Introduction Consumer perception is very subjective and depends on a lot of factors such as consumer education level, awareness etc. With respect to lifestyle products, consumer perception plays a major role in not just shaping the sale and growth of a lifestyle product brand but in turn on the net environmental effect due to the product. Any lifestyle product has to be first produced, tested and then marketed. Production through unsustainable practices result in environmental damage and the usage of such lifestyle products in turn could contribute to various lifestyle diseases apart from environmental impact. It is being increasingly seen that the market for lifestyle products is growing globally at an alarming rate and purchasing power …show more content…
The results of environmental damage are increasingly seen and on account of it the consumer is becoming more and more aware. Consumer perception on environmental impact is changing and this is mostly true in the case of production and usage of lifestyle products. Lifestyle addictions Lifestyle addictions and compulsions in consumers are resulting in usage of unsustainable products without any concern for the environment, especially with the digital age bringing with it various gadgets which are again manufactured unsustainably. Also cosmetic products which are used by the consumers daily do not help the Eco cause. Fashion compulsions and branded products There are various fashion compulsions that haunt the modern consumer and many of these compulsions including the branded product trend come with a major environmental impact cost. Some of the major fashion compulsions include usage of various lifestyle products such as cosmetics, designer wears, shoes, belts and accessories etc and all these are not necessarily green. Safe lifestyle
Companies realize what people need and they take it as sources to produce commodities. However, companies which have famous brands try to get people’s attention by developing their products. Because there are several options available of commodities, people might be in a dilemma to choose what product they looking for. In fact, that dilemma is not real, it is just what people want. That is what Steve McKevitt claims in his article “Everything Now”. When people go shopping there are limitless choices of one product made by different companies, all choices of this product basically do the same thing, but what makes them different is the brand’s name. Companies with brands are trying to get their consumers by presenting their commodities in ways which let people feel impressed, and that are some things they need to buy. This is what Anne Norton discussed in her article “The Signs of Shopping”. People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive.
Tukker, A & Jansen, B 2006, ‘Environmental impacts of products – a detailed review of studies’, Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 159–182.
All over America people are consuming almost every day, in some cases all the time. When Americans go shopping all they see is a product on a shelf, they don’t see the devastating toll that that product has on the environment. Americans’ devotion to lifestyles that focus on the accumulation of non-essential goods has led to a “throw-away mentality.” For example, manufactures design products to fail from television sets to washing machines to computers in order for people to have to throw them away and replace them (Vince). Manufactures deliberately make products fail so that they can sell more products. They know that American consumers will buy new products to replace old products because they are motivated by their “wants.” However, the problem is that manufactures are weakening the environment because the natural resources used to make these products are being constantly drained and then lost. For example, “the average American throws away over 68 pounds of textiles per year” (Whitehead). Not only does this show that Americans are extremely wasteful it also shows that manufactures only use short-term innovation to satisfy consumers. The author of “Everything Now,” explains that by changing the focus to peoples wants instead of needs has displaced the process of innovation. Thus, making it challenging to address future long-term problems (149). This means that short-term innovations have hidden consequences that will eventually surface. The more consumers demand the more damage manufactures are doing to the environment. America will soon have little to no resources if apathetic consumers don’t start buying less of the stuff they don’t need. Manufactures will not change unless the American people do so
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
Living in a first world country has privileges that citizens around the world often considered luxuries. In the United States for example, citizens have well paying jobs that offer more than a comfortable living. According to cultural critic and advertising historian James B Twitchell, in the last fifty years Americans have doubled the amount of goods and services they consume. More astonishing is fact that the poorest fifty of society in America spends more than the poorest fifth did in the same fifty years. Twitchell also explains that as citizens, what makes Americans happy is the ability to purchase goods whenever they choose. This is why when the new trend of “Fast Fashion” was first introduced to American society; it was an instant
The global apparel industry has been a major contributor to the pollution hazards. Starting from the sourcing of the material to the dyes used to the process of creating these labels, it’s been affecting the pollution levels as well as the exploitation of the society. Globalization has only contributed much to it. Companies now source different ingredients from different places adding to the transportation issues. This is an issue tackled by the supply chain management. We now have terms like the green supply chain.
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
As said by Shaveta Pujara of Fashion Technology, “Product development captures the mood or flavor of the design project, as well as reflects the target customer. The in depth study and close examination of the inspiration stimulates the ideas about colors and textures which influence the choice of fabrics.” Product development deals with improving an existing product or developing new kinds of products. Companies creating products have the choice of producing organic green clothing or inorganic. Keeping products organic like hemp, recycled denim, and organic cotton gives developers and consumers a new creative concept. The issues that come along with product development are the economic factors, fashion and style, and their connection to the environment. Although product developers and consumers create products non-organically they should further promote and take the time to develop eco friendly materials to benefit their company, its products, and society as a whole.
