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Daily ExpressSunday, October 12, 2014Consumer30 Your Local Voice

CONSUMERS live in an age whereeverything gets thrown away. Fromdisposable cameras to disposable

diapers, few products marketed are madeto last. But what many don’t realise is thatthis throw-away world was largely made bydesign. Manufacturers call it “plannedobsolescence”. Find out how this trendaffects not only your pocketbook, but alsothe environment.

Not MMeant tto LLastCreating products that aren’t meant to

last is a very viable business strategy as thismeans that consumers will need to buyreplacement products. Consider thestraight razor that your great grand-father used or the cloth diapersthat your great grandmotherprobably made for her chil-dren.

If you can find it and sharpen it, thatrazor can still be used today and those dia-pers were probably used for multiple chil-dren and then put to further use soppingup spilled milk or scrubbing floors. In morerecent years, those long-lived products havebecome bad news for companies that needto sell more products this year than last yearto keep their stock prices high.

In a more modern context, considervideogames. Old games, like Pong, could beplayed over and over again. Today’s games,like the popular Grand Theft Auto series,have a beginning and an end. Once you“beat the game” you need to buy the nextinstallment in the series. The same conceptapplies to computer software.

If you call Microsoft and try to get sup-port for Windows 98, a once expensiveproduct that still works just fine on manycomputers, you’ll be told that it is nolonger supported. It’s not that the productdoesn’t work, it’s that the company wantsyou to buy the latest and greatest version ofwhatever they’re selling.

More durable goods, such as automo-biles and cellular telephones, present a big-ger challenge to manufacturers. While newcars may not seem to be built to last like carswere in the 1950s, improving warranties atleast conveys the impression of quality.

But even if the quality of newer cars iscomparable, manufacturers still try totempt drivers into buying new cars by com-ing out with new styles every few years. Cellphones follow the same script.

If you don’t have newest, thinnest, mostfeature-packed model, advertisers tell youthat you are hopelessly out of style. To keepup with the Joneses, you need to replaceyour existing model - regardless of whetherit still works – with a new one.

Building low quality products alsoresults in higher profit margins for manu-facturers. Using throw-away materials notonly guarantees a repurchase of the sameitem (in a new model, with more features, ata higher price), but the cost savings also endup being pure profit for the manufacturer.

Most consumers are so acclimated to theprocess that they don’t even think about it.After all, advertising has taught us that newis good and that old isn’t. So, we spend,

spend and spend some more until, in theworst case scenario, even our creditorswon’t let us buy anything else.

The CCostThis “out with the old, in with the new”

lifestyle has a tremendous cost. Not only isyour wallet continuously emptied as yourlimited supply of dollars chases an endlesssupply of new and updated products, butmany people fall victim to making theirpurchases on credit once they run out ofavailable cash.

Unfortunately, using credits cards is aneasy way to put a serious dent in yourfinances.

Personal finances aside, there is also anenvironmental price to pay for con-sumerism. Constant manufacturing of newand unnecessary products uses up rawmaterials and contributes to pollution,impacting the quality of the water we drinkand the air we breathe. The products them-selves end up in landfills, taking up spacethat is often at a premium.

Voluntary SSimplicityCombating the costs of our disposable

society is a major challenge, but there areways to fight back. The Amish, often noticedfor their style of dress and lack of focus onmaterial goods, are the most visible repre-sentatives of the modern-day voluntarysimplicity movement. They eschew modernconveniences and luxury items in favor of asimpler way of living.

While nobody expects you to ridearound in a horse and buggy, there aresteps you can take to minimize your partic-ipation in our consumer-focused societyand, in the process, bolster your personalfinancial situation.

A few of these easy methods include:● Buy durable goods whenever possible.● Ignore or stop style-driven purchases.

