We operate inside a worldview that allows for the grandiose to thrive and the minuscule to perish. Bigger is better. Size does matter. Less is most certainly not more. This cultural mandate has been inculcated to our psyche since birth.
So how do you, the sustainable brand, reverse this thinking? How do you get people to think the exact opposite of what they have been told to think ever since their collective eyes first bore witness to this world?
Um... You don't. It's too late. The only option left is not giving them a choice.
Take the video game industry, for example. Time was, when a fella wanted to pick up a game for his personal computer, he would have to lug his ass down to his local retailer, pick up a ridiculously sized cardboard box, which contained any number of CDs, bring it back to his house, and install the discs on his computer one at a time.
Then, manufacturers wised up. Turns out you didn't need a box eight times the size of a CD case. Packages got smaller, and around the same time, the advent of DVDs eliminated the need for a game to have five install discs, all those gigabytes of gamey-goodness could fit on a single DVD!
But you still had to go to the damn store! I know. Shit was a pain in the ass. Luckily, the internet age came to be around this time, and Amazon.com maed retailers all but obsolete. But what about all that messy packaging? And now it came wrapped in an extra layer of shipping nonsense?
Dammit, I can't go tiring my fingers out opening shit up! I need them for precious gaming!
Don't worry, sweet gamer. The internet one-upped itself yet again. Why order a game through the internet, only to have to wait for delivery, and then, on top of that, STILL have to open a package? I call bullshit. There has to be a lazier way to get video games.
Once hardware manufacturers decided that hard drives didn't have to be, like, four gigs, a flourish of massive hard drives made downloading entire games directly to one's computer a reality. THANK GOD!
With the release of Half-Life 2, preeminent video game developer Valve not only revolutionized video games (Half-Life 2 = Best game ever - I'll fight you if you disagree), but the way people get them. They launched their digital distribution network, Steam, allowing people to download any of Valve's games.
Other developers caught on quickly. Valve's Steam now acts as a digital distributor for nearly every major video game released on PC. With bonuses like lower prices (publishers don't have to pay manufacturing costs), and instant access to games (pre-downloads allow users to download a game before it is released and activate it on the official release day), Steam has made video game retailers a thing of the past.
While criminal organizations like Gamestop will still be able to profit for a few more years by selling used games, the fact that all major video game consoles are now following Steam's lead and having digital distribution as a viable alternative to retail discs means Gamestop's days are numbered.
Which actually makes me quite happy. I loathe Gamestop and it's company wide mandate of flooding every retail outlet with a gaseous grease. Seriously. Step inside ANY Gamestop. It's disgusting.
Video game retailers continue to close down left and right, and video rental stores like Blockbuster are not far behind.
Oh, and a quick hint to movie studios: Including a "digital copy" of a movie in a DVD package may be the most horrifically bad marketing strategy ever devised. Just bite the bullet and open a Steam-like distribution network.
The age of digital distribution is upon us, so just sit back and wait for a couple of T-800s to come get you.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....So, in a roundabout way, the video game industry has convinced its consumers to consume less. The film industry could choose to ignore its historical opposition to even the slightest modicum of change and follow suit, saving a whole hell of a lot of packaging (as well as actual discs) from being:
1. Created
2. Lightly used
3. Forced into obsolescence
4. Discarded
While this can't work for any product, (There's no way to digitally distribute alcohol - yet) it is a viable option for any entertainment medium, be it book, magazine, movie or game. And similar steps can be taken by other products; encasing electronics in carbonite is not a necessary packaging step.
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