Letter: To go green, we need to ban lifestyle advertising

From Martin Murray, Telford, Shropshire, UK

I agree with Solitaire Townsend’s call for green status signals, which are necessary to trigger behavioural changes that can address climate change 24 September, p 25. I can see several hurdles that will need to be overcome.

We must switch to a society where conspicuous giving and philanthropy are the main sources of status, but there are barriers to it in mainstream Western culture.

First up, lifestyle advertising. I can’t see a way to avoid planetary collapse while we are immersed throughout our waking hours in a tide of advertising that links status to material purchases. It must go.

And public giving has to confer more status in our communities. We need a way to display the giving status of a person.