Making things that are GOOD more FUN.
By Karina | November 2, 2009
A good friend sent this to me with a note saying “this looks handmade for TinyChoices! And she was right!
The premise is that in order to encourage people to walk up the stairs instead of taking the escalator, a group of designers wired the stairs to look and sound like a piano. It’s a really neat idea, and it looks like it was really effective.
The opportunity was provided by Volkswagen, and it’s part of their “Fun Theory” competition. Check out the website for a couple of more cute videos, including the worlds deepest garbage can to encourage trash can usage and discourage litterers; and a video-game style bottle deposit station, to encourage recycling. And while this competition is 1. an excellent advertising vehicle for an auto manufacturer and 2. based in Sweden, it’s open to all, and it raises some really interesting questions about how we can incentivize environmental choices.
So how do we make Tiny Choices more exciting? Of course Jenn and I hope that by reading the Surveys on Fridays (of course, open to all! Please send one in if you haven’t!) making tiny choices and talking about them openly will become easier for each of us to do. I would say that having the perfect travel mug makes me a lot more likely to carrying a reusable cup, even though it would be greener to avoid purchasing anything. The same can be said for reusable shopping bags - if I didn’t have a tiny one to keep in my handbag I probably wouldn’t be as good about avoiding disposables.
I’d say marketing ploy or not, there’s definately something to this fun theory thing - besides the big prize. Maybe we should all enter? here’s a a chance to brainstorm:
What are some of your favorite ways to make being green more FUN?
Related posts:
- Cause/Effect: making the connection
- Making Do and being Resourceful!
- Making Hybrids Audible
- Making Seltzer More Sustainable
- Making Hummus
- The Story of Stuff
Topics: Activism |
Lately I’ve been figuring out ways to spruce up my apartment using things I’ve already got, or buying a minimum of new materials. Today I painted my bathroom door using paint which was in the “premixed colors which the customer didn’t want” section of the hardware store, so that was $2 for a quart of paint which was a reject/needed a home so it wasn’t tossed out. And tomorrow I’m going to make a new lampshade for a lamp in my bedroom which I love, but which has a terrible shade. So I’m just going to buy a piece of pretty paper to make a new shade, and keep the rest of the pefectly good lamp.
So, to answer your question! I find these kind of treasure-hunt projects really fun: what needs prettying up, and how can I do that with as small an impact as possible?
Not as awesome as the piano stairs, though, for sure!
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For me, a big part of canning as a tiny choice is realizing that it actually makes things taste BETTER. I opened up a can of peaches I put up in a very light honey syrup. They were fantastic! Way better than anything I had ever tasted commercially canned. I also am more likely to do things for the environment when it doesn’t look like recycling. For instance, I am working on sewing a pair of toddler pants from a men’s shirt, and they are so darling, you would never guess it’s a recycling project.
I’ve been taking friends’ old t-shirts and making them into hankies, napkins and (*gasp*) family cloth. It’s not very exciting, but it makes me happy and I get a teeny little rush of feel-good-ness every time I pull out one of my new/old t-shirt handkerchiefs.
What “The Fun Theory” is getting at is an exciting way to look at behavior change tools - and, if we greenies expect the rest of the world to catch on, we are in desperate need of good behavior change tools.
Most of the people checking out THIS website, don’t need the tools. We are the choir, but we are not the majority.
So, whille canning or reusing or recycling or compostsing or (you-name-it enviro friendly activity) fulfills US, that is not true for everyone.
WE NEED MORE TOOLS LIKE THESE!!!