But there is a bigger contradiction than this, which has been overlooked by both the supermarkets and many of their critics. “The green movement,” Terry Leahy tells us, “must become a mass movement in green consumption.”(10) But what about consuming less? Less is the one thing the superstores cannot sell us. As further efficiencies become harder to extract, their growth will eventually outstrip all their reductions in the use of energy. This is not Tesco’s problem alone: the green movement’s economic alternatives still lack force.
What if stores do start selling us "less"? As a product?
Why not? People bought indulgences; arguably, we're not much smarter today than we were then...
What if these "less" that we sell let's us display to others that we are cutting down on consumption? Maybe it's a badge we can display on facebook...or something like that.
"Hey! Look what I got you for christmas! 'Less'"
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1 comment:
Buying "less" for yourself would be awesome. Buying "less" for others, perhaps not so much, and if you do, the words "well, it's the thought that counts" will likely be coming from your mouth at some point during the gift exchange.
And can you imagine buying indulgences for others?
"What? What do you think I've been doing?!"
"Oh, I know what you've been doing..."
~Charles
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