If it’s a choice between cheap stuff that willneed to be replaced or better items that willlast, spend the extra dollars in the shortterm to save money over the long run. Froma style perspective, wearing your grand-mother’s hand-me-downs may not bepractical, but trading in your cell phone orMP3 player for no better reason than that itis new is not only unnecessary, it’s alsoexpensive

● Recycle whenever possible. To reduceyour personal impact on the environment,recycle. Everything from newspaper totoner cartridges can be reused. Also, be sureto donate old eyeglasses, cell phones andcomputers instead of throwing them away.

Speaking of reusable items, take yourown reusable, cloth bag with you when yougo to the grocery store (many stores nowcharge a small fee for each plastic bag youuse) or, at the very least, choose paper overplastic, and then recycle the paper.

● Grow your own garden. This will cutdown on your trips to the grocery store, sav-ing money on both gas and food.

● Make your home green. Using low-flow shower heads, compact fluorescentlight bulbs and other energy-efficientdevices will help your budget in addition tothe environment.

● Use public transportation when possi-ble. If you must drive, consider a fuel-effi-cient car. Carpooling is another good wayto reduce both the financial and environ-mental impacts of traveling.

● Downsize where you can. You may likethe souped-up 4x4 gas-guzzling monsteryou’ve been driving to the mall, and youmay like the convenience of buying pre-cooked dinners in bulk, but the excessmoney and material costs going into thesepurchases will have a huge impact on yourbottom line. In this respect, the biggest one-time choice you can make is to downsizeyour home.

Get SStarted TTodayIgnore the siren song of runaway spend-

ing. Forget about owning the latest styles,biggest houses or flashiest cars. Instead,make your financial situation your top pri-ority. Your pocket book will breathe a sighof relief when you make the effort – andyou may be able to reduce your impact onthe environment in the process.

A huge house is going to generate higher property taxes, obscene utility costs, bigger insurance bills, more visits from repairmen, extra trips to Home Depot,

and cash – or plastic – to buy furniture and other stuff to fill up the rooms.

Is austerity creating thesustainable consumers?

SIXTY-six percent of Americans own cell phones and, by the end of the year, nearly25 percent of families will be watching a high-definition TV. When you read statis-tics like this, it’s only natural to contemplate how fortunate we are to live in a pros-perous country where we can drive sport utility vehicles with heated seats andretrieve e-mail on electronic devices that are lighter than a peach pit.

But the sort of statistics that point to our ability and desire to own cool stuff alsohint at something more ominous about our financial priorities. While 67 percent ofAmerican households have connected their TVs to cable, only 41 percent of familieshave an individual retirement account.

In tax year 2004, only 17 percent of families bothered to contribute to their IRAs.Meanwhile, 52 percent of workers, according to the annual Retirement ConfidenceSurvey, have saved less than $25,000.

Cycle oof sspendingAmericans’ desire for the good life has grown beyond their ability to pay for it,

and the real estate market is a good place to witness the phenomenon. It wasn’tthat many years ago when the average house was about 1,600 square feet.

But those are practically dollhouse proportions compared with what theNational Association of Home Builders says is the typical size of a new home today– more than 2,300 square feet.

What’s wrong with this sort of “affluenza”? Nothing, if it doesn’t trap you inthe direct path of the financial buzz saw that awaits many Americans as they headtoward retirement. When people get accustomed to a cycle of spending, they toooften neglect saving.

A huge house is going to generate higher property taxes, obscene utility costs,bigger insurance bills, more visits from repairmen, extra trips to Home Depot, andcash – or plastic – to buy furniture and other stuff to fill up the rooms.

A trip to nearly any grocery store provides overwhelming evidence thatAmericans are happily paying outrageous prices for convenience.

In produce departments, for instance, you’ll find large areas now devoted tosuch things as bags of celery sticks, pre-washed lettuce mixes, sliced apples, pineap-ple spears and cut watermelon and cantaloupe. You can even buy a cellophane-wrapped package containing one small chopped onion. The cost: $2.49.

Skewed iideasPerhaps people are spending carelessly because they hold skewed ideas of what

it takes to live comfortably in retirement.In the latest annual Retirement Confidence Survey, which is released by the

Employee Benefit Research Institute, 32 percent of Americans think they can retirewith less than $250,000. Dream on. Plenty of Americans believe they don’t have tosave because they are holed up in their own Fort Knox.

