Drew Barrymore has become an investor and celebrity spokesperson for Grove Collaborative. Grove's products include refillable glass bottles, Seventh Generation and Tom's of Maine.
Grove says their mission is to "shed light on the severity of the plastic crisis." Good for them. But last time I looked, Seventh Generation products come in plastic containers. So I checked the website. They claim that their products are "plastic neutral." What?
Research has shown that just the presence of a salad item on a menu leads to people ordering higher calorie options. It's not dissimilar to people who take a daily multivitamin choosing to eat less healthy foods. It's like one cancels out the other.
We are always on the lookout for opportunities to justify less than ideal actions so that we can continue to engage in them.
The Grove Collective website also says that they will be 100% plastic free by 2025. So if the "plastic neutral" claim didn't work for you, you can choose to continue using plastic guilt-free until 2025 based on this promise.
I am all in favor of moving from plastic back to glass. Glass is the easiest substance to recycle. Unfortunately with most recycling bins being multi-product the glass tends to break and doesn't get recycled. So I think this is an admirable goal.
But what concerns me even more than the fact that they are pedaling false equivalences which give people permission to continue to use plastic is that their ads, breaking later this month, encourage people not to recycle! Apparently, they point out that only 9% of the plastic people set aside gets recycled. (Mahoney, 2022)
While
this may be true, shouldn't they as part of their green mission be working on
increasing this percentage? I wonder how
many of their plastic neutral containers use 1,2 and 5 plastics which can be easily
recycled? Of course, they do throw the
word sustainable around quite a bit on their website.
Someone recently informed me that it was ok to not wear masks because masks don't work. Well according to EPA testing, even the flimsiest single layer masks give you ~25% protection. But people don't want to wear masks, so they seek out information that tells them they don't have to. (EPA, 2021)
Do you think that the same thing will happen here? Will people hear that only 9% of plastic gets recycled and use that as an excuse to recycle less? Does a company being "plastic neutral" matter to you? What about promises to be plastic free in the future?
How persuasive do you think Drew Barrymore is? Do you buy celebrity endorsed products? Which ones and why?
Mahoney, S. (2022, April 8) Grove Collaborative Adds Drew Barrymore in Latest Growth Move. mediapost.com. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/372841/grove-collaborative-adds-drew-barrymore-in-latest.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=125969&hashid=WJG6Pr0n-cKmmAEAvSYYIvL2MQA
EPA (2021, April 5) EPA Researchers Test Effectiveness of Facemasks, Disinfection Methods Against Covid-19. epa.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/epa-researchers-test-effectiveness-face-masks-disinfection-methods-against-covid-19
11 comments:
I hate celebrity endorsed products and I don't even conspired buying their products at all. The only time I will buy it when the celebrity uses it in their daily life. I feel like Groove Collaborative. should make everything plastic free and then advertise instead of doing everything right away. The "plastic neutral" and "plastic guilt-free for you" claim just confuses me. I really don't get the whole point of these claims. I went on their website they do have brands that I like but I would not be shopping there. There should be a strict law about give people permission to continue to use plastic is that their ads, breaking later this month, encourage people not to recycle. This brand isn't new to me because there are brands who are doing the same things.
I think that Grove Collaborative's mission to reduce plastic is well-intentioned. Plastic neutral is a great start in my opinion to reducing plastic. I think that it is just the beginning and if there is a commitment to becoming plastic free down the line, why not start here. I truly don't think that there is an ability to go completely plastic free right now given how many companies that people need in their life utilize plastic for affordability purposes. There is no perfect solution, but a site that has only non-toxic and 100% cruelty-free products for the home should not be something to frown upon. When it comes to celebrity-endorsed products, I am very hesitant. Celebrities get major paychecks for endorsing these products and always ensure that I am doing ample outside research before making final decisions using reputable sources.
While the "plastic neutral" claim is confusing and might even be misleading to many people, I agree with Joe when he says that Grove Collaborative's mission is well-intentioned. I think that for the most part, since there are many companies still out there not even making any effort to reduce their use of plastic and reduce their carbon footprints, Grove Collaborative would appeal to me through their intent and efforts to be better for the environment. However, I do feel their statement of only 9% of plastic getting recycled is risky and can cause people to be less motivated to recycle. This is something that should have been more thought out.
