Friday, November 19, 2010

Super Top Secret Ecological Design

(Discussion based off of the article The Secret to Turning Consumers Green by Stephanie Simon.)

Main Point. If you want to get people to do something or change a habit, tell them what other people are doing. It's reflective design. It works. If you deny that you are influenced by people, you are lying to yourself. Okay, well, the first 2 sentences are Ms. Simon's main points... the others are my opinions.

I think I'd be more likely to "go green" if I knew that other people were doing it routinely. There's a tactful way to peer pressure. It can't just be a big sign that says "EVERYONE'S DOING IT!" Mainly because that's the classic peer pressure line, but also because it doesn't mean anything to just say it like that- you gotta make the viewer feel it!!

For mother's day my mom told us she wanted us to buy "green" cleaning products and clean the house. It's a good feeling, buying green. I felt more excited and willing to clean. Of course, the idea was my younger sister's, but my mom thought it was cool. Apparently she's easy to please! Another story is that my dad gets really excited about buying green and he went out and bought all new light bulbs for the entire house. In addition, I avoid buying clothes made from dead animals because animals are bad for the environment when mass produced for human greed.

A prominent example of products that "go green" are household items, like cleaning products, and cars. Now many stores encourage people to reuse bags. Also it's becoming more common for packaging to be changed by manufacturers in order to be more environmentally conscious. My favorite product that changed to be greener? Winterfresh gum went from foil wrappers to paper ones.

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