Meet Daiva Dominyka, an ethical marketer and climate campaigner dedicated to supporting climate-focused startups and entrepreneurs. Guided by her passion for restoring the planet, nurturing authentic connections and cultivating communities, she is committed to driving positive change through her work.
In this interview, we talk about the very beginnings of her journey as an ethical marketer, how she navigates challenges in promoting climate-focussed initiatives, why she believes that every job is a climate job and how she sees the future of ethical marketing.

Photo courtesy of Daiva Dominyka
Q: What inspired your journey into ethical marketing? Is there a particular project you were part of that fuelled your dedication to ethical practices and climate action?
My journey was very much inspired by my complex relationship with marketing.
Marketing was my first degree, so I entered that world many years ago. Even though I loved the processes and the creativity, I struggled to find the meaning and purpose of it. Working in big creative agencies and promoting another product full of plastic and chemicals wasn’t feeling right for me. So I left the industry.
It was when I got deeply involved in climate activism and advocacy work, I realised that I was doing a lot of climate communications. And it felt I was doing something good, I was contributing to a positive change.
It was at that point I realised that marketing can be used for good – it can actually be an incredible tool to contribute to solving the climate crisis!
And that’s how it all started.
I was in the Extinction Rebellion during my time in London, and then I also co-founded Extinction Rebellion in Lithuania. So these were the big projects that really formed my climate narrative and climate understanding.
I’m still on this exploratory journey of ethical marketing. But I believe the people who can most change the marketing practices are those who know the industry from within, myself included.
Q: How would you explain the fundamental differences between ethical and traditional marketing approaches, and can you provide examples to illustrate these distinctions?
Very often we see traditional marketing based on psychological manipulation, fake scarcity and urgency tactics, fear mongering and focus on profit only. But that’s what we are trying to change with ethical marketing.
We counteract them with transparency, honesty, consent, authenticity, and focus on framing the message from a more positive, ethical angle.
Businesses that are using tactics to create fake urgency and pressure, for example, saying there is only a limited amount of time left to buy something when in reality, they are still selling even after that expired, are basing their entire campaign on a lie.
Another example would be fear mongering. Instead of communicating about the benefits of the product or service, they are creating fear by focusing their message on what would happen if you didn’t use this product or services.
So they are only using these tactics to put pressure on people to buy – and that’s what we are trying to stop with ethical practices.
We focus on what we are doing to the person on the other side of the receiving end. How are we making them feel? If we are making them feel rushed, scared, uncomfortable, or doubting their self-worth, then we are doing something very unethical.
Q: Ethical, strategic, and authentic marketing are key aspects of your approach. Can you elaborate on how these principles guide your strategies in helping your clients gain traction and visibility?
From an ethical perspective, if I see some grey areas that my clients are using in their marketing campaigns and practices, I inform them about them. For example, there are a lot of grey areas in paid advertising, so my responsibility as an ethical marketer is to draw their attention to the problem and consult them.
It’s their business, so it’s up to them to decide how are they going to proceed. But this time they have the information from an ethical marketer, so they can make informed decisions and understand how that’s going to affect their clients in the long run.
When it comes to strategy, every piece of content needs to be strategic. We need to know what we are doing with it and where it is leading us. When I work with my clients, I always look at overall yearly business goals that we then break down into quarterly plans. Then, we can see how marketing and communications can help achieve those goals. That way, every action that we take with our communication is part of the overall strategic plan.
Authenticity is incredibly important, especially because I think we are all tired of fakeness in the world. I work mainly with small businesses, and every small business owner has started their business because they believe in a bigger purpose. So going into that authenticity, helping them find that purpose and communicate that, is just an incredible journey that I really enjoy being part of.
Q: What challenges do you commonly encounter in promoting climate-focused initiatives? How do you navigate these challenges?
I guess the main challenge is how to keep climate relevant and make it feel almost like it’s a new problem, even though it’s not.
We are in the midst of wars, people are just exhausted from negative news, especially when they have heard about the climate narrative over and over again. So it’s not new for them, and their attention is going away.
So the challenge is to keep finding new angles, new stories, and make it relatable and relevant.
I try to overcome that by being very specific about the audience that I’m talking to:
Who am I talking to? What demographic audience? Where are they coming from? What are their problems? What is their mindset? How do they actually understand the reality of the climate situation?
Of course, it depends on the campaign, but I just try to make it as specific as possible.
We are too attached to the big climate narrative. So I think that’s why being as specific and local (if possible)Β is very effective.
When you understand this and your audience, you might end up not even talking about climate. For example, you know behind the scenes that this is a climate campaign, but to your audience, it turns out to be a local campaign about equal pay.
Q: For professionals looking to contribute to climate action through their work, what advice would you offer in terms of integrating sustainability and ethical practices into their respective fields, regardless of their industry or role?
I believe that every job, no matter what kind of profession you’re in, is a climate job.
You don’t need to be an ecologist or sustainability expert to contribute to solving the climate crisis. Whether you are an accountant, graphic designer, or photographer, you can find ways to do things more sustainably.
For example, working in digital marketing, our footprint can be very big. But we can change that, and there’s always something that you can do within your business to make it more sustainable.
We just need to have the courage to answer the question of how can we start the transition from the way we do business now to how it can be done in a more sustainable, regenerative way?
Just asking that can lead you into a really beautiful creative process where you might find not only answers, but also learn so much. And your business will grow and transform. You will attract so many new audiences and clients.
I believe there are many ways to make those transitions, and small steps are better than no steps at all.
Q: Looking forward, what are your aspirations for the future of your work, and how do you see the landscape of ethical marketing and climate communication evolving in the coming years?
For my personal journey, I would like to narrow my focus to a specific area, which is nature-based solutions. I want to be more involved in landscape restoration, regeneration, regenerative agriculture, and food systems so I can gain a more in-depth understanding of problems and help those organisations.
As a communicator, I think it’s good to be really knowledgeable about a specific area and ins and outs of the industry.
I also see my future living a land based life, so I want to embody all these aspects of sustainability, not just in my professional, but also, personal life.
When it comes to ethical marketing, I see a rising number of marketers adopting ethical practices and moving into that direction, and I think it’s only going to grow.
I feel like we are now just scratching the surface of it, so I am sure there is lots of great work and lots of positive change ahead.
To learn more about the amazing work Daiva does, check out her website and connect with her on LinkedIn. Interested how Daiva can help you with your marketing efforts? Book a free consultation.