I typically do not buy celebrity endorsed products because I view these products as mere monetary gain to most celebrities. However, if I see that a celebrity genuinely uses and reuses a product time and time again, and even raves about it when they are not receiving money for their advocacy, that is when I will believe a celebrity's words about the product and might consider buying it. This applies to Drew Barrymore as well. I do not follow her but if I did and were to see that she is a constant activist for environmentalism in all areas of her life and practices what she preaches, that is when I would find her persuasive and effective in getting me to be a customer of Grove Collaborative. At the end of the day, even if she or any celebrity convinces me to consider purchasing something, I would do my own research to evaluate my thoughts of a product or brand see if it aligns with my own values.
- Nomi Q.
Shohei Ishikawa
I believe that I have already seen many similar cases to the mask example. My roommates do not care much about recycling, and I also get lazy sometimes. So I occasionally make up the excuses, such as "I do not need to do it every time because someone does it."
I did not know only 9% of the products are recycled, but I believe that this will boost people like us, someone who gets lazy sometimes, not to recycle by making more excuses. Before taking NYU courses, I did not care if the company was plastic-free, but I recently started to care as I learn the importance of it at NYU. However, I do not care about the promises the company makes. I always check what they do now because it shows the companies' real intentions; if they do not work on what they state now, I will look for alternatives until I get lazy.
I do not trust "the future plan" because I always feel that companies hide something from the customers. In fact, I believe that the professor's post is a good example that the company does not do what it states; they want to look nice but do not take action.
For Drew Barrymore, it is hard for me to imagine if she is persuasive or not because I just learned who she is. However, if it is my favorite celebrities, I would believe them without any research because I want to believe in them. I do not have a specific example where they talk about recycling. However, I once bought TEREMANA Tequila by Dwayne Johnson, the ROCK, because I like it, although I do not even like tequila.
One of the very first things we learned in class is that research is biased. Here once again, similarly to the mask topic, Drew Barrymore is offering an acceptable way to excuse the usage of plastic products without all the guilt. I believe the majority of us have a desire to recycle, we like the idea of recycling and helping our planet but the same way only 9% of plastic actually gets recycled, only a small percentage of people that wish to RRR (reduce, reuse, recycle) actually do it. Besides, yes, getting behind the idea that only a small percentage of plastic is actually recycled serves as an excuse for many not to do it at all. A very upsetting reality considering just how hurt our environment is.
As far as my life is concerned, RRR(ing) has become a way of life that is practiced as much as possible, whenever possible. I recall a few years back as my family wondered why I had more than one trashcan. I was very surprise to learn that they didn't separate their trash as I viewed them as conscious users, it was then that I realized not everyone cared or knew enough to take the smallest steps to help our environment. Luckily, those same close family members did end up getting "more than one" trashcan within the following year. I also do recall a friend a couple of years back making a similar comment to the 9% stat, that not all plastic gets recycled and even more, he went on to make the claim that he did not recycle because he felt he was doing a job his taxes should be taking caring of (separating trash) and well he wasn't going to do someone else's job. The interesting thing? He was a PHD, Chair of Sociology department at a known University in New Jersey. Talk about reinforced biased, and this was coming from a seemly well educated person. What then should we expect from the "average joe" most everyday consumers?
A company promising to be plastic free in the future makes me wonder about that future. Most of us fail to realize that the future for recycling really is now, those changes should be getting implemented now. I don't think most of us truly understand the damage we are causing our planet and how urgent a change needs to happen. But again, I supposed most of us are looking for ways to excuse our lack of immediate action relying on the idea that change is coming...eventually.
I think the amount of engagement in recycling will definitely vary for each individual. This is because of how much they are educated on the topic and how much they value the reasons for recycling. I can see why people might use the fact that only “9% of plastic gets recycled” as recycling is time consuming and requires people to make extra space in their house for different kinds of bins. Even in the building that I live in, many people told me that they don’t care about recycling and just trash everything in all the bins; however, I still recycle everything in my house and put them in the corresponding bins outside our building. No matter what the government does with those, I feel better because at least I am doing the right thing.
I do care about about companies being plastic neutral or making changes in their production to produce recyclable products as I always try to get the most environmental-friendly option for every product. I will also have to agree with Joe as Grove Collaborative’s purpose in being plastic-neutral and promising to be plastic-free in the future was well-intentioned. However, I believe they could imitate action rather than giving promises, since we never know what the industry and the world might be by then. I can also see how their statement about recycling rate can be misleading to some yet I have to give them credit for educating people and doing their best as there are many companies out there who are not even putting any effort into this issue.
