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| An advertisement for Mentos gum |
And this isn’t a new phenomenon
either. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, according to Maier,
people "had already acknowledged that ‘mass media was likely to be of
major importance in the selection, transformation and circulation of environmental
meanings in modern society’” (166).
Mass media clearly has a lot of impact on the way people think, and can
really influence which products the public buys. This picture below is just one from a series
of posters which aim to steer customers towards more sustainable behaviors in this
gallery. Do you think media tools such as
these can help consumers choose an option better for the environment than they
otherwise would?
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| An example of a poster which promotes sustainable behaviors among consumers from a series of media campaigns found here. |
One example of a company who uses
sustainability in their platform is the consumer products company, Unilever.
They are one of the more reliable companies in their environmental campaigns,
but definitely use “being green” in their advertising campaigns. They have an
entire section of their website dedicated to sustainability. Here’s a
screenshot of their “Sustainable Living” webpage:
Unilever
places a lot of emphasis on their efforts to make their products green. Unlike
a lot of other places which are not as reliable, their efforts have distinct
goals and they are very transparent about which goals are being met and which
are taking longer than they expected. It’s clear that this company, unlike many
others, has made a true commitment to producing greener products which help the
environment.
What about
you? Do claims of sustainable products sway you when you’re trying to decide
which household cleaner to use, or do you stick to a certain brand or product
regardless of its effects on the environment?
Sources:
Generally, I do not pay much attention to advertisements that claim to be green because I do not trust the ad. The primary goal of advertising is to make money and it can be easy to tell whether or not a company is being honest or just trying to make the sell. When I go shopping for cleaning supplies or for food I do not look for an environmentally friendly sticker on the side of the box but if I find two products for the same price I will try to pick the "eco-friendly" option. I have found that "eco-friendly" items cost more money and being a college student with only a part-time job, I have to go with the option that helps me save money. I know that I should make more of an effort to be more environmentally friendly but it is a lot harder than it looks. This is an interesting post to read. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree with David, that we should be caution about the advertisements that may seem like they are offering us something better and more sustainable to the environment. At the same time, I consider myself quite a gullible person and to be quite honest, I am a very visual person so the first thing I look for really, at anything is the branding of it instead of the actual product. Especially if there are dozens of the same product, just in different packaging. Although one's claim to be more sustainable might be more emphasized, I will most likely be going for the one that looks more professionally designed/executed instead. This was really interesting to read though, and definitely something I should pay attention to more in the future!
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