The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) publishes a quarterly magazine entitled “Innovation”. In the Spring 2008 issue, Craig Badke and Stuart Walker contributed an article entitled “Designers Anonymous” which compares Western society’s consumerism with that of an addiction. After reading this article, I was able to uncover additional insights which I’ll share here.
By making a comparison with the twelve-step program found at the core of Alcoholics Anonymous (which addresses the cause of the problem, not its symptoms), the authors present a similarly structured program for both designers and consumers that encourage sustainable design and purchasing behaviors.
As it is with every addiction, people will need more of what they are getting, or something new to satisfy their desire. With fewer resources at our disposal and an ever-increasing focus on the environment and our planet, I believe that we’ll eventually reach a tipping point where consumers will come to realize that their purchasing behaviors ultimately impact the environment, and are temporarily satisfying a need that could be fulfilled through other (positive) means.
Because the vast majority of consumerism is driven by credit, credit card companies and other lenders can start moving towards a business foundation in which sustainability is an underlying goal. Today, these companies are focused primarily on providing the customer access to credit based upon their needs. This may not be enough for the long-term.
In the future, I believe it’s the lenders responsibility to provide the customer with a “model of sustainability” that can perhaps alter their spending habits for the benefit of the planet. A similar “model” exists today in the fast-food industry. Think about how traditional fast-food establishments are making incremental changes for the health benefits of its consumers. By providing customers with clear nutritional information about each of their products, they are providing a “model of health” that was unheard of five years ago.
Due to the pervasiveness of fast-food in today’s society, companies such as McDonald’s were “required” to make necessary changes in order to adapt to growing demand for healthy eating choices. Consumer credit is just as pervasive, which is why I believe that lenders will eventually have to promote positive change.
However, this is not to suggest that consumers do not have a responsibility to fulfill. While following a twelve-step program is a bit extreme and perhaps “prescriptive” (to use the authors’ words), I believe that eventually all consumers will need to pay close attention to what they are buying and decide whether their purchases are truly adding value to their lives at the expense of the environment.
I believe a fair number of consumers are more aware of the impact they have on the planet and are taking steps to make appropriate corrections. Replacing traditional light bulbs with CFCs, and increasing recycling efforts are good practices in themselves, but omit many other aspects of true sustainability - including the core social impact.
Today, most companies are unable to (either due to lack of knowledge, or desire) provide consumers with a true impact assessment of what it took to produce their product and deliver it to the consumer. Likewise, most consumers do not have the knowledge yet to think about these factors, nor are they necessarily ready to alter their lifestyle even if this information was presented to them. Given this information, I believe there are numerous opportunities in the sustainability arena. Here are a select few which I think may be of interest:
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Think more about the “twelve-step” program concept and employ its use in other areas - i.e. use it to focus on the cause of a given problem and less about the actual symptoms.
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Employ the use of “models” that truly add value to the customer’s life in the long-term, and encourage companies to build strategies around this mindset.
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When working with lending companies, encourage them to re-invent themselves for the long-term benefit of the planet by promoting better purchasing decisions through a “model of sustainability”.
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Take sustainability to the next level by utilizing and implementing sustainability frameworks (e.g. Environmental Footprint, Cradle to Cradle, and LCA (Life-cycle Assessment)) in companies who may be unfamiliar with these frameworks and require expertise to integrate them into a long-term sustainability strategy.
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Think about sustainability as a never-ending goal and remind companies that implementing small changes over time can make a significant impact over the long-term. Short-term (incremental) solutions do not have to be perfect.
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Encourage greater transparency with customers - especially in this area. By being transparent, customers are more likely to be accepting (at least temporarily) of a company’s current flaws and are likely to remain customers over the long-term (assuming steps to correct these problems are made). From a sustainability perspective, providing information about how products are manufactured, and clearly displaying their “sustainability” label are two good examples. Treat customers as business partners.