Newsletters.
Come on in – to the new Ethical Move
May 6, 2024
Hi, Ethical Movers! Thanks so much to everyone who sent kind words and good wishes our way. You spurred us on while we were busy exchanging (digital) keys with Alice and Jeffrey. And now we’re ready to open the doors to the new home of The Ethical Move! Read on to find out what’s changed. And, perhaps more importantly: How much we’re still the same. The Ethical Move as you know it is here to stay Yep, we had our Cinderella moment … things got quiet for a while.But the heart of the movement is beating strong. The pledge lives on. (And on. And on.) Everything we do still centres around the pledge: refining it, implementing it, re-imagining marketing and sales with it. We’re planning to release it under a Creative Commons Licence soon. So it keeps developing – and it’s easier to share it around the world. That also includes internationalisation: Using GitHub, we’ll collect versions of the pledge in different languages. If English is not the language of your business, you’ll soon have access to a plug-and-play translation that does justice to the intent behind the pledge. It’s your move. It’s always been yours. When Alice started The Ethical Move as a grassroots movement, the goal was always to reach as many people and businesses as possible. To effect tangible change. And leave a lasting legacy. None of that is possible without you, ethical movers! The power of the pledge is in your hands. The future of TEM is in your hands. It’s always been this way. Just consider this a little reminder 😊 … but some things are changing, too The Ethical Move is now a non-profit association based in Sweden. This move has some important advantages for you as a pledgee or subscriber: Soon we’ll be able to accept donations. In the past, many of you have asked us how you can contribute financially without buying into the community. As soon as we’ve got our new bank account set up, you’ll be able to donate to the cause – and get a receipt from us too. Last but not least: We’re moving platforms. Privacy and accessibility have always been important to us. With our new legal structure, we have new options: As a non-profit, we can access free and reduced-price software plans. Right now, we’re double-checking all platforms to make sure they align with our values: This means you might receive emails that look a little different, for example. Because we have limited time to volunteer, we’re also deprioritising our Instagram and Facebook accounts. The new Discord server, LinkedIn and this email newsletter are our most important ways of staying in touch. So, if you want to chat: Your team at TEM:Maria, Sabine, Marcel & Holger
An Update From Alice …you’ll want to read
April 27, 2024
Oh Hi, Ethical Movers 👋 Alice here. It’s been forever! Apologies for not connecting with you sooner… We burned out hard. The state of the world, team members needing to prioritize paid work to survive, trying to run a community understaffed – it was too much. Especially because all of us have intersections that require additional emotional and mental labour to get through the day. So… here we are. With some news. The Ethical Move as you know it is ceasing to exist. But don’t despair! The pledge lives on and there is a new path we’re very excited about. First, let me tell you what happened, because I’m sure you’re curious. We ran TEM as a business to show that businesses can communicate ethically and work. However, it relied entirely on unpaid labour. Making it thrive to the point where we could pay everyone a fair wage would have meant significant up front investment of time and resources we didn’t have. Ideas that could have worked kept floating by and we just didn’t have the capacity to do it! The biggest reason for us not working though, is that we simply grew apart. Meeting face to face was virtually impossible with our different time zones, video meetings became infrequent because of scheduling conflicts, and slowly but surely we each evolved in different directions. Not opposing, just ever so slightly different. The team was not gelling the same way, which kept us from having the inspiration and energy to try new projects. Part of that was on me: My passion for running an online movement waned. 40 rushed into me with a deep need to focus on being vs. selling. Art vs. content. Being in-sync vs. a-sync. I started working a day job at a local arts charity and all of a sudden the online cacophony felt very far away, and the fire dimmed. Jeffrey did an incredible job running the ship in my absence, but one person alone can’t wear all hats at once. So… here I am. I had to concede that TEM in its current form isn’t working and won’t get back on track. It’s a sad moment for me, to say goodbye to an era. Almost 10 years of me shouting about ethical marketing (but I dare say it left a mark)! I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. It’s sad, but it is also a relief. Because – and this is the part where I tell you the good part: Sabine and Maria, two of our long standing team members have decided to give TEM a new life as a non-profit!! I can’t tell you how much it means to be able to hand the torch to such capable, passionate individuals. They are working out the structure as we speak and will be taking over all of TEM’s accounts and lists, so you’ll be hearing from them soon about how to be part of this new world they’re building!! The pledge lives on, your commitment lives on, the badge will mean even more now. I’ll leave it to them to share their vision with you, but know that they have my full endorsement. Pledges keep rolling in, and that door will always stay open. This is your commitment to yourself more than to us. I’m just so, so glad you chose to come along for the ride. This will go in my book as one of the best things I’ve ever started. And I can’t wait to see what’s next! To honour where we are now, before we head off into a new direction, here are our current team members and how to follow them: I love you all so much. I can’t tell you how much it meant to hear your stories of ‘seeing the Matrix’ or daring to step out into uncharted territory based on your gut feeling instead of what the internet was telling you. You believed me, you trusted me… and then us. Nothing better in the world. Stay safe, take care of each other. I’ll never ever forget you! Love,Alice
a new season of the ethical move
September 20, 2023
How do we show up to do the work while taking care of ourselves and our loved ones? (And by “the work,” we mean anything from how we make money to the things we do to challenge the status quo and build a just and equitable world.) If feels like the world has been asking us that question a whole lot lately. And the answer is never simple. It feels like there’s always a compromise, a sacrifice to be made. But that’s a false notion we’ve been socialized to believe. Under capitalism… Slowing down and being less productive is disobedience.Taking care of ourselves and others is countercultural.Treating human beings with dignity and respect is revolutionary. These concepts aren’t new… But they are hard to integrate into our lives because most of us need to be productive, at least some of the time, to make money in order to survive. At The Ethical Move, we’ve been grappling with this—on a personal and organizational level. This year has been a season of reflection. During this time, we’ve had to identify our priorities. Many of us on the team realized we needed to slow down and change how we do things. For some, it has even meant pressing pause or stepping back altogether. And we encouraged each other to take these steps, to make room for exploring what we need, because our wellbeing is a priority. (Especially as a team of volunteers!) In the world we’re striving for, organizations exist to serve people. Not the other way around.
