What do your products say about you?

A few years ago I volunteered at a Sustainability Forum.

Titled “Rethinking Our Consumption: Beyond Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,” the forum focused on the environmental impacts of our choices as consumers. One of many researchers and industry professionals in attendance, Liad Weiss, spoke on the psychology of product ownership and how this affects our consumer experience as well as our personal disposition.

Weiss jumpstarted the forum as one of the first to speak, laying groundwork for the general discussion of consumer habits by explaining how intrinsic motivators, in this case the feeling of ownership, affect how we relate to the products we own. Weiss’s research examines the psychological processes that are influenced by product acquisition, and how such processes shape self-evaluation. Several studies Weiss drew upon explain that owning a product affects how you perceive yourself in relation to it. Basically, as we acquire products, we feel that their traits transfer over to us as individuals.

Ownership helps people understand themselves within a material environment. We believe we are similar to the products we own, yet unlike the products we do not own. Consider how your bedroom is decorated to fit your taste, how the clothes you wear represent your personality as an individual. Have you ever received a present that was so far off from your style that you grimaced internally at the thought of owning it? The research checks out.

Weiss ties this idea together in relation to sustainability by suggesting that we as a society need to change the way we think about product ownership. By recognizing this phenomenon, we have the opportunity to bridge social consciousness with the products we choose to purchase.

Weiss advocates being more selective in terms of what products we accept as our own. He also suggests that we give people transformative, sustainable gifts. Research says this may elicit a positive, environmentally conscious self-perception for the gift receivers, simply from owning a more eco-friendly product.

This presentation in particular resonated with me, as I experienced it during a time when I just started working towards transitioning from a careless buyer to a more sustainably-minded consumer. Admittedly, I still have some work to do. I still shop fast-fashion stores (ie: Forever 21, Old Navy) that support cheap, unethical foreign labor and use inexpensive and low-quality materials. I still shop at big chain grocers over my local produce store for certain food items out of sheer convenience.

What's important here, for me, is realizing that within the past few years, I've adapted a lot of my consumption habits to align with my values - and it feels good! I will happily throw my money at brands that operate responsibly. It's refreshing to know that I have the power to choose what companies are worth my patronization. And love that I got my favorite chair for free because it was sitting next to a dumpster! Now that's sustainable. ;)