Beaches, Babes and Conservation: What's Wrong With That?

Written by Keith Goetzman

The Nature Conservancy is taking a new stripped-down approach to environmental protection: The green group is teaming up with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and online luxury retailer Gilt to raise money for beach preservation in an unholy mashup of sex, commerce, marketing, publishing, and environmentalism.

Why the green tie-in? “Because everyone benefits from pristine tropical beaches. Especially when they’re occupied by gorgeous women in bathing suits.” That’s according to promotional prose about the partnership on the Gilt website, in an announcement that is no longer posted. (Though you can still buy a $1,000 ticket to a New York launch party where you can hang out with the swimsuit supermodels.)

Gilt will be selling Sports Illustrated-themed swimsuits, surfboards, photos, and other merch on its site, with all ecommerce sale proceeds going “to preserve the beaches SI features in its pages,” reports Folio magazine.

Not everyone is sold on the mission. “What’s next for The Nature Conservancy?” wrote a commenter on Folio. “Partnering with porn sites?”

I understand the writer’s sentiment. The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has long been an overhyped exercise in sexual objectification and anorexia induction, and I’m not sure why The Nature Conservancy thinks it will benefit from hitching its green message to the marketing machine that cranks out this cheeseball, throwback brand of softcore year after year. The association seems to risk putting off every potential supporter who doesn’t think Mad Men is a look back at the good old days.

Environmental writer Derrick Jensen of Orion already saw this sort of thing coming, having penned a prescient column in the current issue titled “Not in My Name.” Go ahead and call him a killjoy, but I think he pretty much nailed it:

Let me say upfront: I like fun, and I like sex. But I’m sick to death of hearing that we need to make environmentalism fun and sexy. … The fact that so many people routinely call for environmentalism to be more fun and more sexy reveals not only the weakness of our movement but also the utter lack of seriousness with which even many activists approach the problems we face. …

Unfortunately, the notion that activism … has to be fun and sexy pervades the entire environmental movement, from the most self-styled radical to the most mainstream reformist.

This post was originally published by the Utne Reader.

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Photo from mark sebastian via flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

David L.

9:09PM PST on Mar 3, 2012

LOOKS like any of dozens of local beaches around here on a lazy summer's morning...

:-P

send a green star

Mari G.

11:13AM PST on Mar 2, 2012

stuff liek this is why we have young girls thinking they are ugly and fat. we need a more positive way for environmental causes and stop reducing women to be like pieces of arts, just sit around and be pretty

Joy D.

5:25AM PST on Mar 2, 2012

LOGICAL "INDIVIDUALS" CAN CHOOSE FOR THEMSELVES I.E. THINK TANK; ILLOGICALS ARE IN GROUPS I.E. GROUPTHINK. WHEN ONE CONSUMES LOGIC - THIS BRAIN MATTER IS NOT BE AN ISSUE - SO I AM STEPPING OUT. MY LOGICAL APPROACH STANDS AS I WILL BECOME ONE OF THOSE VYING FOR ATTENTION OBO OF ANIMALS - TO INCLUDE HUMAN ANIMALS AND I AM DOING IT MY WAY WHICH INCLUDES JUST-AS-NDERHANDED AS THOSE OF MY OPPONENTS - HOWEVER, FOR THE BETTERMENT OF ALL HUMAN/ANIMAL KIND.

Dorothy W.

9:00PM PST on Mar 1, 2012

I love you Barry! Thank you for your sensible, thoughtful and intelligent comment. I wish there were more in the world like you.

As it turns out, this ad was NOT authorized from the top - and slipped through by someone who apparently comes from a different line of thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the conservative right sneaking in to give environmentalists a bad name for selling sex since they're so hypocritical about these things in general.

March is Women's History Month - maybe those who don't see a problem with this ad may want to read about women's history and gain a bit of understanding about the struggle women have gone through and how objectifying them sexually in the media hasn't helped. Humor sells, unique interests sells, imagination and creativity sells, but resorting to T&A - is pure LAZY.

Eternal G.

6:56PM PST on Mar 1, 2012

Scott V.

12:30PM PST on Feb 22, 2012

People who love clean beaches will rally for something close to their hearts. So what if we portray the handsome and beautiful to get action. So many of the world's great beaches have become less than good because no one cares. Or no one knew how to use the media to get the message across. Clean safe beaches are an economic powerhouse.

Bonnie m.

12:35AM PST on Feb 20, 2012

I'm an open minded woman, but I'm really tired of the same old view of women as breasts and ...well we all know. You know, maybe that's why there are so many rapes, so many women being disrespected, and so much else that's wrong with relationships and the world in general when it comes to women's issues. We're not taken seriously because all we're supposed to be is this creature designed for men's pleasure. I mean don't get me wrong, I like men and I like an appreciative glance and compliment when I look good, but I guess I'm just tired of the teenage mentality of trying to sell things and I don't think it makes men look in a good light either when advertisers think the only way they'll buy something is if some scantily clad woman sells it to them.

Sarah M.

10:22AM PST on Feb 19, 2012

So much is wrong with this! Sexism and misogyny in the name of environmentalism?--NO WAY!

Past Member .

9:14PM PST on Feb 15, 2012

Oops!

Not 'was', wasn't.

Gotta learn to proof read.

9:13PM PST on Feb 15, 2012

Past Member has his (or her?) head on straight.

There are places where women are kept under cover.
Thankfully I was born in one of those countries.

I say, "Ladies, if you've got it, flaunt it." Let the prudes fret.