It’s a constant grouse with all environmentally conscious consumers. Why do we pay a premium for good deeds, while the polluters get away scot-free? The organised retail industry claims to have redressed that obviously valid grievance.
A couple of years ago, the Ministry of Environment and Forests recommended a ban on plastic carry bags. Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Marketing, who used to be a senior retail executive, points out that the Retailers Association of India (RAI) had proposed that instead of an outright ban the Government could enforce the globally-accepted Polluter Pay Principle, under which stores charge shoppers for the carry bags. This would spur shoppers to bring their own bags and reduce the use of plastic bags.
The Government mandated recovering the cost of the plastic carry bags (anywhere between Re 1 and Rs 7) from customers. RAI members joined the initiative to encourage prudent use of plastic, which piloted in Mumbai and spread to other cities. The association claims the use of carry bags at retail points has dropped by 58 per cent.
Where the stick fails, use the carrot. As happened with a technological advancement in the consumer durables space which, without espousing the virtues of good consumer behaviour, succeeded in significantly reducing environmental footprint. A consumer goods company senior executive points to analogue cameras, which entail the additional cost of film rolls, developing them and making prints. Each additional print costs extra. Aside from the monetary cost, each time the camera is used, there is an environmental cost too — the chemicals used to develop film and the disposal of discarded negatives.
When digital cameras entered the scene, companies such as Kodak, which was more concerned about protecting its revenues from film rolls, did not embrace the idea. Other marketers, who never made cameras before, latched on and positioned the digital camera as the convenient alternative to analogue cameras. Just plug it into a computer and the pictures come alive. No developing costs and physical prints can be made according to need. “Marketers had accidentally done their bit to save the planet,” says the executive. Consumers were quick to spot the tangible benefit in the digital camera and readily switched loyalties.
Another factor that favoured the digital version was its comparable cost vis-à-vis the analogue camera once it gained critical volumes. Soon digital cameras became a win-win for consumers and new-age camera makers such as Canon. As for Kodak, everyone knows what happened to it.