The best examples of sustainability copywriting to inspire your own purpose paragraphs

“It’s hard to keep apocalypse in mind, especially if you want to get out of bed in the morning”
-Zadie Smith

If you run a sustainable business or have an element of sustainability to your business, sooner or later, you’re going to want to write about your values. And you should. In the UK, 65% of shoppers stop to think about sustainability before grabbing their credit card. The trouble is sustainability copywriting isn’t easy. It can feel like treading a tightrope with the shark-infested waters of eco cliché on one side and the bed of nails that is eco preaching on the other.

So, here are my top tips for hitting the right note with your purpose paragraphs:

Key elements of sustainability copywriting

1. Be specific

Give us all the juicy details. Rather than just telling us you’re ‘sustainable’, tell us exactly how.

Hey Girls

THIS

White background with text with the upper case heading, REDUCING WASTE about female sanitary products

White background screenshot image with black text. Headline reads in capital letters, SERIOUSLY THO - HOW DO YOU MAKE IT THAT SIMILAR TO MEAT? Discussing plant based products.

2. Make it personal

If you care about saving paper because you grew up near an ancient forest, tell us. If you donate to turtle conservation because you volunteered at a conservation centre while backpacking through Nicaragua, we’d love to know. It gives your story depth, meaning and a point of difference.

Shaina Mote

Light grey backgroud, screenshot image of text all in lower case. Content is about connecting with nature and a simpler way of living and community in Southern California.

3. Say it your way

Skip the boring corporate language – ‘we believe’, ‘creating change’, ‘people and planet’ – and speak like you would to a friend. If it feels hackneyed or overused, find a new way to say it.

Ordinary Things

Rubies in the Rubble

Black background, screenshot image with white lower case text. Example of saying things in your own way.

Mid green background with image of a hand holding a jar of Rubies Rubble garlic mayo and white text to the left.

4. Be honest

It’s okay to be a work in progress. Everybody is. Talk about where you’d like to be as well as where you are right now.

Loud Bodies

Tony’s Chocolonely

White background with a mix of grey and black lower case text discussing honesty in sustainability.

Red background with white lower case text. On the left are block images of people, the taller one in dark blue, the short one in white, standing next to a tree with nuts or beans on the ground.

5. Show don’t tell

One way to sidestep the bullshit is to show rather than tell. Don’t tell people you care about people and planet, show them by focusing your copy on actions not feelings.

Paynter Jacket Co.

White background, screenshot image with black text discussing how to show a companies sustainability ethos.

6. Keep it simple

Speak in plain terms your readers will understand instead of hiding behind flowery green language. Similarly, long paragraphs of text will only turn your reader off. Keep it short and digestible.

Frank And Oak

Two part image. On the left a hand holding a beige shoping back with types of water mass on such as oceans, lakes, rivers etc. On the right is black text discussing packaging options.

7. Be optimistic

Talking about the planet burning and the elephants dying, whilst it might be true, is a sure-fire way to turn people off. People like to feel hopeful, optimistic. Let your copy reflect that mood.

Foraging Fox

Screenshot image, yellow back ground with black text. Small rectangle image at the top with a selection of vegetables.

8. Use humour

This may not work for every brand, but if you can inject some fun into your sustainability copy, you’ll get people on side and make it more memorable.

Oatly

Light green background on screenshot image with black text for Swedish and Independent.

9. Make it about your customer

Rather than making it all about you, think about what benefits your actions have for your customer. Why should they care? That’s where the originality and the sustainable copy gold lies.

Third Love