Apparently, we feel better! According to a paper published in Fall 2019, Journal of Consumer Research, green products improves our experience. They call it the 'Green Consumption Effect'. The choice to spend your hard earned dollars on a company with a conscience, not only makes you feel good at the time of transaction, but every time you use the product or service.
I feel like the last point sums it up, however I'll make a few other points just in case...
Thankfully, there has been a movement for companies to be green and be social enterprises in the last several years. When we opened Queen's Shop in 2015, few understood our concept of a sustainable salon. And only a couple years after that, all the big brands started coming out with green and/ or plant based lines. I was definitely excited to see the shift. I don't think the shift was solely a marketing ploy either.
There was definitely a generation that reveled in the fast consumption lifestyle. We can now look back and see how damaging that was to our planet, and wallet. Once upon a time, when you bought something, it lasted, a very long time. Now, our first thought is 'I'll just get a new one!'. We rarely take a second to think about the life cycle of that item, the new one or the one we are tossing. And chances are, there are flaws in how it was sourced, manufactured or how can be disposed of too. More recently a popular topic to be concerned about.
We often think of an items life cycle as the time we use it. However, if we train our minds to think of the whole process, manufacturing, travel, use, reuse and end cycle, we just may start to make different choices. Especially after seeing the bigger picture as to how detrimental a process can be on our environment.
Some questions to ask:
- How invasive of natural resources is it to make? Whether its sourcing the product or the manufacturing process.
- How far does it have to travel?
- Has the company invested in packaging that also has a circular life cycle? Shipping and the vessel.
- How many uses will I get out of this item?
- When it breaks down, how can I dispose of it?
- Can it be reused, broken down, fixed or given new life?
What exactly is a circular life cycle anyways? First and foremost, I think we can all agree that garbage dumps are quickly running out of space and it's a global issue. Verisk Maplecroft did a report evaluating our global garbage problem. Needless to say, there's no better time to start thinking about our waste and how we can work towards a circular economy, globally. The current economy is 'take-make-waste', though it is truly possible to 'take-make-replenish-reuse-recycle-make'. Watch this short video explaining what a circular economy is from Ellen McArthur Foundation.
Buying green often makes these decisions easier. A company with that kind of ethos will often tell you how to use, reuse or recycle the item. They also tell you about how the item was sourced, manufactured and packaged. A word to the wise, if they aren't sharing that information, I'd question how green they actually are. Majority of green companies care so much about their initiatives, that they really want you to know and learn too. They want to share their passion and knowledge on to the customer.
Does buying green impact your spending decisions? Are these points reason enough? We would love to see your comments and questions.
If you don't know yet, we have a recycling program for all the products we carry. And a refill program on all Davines Shampoo & Conditioner. Ask us how you can participate talk@queensshophair.com
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