Is Free Good Enough?

This is potentially unrelated, but thinking about this reminded me of a recent study from the University of Toronto that's been in the news recently here in Canada:

Those lyin’, cheatin’ green consumers. Just being around green products can make us behave more altruistically, a new study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found. But buying those same products can have the opposite effect. Researchers found that buying green can lead people into less altruistic behaviour, and even make them more likely to steal and lie than after buying conventional products. Buying products that claim to be made with low environmental impact can set up “moral credentials” in people’s minds that give license to selfish or questionable behavior.

“This was not done to point the finger at consumers who buy green products. The message is bigger,” says Nina Mazar, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management and a self-admitted green consumer. “At the end of the day, if we do one moral thing, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will be morally better in other things as well.” Mazar, along with her co-author Chen-Bo Zhong, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School, conducted three experiments.

The full paper can be found here: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/newthinking/greenproducts.pdf

Cassandra - I saw that study as well. And really wanted to work it into my post, so I'm glad you brought it up. I definitely am a little guilty of that. I often think that I make important purchase decisions on the big items (housing, car, food, etc.), so I don't need to be as militant when buying other items. Of course, it's better to pay attention with every decision, but also nearly impossible until you make it a habit. That's the challenge. Thanks for the comment!

Hey Rebecca-

Thanks for the thought-piece. I wonder if you've read Pollan's chapter in _Omnivore's Dilemma_ about "Big Organic?" It's an intriguing read, as the author points out how buying organic may not actually help the land or the producer as much as the consumer might think. Pollan eventually concludes that notion of "organic" is susceptible to corporate interests, resulting in an image of a happy, family farm sending you its yogurt from its doorstep---which, in his opinion, is largely a cover-up of industrial-scale operations that have found many loopholes in the political system.

Hate to be a downer, but if you are focusing on your purchases at the moment, Pollan (and others) have some helpful information that doesn't usually get shelved with the magazines at the check-out counter.

Andrew

Going in a different direction... I'd say that there are definitely things in my life that I don't care much about and just get whatever is the cheapest option without sacrificing too much quality (certain foods at the grocery store, gas for my car) and there are other things I look for more quality and items that won't break or wear out fast, which happen to be more expensive most of the time (clothing, makeup, shoes - yes the girly things, but I like stuff to last for a long time). For me personally, I don't put a lot of thought into disposable or everyday items - if it works, it works; if I can save money on it, great. So cheap is good, but only if I'm getting a good enough quality to satisfy my concept of what the product should deliver. I value quality in most products, but the quality level varies from product to product.

In regards to whether cheap or free is good enough, I think we need to focus less responsibility on the consumer to make better choices. Business also needs to take their responsibility to make better, sustainable products more seriously.

By this I mean rather than offering things cheap or free, the focus needs to be on providing quality products that make our lives better and LAST. If there weren't such a level of planned obsolescence in industry, quality would be more affordable overall, over time. Corporations need to stop making stuff and start solving problems (Emily Pilloton goes into detail on this in her new book http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/design_revolution_an_interview....

Sure, small changes can make a big difference, but things need to happen on a higher level as well if we are really going to effect change. Responsible buying decisions (such as "green" and "organic") would be a lot easier if the powers that be would stop selling to us and actually buy into the ideals themselves.