But Henry K. Hebeler, author of J.K. Lasser’s Your Winning Retirement Plan andthe founder of www.analyzenow.com, insists that the theory that homeownersdon’t have to save when housing prices are escalating is as bogus as the excuse weheard during the feverish rise of the dot-coms.

Back then, some experts encouraged un-checked consumerism by suggesting thatpeople didn’t need to save because Wall Street’s fangs had been pulled and ourinvestments were growing on autopilot. “Then the market fell and we didn’t hearfrom these economists again until the recent escalation of home prices,” Hebelersays. If you aren’t where you want to be financially, there are ways to play catch-up.Stop buying stuff with credit cards. Examine how you can curb your consumption –in big and small ways. You can start by peeling your own carrots. If you know yo u ’ l lneed cash from your house to support your retirement, it’s best to downsize nowrather than wait. For free retirement planning tools, visit www.analyzenow.com.

Turning consumer opinions into profitWHEN Amazon.com (AMZN) first beganletting customers post reviews of prod-ucts in 1995, many people thought theInternet retailer had lost its marbles.

Letting consumers rant about prod-ucts in public was a recipe for retail sui-cide, critics thought. Now, almost 15years later, customer reviews are as com-mon as hyperlinks, and a retail Web sitethat does not have feedback loops is con-sidered passé or irrelevant.

In fact, more than 5 million consumershave posted tens of millions of reviews onAmazon.com, says the Seattle company.

Amazon’s review program reflects anew reality for the way consumers shop inthe Digital Age: The Internet has becomethe world’s greatest research tool, andconsumers hardly buy anything anymorewithout first getting the skinny online.

Some 70pc of Americans say they con-sult product reviews or consumer ratingsbefore making a purchase, according toan October 2008 survey by Penn, Schoen& Berland Associates, a research and con-sulting firm.

Amazon has played a central role in thechange in consumer behavior by being thefirst successful Web retailer to embraceconsumers’ views. “What we try to spendour time on is harnessing customer pas-sion,” says Russell Dicker, Amazon.com’ssenior manager of community.

Tapping tthe ccommunityBesides its review program,

Amazon.com has created scores of com-munity-based features on its Web sitethat help drive sales. In 1999 it unveiledWish Lists, allowing people to share theirfavorite products. Hundreds of thou-sands of people have publicised millionsof items on their lists.

In 2005, Amazon.com launched cus-tomer discussion areas for specific prod-ucts. And in 2006 the company createddiscussion hubs that allow consumers togab about a wider range of topics, such asvideo production, Harry Potter, or yoga.

All told, Amazon rolls out 50 communityfeatures on its site every year.

“ We spend a lot of time looking atwhat customers are doing and seeingwhat they are saying,” says Dicker.

Executives at Amazon currently arefocused on increasing the relevance ofcustomer-generated content throughsoftware enhancements. One effort isaimed at offering more localized infor-mation.

So if you are shopping for a TV, a listingfor nearby TV installation services mightpop up.

Another effort is geared to improvingthe relevance of consumer opinions. Oneexample launched in September: a fea-ture that highlights the ratings of specificproduct attributes.

A review of a digital camera, for exam-ple, will now include ratings of key fea-tures such as battery life or picture quali-ty. Click on the attribute, and it serves upall the reviews addressing that feature.“ We want to make it more and more con-venient for people to find the right prod-ucts,” says Dicker.

For Amazon.com, community is notjust a way to tap into consumer desires. Italso provides a competitive advantage. Byamassing one of the world’s largest col-lections of consumer opinions, the sitehas become a leading source of productreviews.

And those reviews are a valuable mag-net that lures more consumers to its Website. “You increasingly look at Amazonfor reviews,” says Sebastian Thomas,head of U.S. Technology Research at RCMCapital Management, an investment firmwith a stake in the company.

