashion and Apparel To Change The World
- Fat Llama: The Airbnb-ish Platform Where You Can Rent and Lend Almost Anything
- How Renting Children’s Clothing Can Save You Hundreds of Dollars Per Year
- Why Missguided’s New £1 Bikini Represents More Than Just Cheap Fashion
- 22 Steps Closer to Zero Waste Living: Disposable Items to Stop Buying Right Now
- 69 Facts and Statistics About Fast Fashion That Will Inspire You To Become An Ethical Fashion Advocate
- 10 Ways to Avoid Single-Use Plastic When Out and About
Feature image via Unsplash.
