'Ecokamasutra' book launches on Valentine's Day to unearth nature's seductive side

The campaign, created by The&Partnership creatives Ivan and Sam, is part of an Agency for Nature initiative founded by Glimpse and Purpose Disruptors

By creative salon

14 February 2024

Ecokamasutra, a playful guide that unearths nature’s lesser-known more seductive side, has launched for Valentine's Day, as part of a campaign to help a new generation reconnect with nature.

“Exploring your ecosexuality doesn’t necessarily entail the humping of trees or the reenactment of that Saltburn soil scene.”

Ecokamasutra, inspired by the fun-loving artists of the ecosexual movement, turns our everyday interactions with nature, like sunbathing and looking at clouds, into intense sensual experiences like Golden Hour Showers and Cloud Voyeurism. It calls on eco-virgins (those yet to dip into a deeper relationship with nature) to explore their ecosexuality for the first time, helping to move the fringe movement into the mainstream.

The book is unique. Handy yet hilarious, raunchy yet respectful. It’s inspired by scientific studies which show the more we love nature, the better we take care of it and has been created to help turn the tide on our broken relationship with nature; which is particularly bad in the UK, with Britain ranking bottom for ‘nature connectedness’. These findings are further supported by recent polling from YouGov, conducted by the Agency For Nature, which shows 77 per cent of people aged 18-35 want to be more connected to nature.

To reignite our love for nature Ecokamasutra will be released both online and physically on Valentine’s Day. Created by Sam Collins and Ivan Stanojevic from creative agency The&Partnership, the pair worked with London-based illustrator Wei Wu to craft 10 bespoke illustrations to bring each playful chapter to life.

Sex-positive influencer and Channel 4 TV presenter Ruby Rare is unveiling Ecokamasutra to the world on her social media channels with a special unboxing on Valentine's Day – to encourage her fans to get outside and enjoy nature in all its glory.

“Coming out as an ecosexual is as easy as coming outside.”

Readers can enjoy 10 cheeky and evocative chapters including:

Dandelion Blowing
Cloud Voyeurism
Golden Sun Showers
Leafophilia
Eargasms
Frolickink
Barefoot Fetish
Puddle Sploshing
Forest Submission
Soil Play

See an excerpt from Ecokamasutra’s introduction:

“Let’s be real. We’ve all seen a sexy tree or three. And whether knowingly or not, all smelt the reproductive organs of a flower.

"The closer we get to nature, the better we’ll take care of it. That’s why in this wildly handy, slightly hilarious guide, we’ll unearth nature’s lesser-known more seductive side.

"Prepare to experience the everyday eroticism of Lover Earth. It’ll be good for you and good for the planet, and what on earth could be sexier than that?”

The campaign is part of an Agency for Nature initiative founded by purpose-driven nonprofits Glimpse and Purpose Disruptors, formed to channel the creativity of the advertising industry towards supporting all life on Earth. Creatives Ivan and Sam were seconded to the pop-up initiative from top UK advertising agency, The&Partnership to create the provocative campaign.

Ivan and Sam, creatives (The&Partnership) said: “Sex has been used to sell pretty much everything in our industry – from cars to jeans to deodorant – but environmental activism has tended to shy away from it. We soon discovered that pioneers of the so-called Ecosexual Movement were bucking this trend; using sex to reframe our relationship with nature from that of a mother, to a lover. The more intimately we connect with nature, the better we’ll take care of it, and so we sought to help people deepen their connection to the natural world using humanity’s oldest, most ubiquitous tool for fostering intimate connection – sex.”

Wei Wu, illustrator added: "I was so honoured to create illustrations for the Ecokamasutra, it was a fun and enjoyable process. When I heard the idea of “treating nature as your lover”, I was deeply touched and used visual metaphors to represent the deeper intimacy between human and nature in the series. This kind of love is flowing, breathing and touchable, and we can really feel it everywhere in our lives, and how to capture this subtle emotion became especially important. In the images, I expressed this love between human and nature through bright and colourful palettes, such as vivid green, passionate red, warm yellow, and so on. You can feel the smell of the wet soil after rain, the sound of fresh dew dripping, and the wind blowing through the air. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this creative journey, as a young person who has lived in the city for a long time, it allowed me to rethink my relationship with nature."

James Turner, Founder of Glimpse commented: “We’re surrounded by stories of dystopia and gloom, but this shows a glimmer of something different. These talented creatives are building desire for a radically different lifestyle, more focused on the things that matter and less worried about those that don’t. Nature doesn’t have an advertising agency. But imagine the world we could create together if it did.”

Lisa Merrick Lawless, Co-founder of Purpose Disruptors added: “Agency For Nature demonstrates the real creative contribution the Ad industry can make in the world. The campaigns are unique, fresh and provocative. We are already seeing how this campaign can be a catalyst for other creators and culture to become a bigger cultural intervention.”

Five top agencies, Wieden + Kennedy, The&Partnership, Amplify, Leo Burnett and Oliver seconded rising creative talent to the first-ever Agency for Nature. Teams were tasked with ‘creating hype for a nature-connected lifestyle’, as part of a provocative brief where ‘Nature’ is the client. The campaigns kick off a long-standing initiative to build a public mandate for nature connection and protection, in new, novel and exciting ways.

Ecokamasutra will appear on billboards across the UK this February, and eco-virgins who fancy rekindling their connection with lover nature can download a free copy of Ecokamasutra at agencyfornature.com.