“It will be hard for someone else tobuild that scale.”

Retail experts say one of the most pro-found changes in consumer behaviorover the past few years is the emergenceof such information-based shoppers.

Typically, they are educated workerswith broadband connections who arestrapped for time and suspicious of TVads. So they increasingly shop online.“The biggest change is the amount ofresearch consumers are doing before theyleave their houses,” says Paul Ryder,

Amazon.com vice-president of consumerelectronics.

The surge in online research was orig-inally driven a few years ago by high gasprices. But Ryder says information shop-ping now has more to do with the conve-nience and value offered by the Web asfrugal shoppers hunt for the best bar-gains.

Another recent shift, Ryder says, isthat consumers are doing more researchfor commodity products, such as clean-ing solutions, instead of just big-ticketitems such as a car or home.

A jjoke ggoes vviralOne example of the power of online

feedback popped up on Amazon.com inNovember 2008 when Brian Govern post-ed a satirical review of a T-shirt embla-zoned with three wolves. “This item haswolves on it, which makes it intrinsicallysweet and worth five stars by itself, butonce I tried it on, that’s when the magichappened,” he wrote.

“After checking to ensure that theshirt would properly cover my girth, Iwalked from my trailer to Wal-Mart withthe shirt on and was immediatelyapproached by women.”

No one paid much attention to thereview until it appeared on collegehu-mor.com on May 4, 2009. Then it wentviral. To date, there are nearly 1,500reviews on the Mountain Men’s ThreeWolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee, and morethan 15,000 people have voted Govern’soriginal review as “helpful.”

Although there were instances in thepast where products received thousandsof comical reviews, Amazon.com says thiswas the first time in which the jokes cata-pulted the item to best-seller status. Forseveral weeks in June and July, the T-shirtwas the No. 1 apparel item in the store.

“The breadth and depth of reviewsare very important to customers,” saysRyder. “We are using them more thanwhat salespeople or our friends tell us.”

Consumers are doing more research for commodity products, such ascleaning solutions, instead of just big-ticket items such as a car or home.

Rushing to buybefore the GSTimplementation

CONSUMERS may rush to purchase highvalue items in anticipation of possiblehigher prices when the Goods andServices Tax (GST) is implemented.

Experts from Australia and Singaporesaid this was the case when the broad-based tax was implemented in therespective countries.

“What we noticed was that manybrought forward their expenditure.Consumers are not rational so they maybuy before the GST in anticipation ofprices going up,” said Australian TaxOffice, assistant commissioner of indi-rect tax Stephen Howlin at theInternational Seminar on GST 2014.

It is, therefore, important to have anoversight body to manage complaintsand feedback on undue price increases.

In Singapore, the Committee AgainstProfiteering was established in 1994, thesame year that the GST was implementedthere, for that purpose without legislat-ing price controls.

However, in Singapore’s case, InlandRevenue Authority of Singapore taxdirector Hoe Ee Hui says profiteering didnot pose a big concern at the time ofimplementation as fast action was takenagainst it.

Singapore has a high registrationthreshold for businesses, with an annualturnover of more than S$1mil.

“It is efficient because tax can be col-lected from a small number of business-es,” she said. The higher threshold helpsmitigate the impact of GST on lowerincome groups, she added.

The GST is a stable tax system and isless volatile to economic cycles, she said.

Hoe added that for the first two yearsafter implementation of the GST,Singapore recorded negative revenue asit paid out more than it collected.

The disposable society:An expensive place to live

If you call Microsoft and try to get support for Windows 98, a once expensiveproduct that still works just fine on many

computers, you’ll be told that it is nolonger supported. It’s not that the product

doesn’t work, it’s that the company wants you to buy the latest and greatest

version of whatever they’re selling.

