There is an abundance of literature on what constitutes green technology and how manufacturers and consumers can adopt cleaner, greener alternatives to power-guzzling products.
So, for a change I will not talk about ‘green technologies’ here.
On the contrary, I’m going to talk about things that may not sit well with how the entire ecosystem of industry and consumers operates in a fast-globalizing – but hot and crowded – world.
In the current scheme of things, manufacturers-sellers talk about faster times to market, constant product upgrades and creation of new niches or segments. Consumers, armed with all the new wealth being generated (especially in the developing world), are ‘going shopping’ with a vengeance. The result: an ongoing, accelerating cycle of ‘buy more, sell more, buy some more, and throw away a lot’.
I remember growing up as a typical middle-class child in pre-liberalized India. There wasn’t much to buy in the first place. We didn’t have large disposable incomes to splurge. And we were happy with what we could get, use and, more importantly, reuse. Books and clothes were handed down from older children to the younger ones. Fridges, TVs and other contraptions used to last generations. And there were few unnecessary gewgaws around us.
Today people buy ‘all kinds of stuff’. In all kinds of places. At all kinds of prices. For all kinds of purposes. And quite often, for no purpose at all – they grab it just on a whim or because it was on sale or because they couldn’t say no to the salesperson. The reason is not important – not in an alarming number of cases.
And what happens to the ‘stuff’ that is bought? It’s hardly used. Or goes phut all too soon. Or becomes out-of-fashion or obsolete. Or makes you feel bored with it because there’s a spanking new one on the market. Ultimately, much of the stuff is thrown away prematurely, remains underused or was never needed in the first place!
Like I said before, all this will not easily go down the gullets of marketers, salesmen and consumers determined to, well, promote sales and consumption. Their obvious objection: What happens to the industry’s growth and consumers’ prosperity? What happens to G-D-P? (I don’t know; something happening to GDP is important but so is something happening to the environment. Perhaps more.)
In my opinion, green is more about habit than technology. The habit of producing goods that last longer. The habit of selling customers what they really need. The habit of optimally ‘consuming’ things and not throwing them away or refusing to get them repaired and extend their life.
For the sake of the environment and our future generations and their secured well-being, are we prepared to change our habits to green? GDP and technology will follow.
