Pro-Stewardship
Would educating ourselves about the "real" cost of a product (including the environmental, social, material) cause us to question our spending more earnestly? I know of two businesses that encourage a pro-stewardship model of business, where instead of charging prices they hope that through educating their customers about the real cost of their products, their customers will give them what they think is fair for that item. So far, these businesses have thrived with customers that now have a vision for their life that is so much greater than just being a consumer.
This is a scary proposition for most businesses to even consider. You are putting yourself at the mercy of the consumer. Are people willing to pay fairly if not forced to? Are people willing to take the extra time to consider how much a product is worth? Our economy is based on lifestyle convenience - what's cheapest, what's fastest - in the short-term. This assumed lack of consideration on the part of the consumer is probably the most destructive element in our economy. It causes people to be a slave to material things in their life without considering what more it's costing them than the price tag. For instance, are they considering the pollution they or children will have to live with because of their purchase? Are they considering the cost of time they will have to spend away from family, working in a cubicle, or in their car because of this purchase? Are they considering what it cost the people they will never meet to make the product they are about to consume?
Ironically for a country based on a democratic government and rugged individualism, American capitalism begins to sound a lot like 1984, an oppressive regime sedating the thoughtless masses. So the question is, how is Say it Green! or any business with similar ideals going to be different? How will Say it Green! spur its customers toward consideration; how will it spur its customers toward freedom in knowing the "real" costs of a product, and so give its customers a greater vision for their life than consumption?
This is a scary proposition for most businesses to even consider. You are putting yourself at the mercy of the consumer. Are people willing to pay fairly if not forced to? Are people willing to take the extra time to consider how much a product is worth? Our economy is based on lifestyle convenience - what's cheapest, what's fastest - in the short-term. This assumed lack of consideration on the part of the consumer is probably the most destructive element in our economy. It causes people to be a slave to material things in their life without considering what more it's costing them than the price tag. For instance, are they considering the pollution they or children will have to live with because of their purchase? Are they considering the cost of time they will have to spend away from family, working in a cubicle, or in their car because of this purchase? Are they considering what it cost the people they will never meet to make the product they are about to consume?
Ironically for a country based on a democratic government and rugged individualism, American capitalism begins to sound a lot like 1984, an oppressive regime sedating the thoughtless masses. So the question is, how is Say it Green! or any business with similar ideals going to be different? How will Say it Green! spur its customers toward consideration; how will it spur its customers toward freedom in knowing the "real" costs of a product, and so give its customers a greater vision for their life than consumption?
posted by Say it Green! at
9:25 PM
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