Organicsism as a Reaction to Overwhelming Technological Encroachment
I speculate that some of the momentum behind the latest organics movement in consumer products is motivated by a counter culture reaction the preponderance of technology permeating our everyday lives. True there are those of us who believe in preserving the Earth’s biosphere for future generations and the survival of humankind but I propose that most American consumers do not consider this when purchasing.
The corporation’s interest in organics and renewable and sustainable products can only be motivated by corporate self-interest and policy and only to the point of self-sustainment for said corporation. If making and/or selling “green” products does not lead to corporate destruction then it can be assumed that those corporations that embrace organicism do so out of self interest, perhaps forseeing profit in the trend, and possibly out of environmental motives. Whether the fact that it increases a company’s positive public image is the primary objective or bonus consequence of said policy shift is open to debate and no doubt either is true in different cases.
But on a consumer level perhaps it is even a subconscious reaction to the everyday imposition of cell phones, pagers, email, computers, satellites, television, portable music players, etc. that prompts the popularity of organic foods, renewable and recycled building materials, and other more sustainable options. This opposes the idea that future self-interest and global interest motivates such changes and proposes a more personal motive such as an unconscious desire to balance the technoloigical with the natural, thus creating a kind of psychic balance in the individual. Personally I believe my motivations tend towards global environmentalism but sitting here in front of my computer I cannot help but wonder. However as I am a skeptic and a bit of a pessimist I cannot reasonably conclude that there has been a massive global awakening, especially due to the fact that most consumer products are still not available in such form, and those that are sought specifically by consumers such as myself are difficult to find and costly to purchase compared with the widely available 1950s-founded petroconsumer culture-derived standard alternative.
Is the day dawning when corporate charters will adopt a zero-impact approach to the biosphere? Will individual consumers demand products that leave no negative environmental impact? Ultimately our present way of life is unsustainable and will require a drastic shift in doctrine. Whether that shift is gradual or sudden is up to us and the only planet we presently call home.