What Happened To Less But Better

Earlier this year there seems to have been a big call to create less new products that are better, longer lasting and/or more useful. Seth Godin reminds us that the message seems to have dropped off the radar somewhere.

Sometime in the last year, it feels to me, the story changed. The mantra of “less” which is a natural offshoot of carbon-footprint thinking, combined with the mantra of “less” which is a natural offshoot of overfishing, combined with… have made shopping in a store like [Wholefoods] a contest over who can have less impact.

So, here’s a can of tuna, but maybe that’s not okay because it’s a tan and it’s tuna.

And here’s an avocado, but maybe that’s not okay because it came a long way in a truck.

…I’m more and more convinced that the best hope for the eco movement is to tell a story of efficiency and growth and ingenuity. More is easy to sell. Less almost never is.

Seth’s Blog: Getting sad at Whole Foods (more vs. less)

PSFK articles on Less But Better