GDiapers, hippies and our future

An aritlce in today's NY Times Magazine on a new kind of diaper called GDiapers raises some interesting questions. The product is an alternative to disposables and cloth diapers, and it works like this:

"A $25 starter set comes with two pairs of washable “pants” (in “groovy” red, orange, blue or green) and 10 removable liners; when a liner is soiled, it’s flushed down the toilet. A refill pack of 32 flushable liners costs $14, roughly the same as 40 Huggies."

The point of the article was that although GDiapers is an eco-friendly product, the product developers marketing the diapers in the US (it is an Australian product) are choosing to de-emphasize this point and instead highlight efficiency and ease of use and cleanup as selling points.

Basically, the argument is that marketing products too heavily to the "treehugger" consumer limits their appeal to mainstream consumers. I agree with this point wholeheartedly, but the more interesting point is, why is this the case? Do we not all care about the environment? I think the problem is that in the infancy of "green products," they got a reputation for being overly priced and not as effective. They also tend to come from small unknown brands so consumers are less likely to trust them.

Although the "treehugging" subset of consumers are attracted to products that advertise earth-friendly qualities, this may be a turnoff to other consumers. Instead, many people are immediately attracted to price and convenience. (Why use a mop and bucket when I can use a Swiffer?)

The postwar boom in consumer products has always been based on the premise of life getting easier, more convenient, and more luxurious. A product that is not marketed with these premises in mind risks losing its audience.

So.....why would I buy a dirty hippie poop diaper when I could buy an easy 1-2-3, colorful, attractive, no mess, no hassle diaper? I wouldn't.

I think the real point is that in the current era of environmental chaos and risk, companies need to make all of their products as environmentally sustainble as possible. PERIOD. That should be objective number 1. BUT, that's the end of it. Don't talk about it, brag about it, and try to wrap it up in hippie leaves and sell it. Just go on marketing your products as you always did, and people will buy them. And the world will be a better place!