I only buy celebrity endorsed products if the product is clothing, if I trust the celebrity, or if they use the product daily and are convincing about its benefits. As I have to celebrity cousins, I see many brands sending them their products for them to advertise and I personally know that they do not use or choose most of the products they send on a daily basis. Thus, I don’t personally trust celebrity endorsed products.
I don't usually buy celebrity things, since I think that the real good item doesn't need celebrity advertising. These days, celebrities don't have credibility with the public anymore, and most of the things they endorse they won't be using in their daily lives, which does not gain our trust. For the Grove Collaborative, I think it's a great idea to reduce plastics. Plastic neutral is somehow the best idea so far we can think of for reducing, even though it has some problems, but as someone stated already, it is a good start. As long as many begin to make the effect of reducing using plastics, the idea of the plastic-free can happen for the utilize plastics and achieve the affordable way.
For the mask example, these days, people don't really care about recycling with that. People often get lazy on this kind of tiny thing in their lives.
Plastic is more convenient for other things, and I think people are going with the mass trend. When people hear that only 9% of plastic is recycled, lazy people will continue to use plastic with impunity, and not much of it is recycled anyway. I'm lazy sometimes, too. So I occasionally make up excuses like, "I don't need to do it every time because someone else does. While the "plastic-neutral" narrative is confusing and perhaps even misleading to many, I think the Grove Collaborative's mission is well-intentioned, and I think it's just the beginning of what the Grove Collaborative is doing to become plastic-neutral and commit to a plastic-free future. I think it's just the beginning, and he's helping us remind people to recycle plastic. I think in most cases, there are still a lot of companies that aren't even making any effort to reduce their plastic use and reduce their carbon footprint. But again, the promise of a plastic-free future is too absolute, and the future is a long road with no end in sight, so it's easy to lose motivation to keep going.
I usually don't buy anything from celebrities, there are too many problems with celebrity endorsement ads, they are just out to make money and don't consider if the product will help the customer in any way, I don't think really good stuff needs celebrity ads, and it doesn't gain our trust.
I can see that as a possibility. People go to great lengths to avoid doing things they find difficult, annoying, and useless. A company being plastic neutral does not make any difference to me. I was actually unfamiliar with this term and had to look it up. Being committed to becoming plastic-free in the future is a phrase that holds no water—anyone can promise to do things in the future. I want to see action now. I don't think Drew Barrymore is all that influential. However, I don't take advice from people because they are famous. I do not buy celebrity-endorsed products.
I am torn on this issue because on the one hand I want to be part of the environmentalists, I try not to use plastic bags, and I recycle the bottles of bottled water that I am used to, because when I buy them, the merchant takes a deposit from me, so when I recycle the plastic bottles, those deposits are refunded to me. It's not much, but it's a way to contribute to the cause of environmental protection.
On the other hand, I would like to see the paper straws from McDonald's replaced with the original plastic versions. Because straws made of paper get soft quickly, and when they get soft, they get a little nasty, and in that respect I think plastic straws are better.
Tonya Ongko
I think the same thing will happen here. If people hear that only 9% of plastic gets recycled, they will most definitely use it as an excuse to recycle less. I say this because of a few reasons. One being that since 9% seems like such a small number, people will deem it as insignificant and minimal. But if people actually put it in retrospect and put things into perspective, they will contribute regardless of the statistics. Therefore, our contribution and acts to recycling is becoming regressive instead of progressive for these exact reasons. Because their initial reaction to 9% is so trivial, they will rather steer away from helping the planet. They will start doubting their contributions as they think that their help would not make a difference. But in actuality, every help counts – and people haven't been able to process this. It is like a domino effect – when they start thinking their help won't make a difference, every other person will be thinking the same thing. As a result, no impact will be made.
As for buying celebrity endorsed products, I don’t always purchase things because they are promoted by a celebrity. But I usually purchase products when they are endorsed by a particular celebrity I follow or view as credible. So at the end of the day, it depends on which influencer or celebrity I am tracking. If it’s one I sort of idolize or look up to, I may be more influenced to buy the products they endorse as opposed to any celebrity. For instance, I really like Hailey Bieber’s style and skin. Therefore, I am always interested in the clothes or brands she wears and uses but I don’t necessarily buy it also because they may not be affordable. With skincare I am a little more skeptical and careful because it’s health and I am very particular with my skin. Hence, regardless of the celebrity endorsements and brands, I make sure to delve into the ingredients that are used and to ensure if they suit my skin.
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