Once upon a time, working in e-commerce meant building the future. Now, for many, it feels like polishing the present; while the planet burns quietly in the background.
There’s a subtle but growing migration happening. Talented marketers, developers, and operators are leaving e-com for roles that feel more meaningful, in climate tech, sustainability, ESG, and community impact. It’s not just burnout. It’s a moral hangover.
The Great Re-Evaluation
COVID cracked something open. It made people ask, what exactly am I contributing to?
And for a lot of people in e-com, the answer wasn’t particularly inspiring. The last decade has been defined by faster logistics, lower CACs, and “growth at all costs.” But when you zoom out, that kind of growth starts to look… extractive.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report, climate-change mitigation is now the third most transformative global business trend, and the leading driver of change across industries. Meanwhile, the Global Green Skills Gap Report (2025) projects that green-skills roles will balloon to 241 million by 2030, up from just 67 million this year, with demand outpacing the rate of upskilling nearly 3:1.
In the UK alone, ESG-related job vacancies have tripled since 2018, reaching an estimated 75,000 open roles in 2025. And the fastest-growing sector hiring for sustainability roles? Technology and media. Exactly where most e-com talent sits.
So while there isn’t yet a clean data line saying “ex-e-com → ESG,” the direction of travel is clear: the same people who once fuelled growth are now seeking to repair its effects.
I met Kim, founder of For Good Club at one of Rachel Jacobs many exotic events - most recently in Gran Canaria for a marketing and operations retreat (see pic below).
Kim has worked with brands such as FARFETCH and ASOS before embarking on a new mission: “To grow the next wave of sustainable e-commerce brands on Shopify” - and set up the For Good Club.
Let's be honest, not everyone believes you should make your money with integrity. But for those of us who do, the sad truth is that sustainability alone doesn't sell. It's the product. It's your story and why you started. The emotional connection a customer feels when they're invited into your brand world.
At For Good Club, we're seeing among more conscious customers that sustainability is the baseline, it's not a differentiator (and it never really was). What drives growth is when your values are so embedded into the product and customer experience that people buy because they love it.
A retreat with the Rachel Jacobs Agency Growth community in Gran Canaria -
Why It Matters for Marketers
For agencies and tech companies in the e-com space, this shift matters more than you think.
It’s not just about losing staff to greener pastures. It’s about understanding the people you’re trying to reach. Because the same mindset driving people out of e-com is the one shaping your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and buyer personas today.
If your ICP includes marketing leaders, founders, or product owners in the DTC or SaaS space, there’s a good chance they’re already filtering decisions through an ESG lens. They’re thinking about sustainability goals, ethical supply chains, brand responsibility. They might not call themselves “climate people,” but they’re definitely values-driven.
And if your positioning doesn’t reflect that, you’ll feel outdated.
Fixing the Hangover
1. Redefine growth.
The agencies and tech brands that will thrive over the next five years won’t be the ones who sell “more.” They’ll be the ones who help clients grow responsibly, extending product lifecycles, optimising logistics to reduce waste, or turning returns data into sustainability wins. Growth and ethics aren’t opposites. They’re interdependent.
2. Update your ICPs and personas.
If you’re still building personas around job titles and budgets, you’re missing the human part. Add values. Ask: what kind of world does this person want to build through their work? The average SaaS buyer or agency lead today cares deeply about environmental impact, not as a marketing angle, but as a personal motivator.
A persona built around “Head of Growth at a DTC brand” isn’t enough anymore. You need “Head of Growth who’s proud of what they scale.”
3. Market systems, not products.
People want to feel that their work, and by extension, their marketing spend, makes a difference. That means shifting your narrative from “we help brands sell” to “we help brands build better systems.” You’re not fuelling overconsumption; you’re designing smarter, more sustainable engines.
4. Ditch the virtue signalling.
Your audience is highly literate when it comes to ESG fluff. They know the difference between real progress and recycled PR. So don’t perform morality, practice transparency. Show trade-offs, admit imperfection, share what’s in progress.
The Bigger Opportunity
The “moral hangover” isn’t a death sentence for e-com. It’s an invitation to evolve.
If you can tap into this new value system, through your positioning, your personas, your client strategy, you’ll build deeper resonance with the very people driving the next wave of innovation. And that’s not just good marketing. It’s good business.
Because when meaning and commerce align, growth doesn’t have to feel dirty.
At Waye, we help agencies and SaaS companies clarify who they’re really speaking to, and build marketing systems that align with what those audiences believe in, not just what they buy.