Products:
- Electric car – I think this type of purchase is a no brainer. As most people use their cars to drive around town or run quick errands, I think a fully electric car that can get charged to use around your town is a product a wise consumer would be willing to splurge on.
- Sustainable clothing – I feel like a wise consumer would be willing to spend money on sustainable clothing that is expensive, but high quality. That way a consumer can not only have a smaller closet, but know that the actual clothing they’re wearing was produced sustainably. That’s something I struggle with sometimes – I love shopping, but owning so many clothes feels a little materialistic, and making new clothes all the time isn’t good for the environment.
- Organic meats – as the meat industry is essentially the epitome of consumerism, I think this is another no brainer for a “wise consumer,” if they’re even eating meat. Our current consumption of animals is absolutely not sustainable, or humane, so I think this is one product a wise consumer would take a stand on.
Principles:
- Verified Green / Organically Sourced — I think a wise consumer would make sure that their products, I’m thinking mainly about food here, were organically sourced. A principle that guarantees that what people are buying is actually as good for the environment as they want it to be, or as the company is claiming it is, would be important to verify. Not as verified as the Portlandia episode where they visit the dead chicken’s coup, but something along those lines.
- User friendliness — I think that another important facet is for products to be intuitive! A user friendly product is the most important piece of any product — if your consumer cannot use your item, then they’re not going to buy it. I think that’s an important principle of design, not only for a wise consumer, but for any consumer.
- Long life — More often than not, a lot of “fad” products don’t have a long life. I think there is a stereotype, especially for green products or sustainable alternatives, that they don’t last as long or perform as well as regular products. For example, I don’t buy organic detergent with softer chemicals because I am under the impression they won’t wash my clothes the same — I’ve never tried a new detergent to test my hypothesis, but that’s the stereotype I have. So I think matching things on longevity and quality are also very important.