If responsibility feels boring, you’re doing it wrong – ask the artists and activists

As we’ve talked about before, feeling is everything. In luxury, emotion is the currency that sticks long after the invoice is paid.

Now: when was the last time a sustainability report made you feel something?

Exactly.

Artists and activists don’t have that problem. They can take a complicated, messy, systemic issue and make you feel it in your gut before you’ve even processed the words.

They don’t start with bullet points. They start with the beat of a drum, the colour of a banner, the shock of seeing what’s really going on.

And in luxury, that’s where we’ve gone flat.

Luxury knows theatre – so why is sustainability stuck in the back office?

Luxury is built on moments that feel like nothing else. On setting a stage so a guest feels instantly held, inspired, transported.

But when it comes to sustainability – or really, responsibility – too many brands tuck it away. It’s a polite paragraph in a brochure. A logo at the bottom of a webpage. The most exciting thing about it is… the font?

Meanwhile, the real work – the local sourcing, the cultural respect, the staff care, the choices you’ve sweated over – sits invisible. You’ve turned the most human, high-impact part of your brand into fine print.

What artists and activists can teach us

They know that connection comes first, facts second. They know you can’t lecture people into caring. You have to make them feel it.

Here’s what luxury can borrow:

1. Lead with feeling. Decide what you want your guest to feel, then build the moment. Like a great piece of art or a protest march, the emotion hits before the explanation.

2. Make the invisible visible. If your kitchen works only with local producers, let guests see the names and faces. If your team protects a piece of land, let them tell the story. Responsibility doesn’t inspire anyone when it’s locked in a policy binder.

3. Use bold, simple symbols. Activists know the power of one image, one phrase, one gesture. Find your brand’s version – something that sticks in memory and needs no footnote.

4. Break the polite rules. Luxury likes to keep the backstage tidy and hidden. But when the backstage is the good stuff – the care, the people, the thoughtfulness – it belongs in the spotlight.

This isn’t gimmicks – it’s good business

Your responsibility work is already part of the experience. The question is: do your guests know?

Because guests won’t remember every fact you tell them. They’ll remember the feeling of being part of something that matters. The sense that their stay or experience was aligned with their own values, even if you never said the word “sustainable.”

Artists and activists know how to hit you where it counts. They’ve mastered the art of making people give a damn.

Think of a single raised fist for civil rights and resistance, a knee taken at a sports event, a Banksy on a city wall, or anti-war graffiti that stops you mid-street. Or the first notes of Bella Ciao or Beyoncé’s Freedom. You don’t need a caption to understand the message – you feel it.

Luxury brands that want to stay relevant in the next decade should be taking notes.

Closing thought: If your responsibility work reads like a compliance checklist, it’s not going to change minds or build loyalty. But if it feels like a story they’ve stepped into – vivid, real, unforgettable – you’ve not only done the right thing... You’ve just made your brand unforgettable too.