our pledge, revisited
April 12, 2023
We announced a change to our pledge earlier this year, and we think it’s important to highlight it here as well. Before we do that, we want to honor the history of our intention pledge. If you’ve been with us for awhile, you’ll know that we started out with the goal of creating a measurable certification-style standard. In 2021, we made the decision to pivot to our intention pledge. Why? Because… (Read: Alice’s original post about the intention pledge.) The Ethical Move has always been about breaking the system. We want to imagine better ways of doing things. “There is no governing body to check or police us, we are inviting conversation if we are in breach. Owning our actions, aligning them with our words, and being open to learning from others is at the core of this new pledge.” — Alice Karolina, A New Pledge For Ethical Marketing Ethical marketing isn’t a checklist you tick off, giving you the right to call yourself an ethical marketer. Ethical marketing is about how we sell. And it goes beyond that. Ethical marketing is rooted in our desire to create a more just world. A more equitable world. A caring world. A joyful and pleasurable world. With that said, here’s the pledge adjustment: In the first section of the pledge, we’ve removed the words ‘not ours’ at the end. We put the person before the sale.We respect you and your privacy. We will help you make the best choice for your needs, not ours. Originally, it was meant to convey really putting the person we’re interacting with above all else in the sales process. In time, we realized our needs matter just as much and we don’t need to explicitly exclude us from that shared experience to create the same effect. Please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions! We always love hearing from you.
practicing joyful cultivation
February 22, 2023
If you read our last newsletter from 2022, you’ll know that our theme this year includes embracing joy, listening to our own rhythms (instead of external pressures), and cultivating what we’ve already created. In a fast-moving world where productivity is the norm, going slow and identifying what brings us joy is not easy. It requires taking action with real intention… And lots of reminders to stop. Take a break. Tune in to our feelings and what our bodies are telling us. It’s something we’re all in the process of (re)learning. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on our progress. In the meantime, we invite you to consider these questions:
following our own rhythm
December 7, 2022
It’s been a big year. We’ve successfully built and launched our incredible community and have been managing a very dense, loud, changing (online business) world – along with the rest of you. It’s been… big. Like so many others, we’re taking a break from the public until the new year. Beyond taking a break to rest, we’ve been reviewing how we run our organization as a whole. Instead of chasing goals and projects in 2023, we’ll be focusing on joyfully cultivating what we’ve already created. You’ll might notice a slower pace in some areas in the shape of fewer posts and emails – or maybe not! The point being: we’ll be listening to our own rhythm instead of external pressures. How would your work look if it was free to follow curiosity instead of a predetermined schedule? That’s what we’ll be exploring in the new year.
changing our social media approach
November 9, 2022
Those of you following us on Instagram already know this: we’re changing our social media approach! Social has served us well as a place for starting the conversation. And, just like any other business, we have to make decisions based on our values, our capacity and – yes – our numbers. So we’ve decided to divest a bit – without going anywhere 😊 Read the exact reasons why in our IG post and read our newest Medium article by Jeanne Carlier linked below! Maybe you’ve been thinking about this too? Reply to this email and let us know your thoughts.
ethical marketing touches everything
September 28, 2022
We’re ready to dive into new projects again after a dense few months of community building! So many things to talk about and work on. In almost every community post or event we speak about the same truth: Communication is central to every part of our (business) lives. Ethical marketing really touches everything – and it is not black and white. This newsletter is a good example: from web accessibility to sustainable design to eroding capitalism to philanthropy… Everything involves nuance and a willingness to look and do the work. And let’s not rush. We probably won’t get it right from the get go.
doors to our community are open
August 17, 2022
The doors to our community are open! 👏 (Can’t believe I’m saying this out loud) I’m still a bit stunned that it is live all of a sudden, after years of buildup. The TEM team has done an incredible job of bringing it all to life! It’s too early to give a full review, but let’s just say it’s been incredibly informative and delightful already. 🔍 Tidbits: a super fun launch party, a well attended and highly productive co-working session, lots of conversations about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ marketing examples, and sharing of resources ranging from the systems around debt creation to accessibility and back. Lots of ideas for various training sessions are popping up too. It’s really given us a taste of the caliber of conversation to be expected! If you’re keen on joining us, you can find us on Mighty Networks. The Ethical Move Community is only available to those who have pledged, so head to our pledge page first if you haven’t yet.
Launching The Ethical Move Community
July 6, 2022
We’re excited to be launching our community in just a few weeks! We’ll finally have a chance to connect with others who are on a similar path and collectively create a new way to market. Recently, Jeffrey and I were invited to speak in a savvy business community. It was an amazing experience to hold space for the bigness of what ethical marketing encompasses. Especially this slide really helped put our minds at ease as we go into the work: “We’re in this together Our community will be a space for doing just that. Taking small steps, staying in the conversation and doing the work together. We honestly can’t wait.
