27 September
My agency is helping me fight plastic pollution… but they’re also dancing with a dirty power company. Am I being duped?
One reader is on a mission to make
fossil-fuel-based plastics history.
But they’ve discovered an unsettling truth: their agency, while championing plastic reduction, is working with a coal company.
Pearl offers advice on what to do when your agency’s actions don’t match your values.
The dilemma
Dear Pearl,
I’m leading a campaign to make fossil-fuel-based plastics history. We’re fighting for cleaner oceans, reducing plastic waste, and educating the public with groundbreaking initiatives—think 3D plastic clouds and interactive forecasts predicting daily plastic pollution.
But here’s the twist: I just found out my agency is also in a dalliance with a dirty power company. Yes, the very industry fuelling the same environmental issues I’m working so hard to tackle.
I’m torn. On one hand, we’ve created something incredible together. On the other, this feels like a double standard. How can they stand with me while they’re in cahoots with the coal industry?
Should I confront them or walk away?
Yours sincerely,
Plastic Crusader
Pearl’s advice
Dear Plastic Crusader,
Oh darling! It sounds like your agency’s double life is giving ‘two-timing’ a whole new meaning!
When it comes to relationships, trust and shared values are everything. You’re out here trying to clean up the planet, while your agency is getting cosy with coal. This isn’t just a minor mishap; it’s a fundamental clash of values.
My dear, it might be time for ‘the talk’.
Sit them down and be honest about how this makes you feel. Let them know you can’t build a future with someone who’s working both sides. You’re fighting for a cleaner, more sustainable world, and their partnership with dirty power is muddying the waters.
If they can’t commit to dropping the dirty habits, it might be time to break things off.
After all, there are plenty of other agencies who are just as passionate about cleaning up the world as you are.
Good luck, darling!
Love, Pearl.
