10.20.2006

用問題解決問題 I

最近在市面上,出現了一些叫(Product)Red的商品。這個「運動」是為一個叫The Global Fund的機構籌款,用以對抗愛滋病、結核及瘧疾。每當消費者買一件(Product)Red的商品時,某部份的錢將會被撥入The Global Fund,用作支持非洲愛滋病計劃的基金。如一張AmericanExpress Red的信用咭,「合格消費」(eligible spending )的1%將會被撥入該基金。又如一個約二百元美金(Product)Red的iPod nano,十元將會被撥入該基金。

整個概念看來不錯:擁有名牌商品,同時亦做善事。整個概念正正被它網站裡的一句說話摘要起來:「What better way to become a good-looking samaritan?!」


讓我給予以下一些資料:


- 今年年底,北美將會有五億五千萬部未用過的手提或無線電話等待著正確的廢棄處置;而在未來數年,這數目將會以平均一年一億七千五百萬部繼續增長

- 加拿大每年平均所棄置的過時電腦、電視及手提電話的廢物,約有七萬噸(當中二萬噸被棄置在大温哥華的垃圾堆田中);當中有害物質有鉛、水銀、鎘及砷(砒霜)


- 在一份二零零二年的報告裡指出,在北美所收集循環再用的廢物中,有百分之八十的廢物是未經處理而被直接運往別的國家,如巴基斯坦、印度、中國等;而因當地廢物循環的技術仍十分落後,很多地方的土地和居民也被廢物中的有害物質影響著


這些資料和(Product)Red有何關係?
<待續>

2 comments:

Alex said...

Whoever buys this rotten idea is utterly ignorant of the human interconnetedness in this so-called "globalized" world. And whoever came up with this idea is certainly very well aware of such high ignorance level, and makes no excuse in exploiting it so shamelessly.

However, this idea is hardly original. Have you ever received flyers advertising about various fundraising lotteries? These ads are usually printed on triple-spread glossy paper, employing very colorful graphics to entice the potential buyers with the high probability of winning a brand new car or a piece of ocean front property, or, even better, cash in the pocket. If you are a meticulous person, you might be able to spot the name of the organization hidding at the lower corners of the spread. However, as to how the raised money will be used for what purpose, the marketers wasted no space for such non-value-added information. The marketer understands it is easier to exploit greed and hypocrisy than to elicit true compassion in the target audience.

And I love the line about the "good-looking samaritan"---the sheer shamelessness and arrogance of this allurement is thoroughly fascinating...

See related post: Impure Motive

Yan Yan the Pig Farmer said...

叫人非常扎心的觀察.
「不環保」,消耗大量資源以求一己之方便,
根本就是我們力谷消費的社會文化的一部份.

謝謝你寶貴的資料,我將部份引用在我的blog中,
盼能引起更多人的關注反省.