In the recent research (Walker, Klassen, Sarkis, Seuring, 2014, p. 1), it was found that the research regarding sustainable OM has been increasing in last two decades which can be considered as a sensible changes in recent business and society. The underlying concern was that if we continue to consume resources at current rates, we would need over three planets worth of resources (Weizsacker et al. 1997, cited in Walker et al, 2014, p. 1). Consumers are concerned about how products are sourced and firms are being pressured to address the TBL.
The more experience you have putting these tips into practice, the more they will become instinct. And by making informed decisions and ensuring that the product’s claims are accurate, you can feel good about the choices you make and their positive impact on the environment. If more greenwashing means that marketers are increasingly responding to the demand for sustainable products, this could be a positive trend. If left unchecked, greenwashing creates significant risks. Consumers will give up on marketers and manufacturers, and give up on the hope that their spending might be put to good use. Recent developments suggest companies should be prepared for the new wave of measures. Greenwashing has become a buzz word for consumers and the media. Unfortunately, the rules are not always clear when it comes to responsible environmental marketing.
Today the consumerism plays an extremely important role in contemporary societies; consumerism has carried a part of the planet to the edge of Ecological, social and economic abyss, and every day becomes more evident. But naturally, it goes against a process that has become common in the daily life of people, The consumers need to advise about nature of the products, the value and the consequences of the consumption of certain products in the environment. One of the most creative ways to solve this problem is to minimize consumption of newly manufactured products, either by buying items with a longer shelf life or buying used items, new resources are not used in the manufacturing and industrial pollution and carbon dioxide will be lower. We can Recycling and reusing, also make reasonable use of natural resources, energy, and water, this contribute to the mitigation of climate impacts, will require manufacturers to use more sustainable technologies.
In conclusion, the research has realized that sustainable fashion is among the developing project perspective and movement of sustainability. The project has the main goal of establishing an arrangement, which can be continued for the foreseeable future in terms of conservationism and social liability. It was noted that all the products made are developed with much consideration to the environmental and social influence all through its overall lifetime encompassing its carbon imprint. The research went further in discussing some components of sustainable fashion including fibre, which includes the employment of ecologically friendly resources such as bamboo, organic carbon as well as hemp. Accordingly, some benefits were provided to show how vital sustainable fashion is to the producer, consumer, and to the environment. However, despite all these, there are some challenges that
Joung (2013) studied two groups, classified as materialistic and non-materialistic consumers, and found no difference between participation in recycling between the two groups even though the materialistic consumers had higher scores for disposing and lower scores for environmental attitudes than non-materialistic consumers (Joung 2013). It could be suggested that a consumer’s general recycling behaviour is a poor indicator of their environmental attitude and other disposal behaviours; Shim (1995) suggests that consumers can “develop a habit of recycling without much sensitivity toward environmentalism” (Shim 1995). Here general recycling behaviours are a result of the convenience of recycling for the consumer rather than a representation of their environmental concerns.
Annie Leonard, a Masters graduate from Cornell University, spent almost thirty years traveling to over forty countries to study where consumer goods were produced and disposed. In her video called “Story of Stuff”, Leonard explains how consumer goods are produced. She begins by describing the mass deforestation in foreign countries, destruction of natural rock formations for precious metals, contamination of water sources, eventually causing harm to the wildlife due to their destroyed natural habitats. Leonard states that “in the past three decades alone, one third of the planet’s natural resource space has been consumed” (Story of Stuff). In the U.S. only four percent of the nation’s original forests remain, and forty percent of the water has become undrinkable. These destructive environmental issues can all relate directly back to consumerism because the more goods we purchase, the more goods manufacturers will have to produce. Leonard says we live on a planet with finite resources and after a while, there will not be any more resources to produce consumer goods. However, corporations and private businesses often show little to no concern toward environmental issues as their main goal is to make profit, sometimes even without considering the environmental costs. In her research, Leonard found that much of America’s production and disposal took place in countries such as China and India. The production of these goods releases harmful chemicals into the atmosphere and the disposal of the goods contaminates nearby water sources, making them impure. The inhabitants are forced to live in poor conditions or relocate and leave their things behind. Even though the U.S. makes up only five percent of the world’s population, it creates a third of all the waste produced in the world (Story of