Welcome To Ethical Disruption
Challenging Unsustainable Norms
A note for my existing subscribers… thank you very much for your support of Extinction Today. I hope you’ll be just as supportive of a lot more content under the umbrella of Ethical Disruption.
I’m Mark Campbell, and I’ve finally found my identity. I knew the components all along but they didn’t have a name. When people asked what I did and what I stood for, I found it difficult to explain.
That’s because I have never fitted comfortably into a regular box or stereotype. And now I know that’s because I’m not only an ethical journalist - I’m an ethical disruptor.
I came across the phrase by accident as I was searching for a title for this publication you are reading. Since leaving the world of employed journalism nine years ago, jaded from an extremely interesting but ultimately frustrating career, I have sought to find meaning, purpose and direction.
This has led to me setting up several publications on several platforms. Do yourself a favour - never fall for the shiny new thing syndrome. Stick to one idea and build from there. To be fair to myself, I couldn’t keep to that plan while I had no clue what it was that defined me.
Fast forward to summer 2025 and I finally realised that I could only keep on top of all my content platforms if I brought them under one roof, with one name, and one mission.
From Activism to Veganism
I am unashamedly what the uneducated would call ‘woke’. I care about all species. I want to improve lives. I like to think I am empathic, understanding and fair. My passions are for the natural world, protecting and embellishing it for future generations.
Back in the 1990s, I could be seen standing at the entrance of furniture stores in the UK, where I am based, handing out the newsletter I had written for the local Friends of the Earth group, imploring people not to buy tables and chairs made from rainforest mahogany.
The newsletter was called ‘The O-Zone’ by the way. It worked at the time.
I campaigned for the closure of my local zoo through my own wildlife magazine. Eventually the zoo did lock its gates and was demolished. Good riddance, the poor animals were traumatised in the shadow of a giant rollercoaster.
I staged sponsored walks for people in rabbit costumes to raise money for the fight against cruel lab animal experiments.
I got arrested and thrown into a prison cell for daring to try to interview an animal rights prisoner.
I was vegetarian for more than 30 years and thought I was doing a good thing. I now see I was on the same level as a pescatarian. I am now vegan. I live a vegan lifestyle - I don’t eat, wear or use any animals or animal by-products.
I try hard to use products and wear clothes that cause no harm to species or the environment. This led to me partnering with genuinely ethical brands, and setting up an organic cotton, vegan clothing store that now also carries the Ethical Disruption label.
What is an Ethical Disruptor?
I had the first name for my platforms. Ethical. I had always struggled with the way we attempt to communicate environmental issues and had for years leaned into the word ‘green’ for simplicity. My company name remains GreenGreenGreen. But it wasn’t enough. It didn’t go far enough. I was ready to launch with Ethical.
The second word had to be powerful, and it took someone saying it on TV to flick the lightbulb switch in my head. Disruptor? Disruption? Ethical.. Disruption? That sounds right, but does it even mean anything? Could I be an ethical disruptor?
I went old school and new school. I Googled it and asked Chat GPT. I found an incredible new website, Sustainability Directory. It does many of the things I was working towards - I am happy that they have found a way to educate on environmental matters with authority.
On the website is a vast list of Sustainability Terms - a curated list of terms commonly used in sustainability discussions. Among them was Ethical Disruption.
It may well be that AI that provided the words - I have no way of knowing for sure, though as an ethical disruptor I would always be transparent myself about such things.
Anyway, it read:
Ethical Disruption, at its most accessible point, is akin to consciously choosing a less-travelled path, not just because it’s different, but because it feels intrinsically right. Think of it as questioning the norms around us, especially those that subtly nudge us towards unsustainable or morally ambiguous choices. It is about noticing the ingrained patterns of consumption, waste, or societal expectations that may not align with a life lived with intention and care for the planet and its inhabitants. This concept invites us to look at our daily routines—from what we eat and wear to how we spend our time and resources—and ask, “Is there a better way? A kinder way? A more enduring way?” Ethical Disruption is about making conscious, value-driven choices that challenge unsustainable norms and pave the way for a more equitable and enduring future.
And there it was. I had found my identity. I was still a journalist, I had become a content marketer and communications expert to provide media services to ethical companies. But I was also an ethical disruptor. And that gave me permission to stop worrying about what anyone else might think about the articles, content or products I was creating, and instead stand up and say ‘This is me. This is what I believe in. This is what I am going to communicate with as large an audience as possible.’
If your head is in the same place, welcome aboard.