| Conscientious Consuming™ | ||
| Explained: |
Conscientious
Consuming: Part of the Consumer Purchasing Process
It’s common sense not to purchase products that are too expensive, have the wrong features or have a unattractive design. It’s also common sense to not do business with people or companies whose actions and conduct offend you. A conscientious consumer adds the companies or country’s conduct and activities (product’s conscience) to their buying decision. Sometimes the product’s conscience is the sole determining factor when purchasing a product. For instance, a person can refuse to buy Kraft cheese products because Kraft is owned by the tobacco company Philip Morris. This is easy because there are a lot of competing companies making cheese that have a clearer conscience. In other situations a products conscience may not be a factor in the purchasing consideration. For a person who believes in buying products "Made in the USA" buying a VCR could be a frustrating experience because no VCR’s are manufactured in the United States. In many cases a product’s conscience is only one of the factors a consumer weighs when deciding which product to buy. An example of this is when a consumer favors American made products. What if a "made-in-the-USA" consumer is comparing two products that are equal, that is to say they are the same price, have the same features, and an equally appealing design. If one is made in America and one is not, the pro-USA consumer would always choose the American-made product. However, if an American product were more expensive, would the pro-USA consumer still buy it? Would they buy if it were a few cents more or a few dollars more? What if it was many dollars more? At this point it becomes an individual decision based on the buyers conscience. People’s conscience is guided by their own unique sense of right and wrong. And just as everyone’s conscience is different, everyone’s conscientious consuming process and purchasing criteria is different. |
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