Nowadays people don’t necessarily take the time to evaluate the ecological and social impact of their consumption, although there has been a recent awakening to those subjects for a part of the population, most people are still used to make a choice between two products almost solely on the basis of their price. This is due to a consumerist culture that push people to focus more on quantity rather than quality. The point of this project is to help people make better choices by raising awareness about the effects of their consumption choices.
An example of the ethical and ecological damages caused by this mindset is fast fashion, for a low price you can have access to trendy clothes but they are often of poor quality and end up not being worn much anyway as fashion changes more and more quickly, they consume a lot of raw materials, time and energy and are made by underpaid worker under bad working conditions on the other side of the world. Although it might seem obvious that this practice needs to stop, it’s not that easy to get rid of it as everybody don’t necessarily know about its negative effects and even if they are aware of these problems they might feel like the social pressure to be at the forefront of fashion is too difficult to overcome. The more people know and talk about it the easier it will be for them to change their ways.
Getting people to change their habits can be rather difficult but the advantages would be numerous, on an individual scale, it means healthier food, a better quality of products without a moral dilemma, on a more societal scale, it would boost the local economy and reduce pollution. At the end of the day a lot of solutions are not even to be invented, things like buying less processed food, less clothes but of better quality, or reusing glass bottles are actually the way we did before the advent of the consumerist society, in that regard the project could also awake an interest for local cultures and identities that have often suffered from the consumerist mindset.
The primary target of the project, adults, is not a coincidence, having the power to make their own decisions on whether and what to purchase, they unconsciously shape the behavior of younger generations. Children often emulate the actions of adults around them, forming their sense of belonging and values based on what they observe, therefore educating adults about responsible and sustainable consumption will create a ripple effect that positively influences the behavior of
younger individuals. By fostering a culture of responsible consumption today, we lay the foundation for a greener, more environmentally conscious society tomorrow.
Pierrick Pourcher.
Kommentarer