❛Using throw-awaymaterials not only

guarantees a repurchase of the

same item (in a newmodel, with more

features, at a higher price), but the cost

savings also end up being pure profit for the manufacturer.❜

Kan Yaw Chong

SOIL fertility and slope stabilityremain largely intact even aftergenerations of traditional

cultivation on steep slopes in Kg Tudan!So, wow, Jica-SDBEC (Japan

International Co-operation Agency-Sustainable Development forBiodiversity & Ecosystem) expertsconcluded that these hill farmers musthave done something right, thesetraditional farmers of Kg Tudan, locatedinside the buffer zone of the CrockerRange Park, in Upper Tuaran. It’s onerare antidote to the common notion thatsteep slope land use necessarily meanserosion and slope failure.

The secret apparently lies in faithfulpractice of traditional slope plantingtechnology used for centuries.

So it’s a very good living examplethat developing a sustainable society inharmony with nature is always possible !

But Tudan folks can always improve,in terms of relationship with theirenvironment.

Convinced about this, Jica-SDBEC pickedKg Tudan to develop a pilot project learn-ing site to showcase to all that sustainabledevelopment is very much possible even inthe most challenging environment, whenpeople relate to their stock of ecosystemswith understanding and wisdom!

In particular, Jica-SDBEC assures thisexemplary hamlet that they can raisesustainable use and protection of theirresources to new heights by encouragingmembers of the local community to getactively involved in the governance andmanagement, research, education, train-ing and monitoring of their stock of nat-ural capital that had formed the centralnatural means of production of their sus-tainance for ages .

A report to Daily Express three weeksago prepared by Jica makes this poignantmessage clear.

Tapping power of science to improve relationship

between human & environment

What’s new is science. Jica–SDBEChas thrown in the combined power ofnatural and social sciences with tradi-tional knowledge to further improve analready friendly relationship of Tudanfolks with their environment.

So it will be interesting to see whetherthis combined practice of proventraditional cultivation technology andmodern technology boost an even moresustainable yield of the desired flow ofproducts and services deep into thefuture , through sustainable use of

resources and the conservation that can-not and would not deplete the stock ofnatural capital that form the basic meansof production for livelihood needs.

Recycle, revive old knowledge

How does the Jica-SDBEC project planto turn Kg Tudan into a living example ofa sustainable society in harmony withnature?

One, recycling of local materials andentrench it as a system , which naturehas done for billions of years.

Two, revive and restore the use of tra-ditional knowledge , recognising thatthis is a traditional, local-based technol-ogy that works in practice .

At the same time, add more punch to itby integrating traditional knowledge withvery appropriate and innovative technolo-gy into one branding technology.

To convert this lofty goal into practice,Jica-SDBEC supports capacity building toequip the village folks with additionalunderstanding and skills , throughawareness and educational programs.

“ We recognise that communityempowerment is a driving force towardsa sustainable society,” said Jica-SDBECChief Advisor, Kazunobu Suzuki.

Carefully listening to all

“In the meantime, Jica-SDBEC payscareful attention to the decision makingprocess at the village,” he noted.

“ SDBEC is carefully listening to peo-ple and facilitating the process of com-munity-based transparent decisions , andall possible opportunities shall be givento all people equally and fairly while gen-der balance is important,” Suzuki said.

“But Jica-SDBEC as a facilitatorbelieves it is important to build up theconnection between government and thevillage to narrow the communication gapbetween agricultural extension staff andvillage folks and we organised trainingfor this,” Suzuki noted. “Jica-SDBEC iswilling to explore opportunities andoccasions for village people to developtheir sustainable society in a community-based manner,” Suzuki added .

Recycling System for livelihood improvement

“The result of soil survey indicatesthat the soil at Kg Tudan is relativelyshort of phosphorus (P), potassium (K)and calcium (Ca),” Suzuki noted.

“Considering this, SDBEC initiatedcompost demos and making compost(organic phosphorus) and biochar whereall materials used are natural localresources , such as bamboo, rotten fruits,kitchen wastes , weeds and so on, toimprove the soil condition in the vil-lage,” he added.

“In short, SDBEC aims at realizing asociety in harmony with nature by devel-oping a recycling system at Kg Tudan,”Suzuki pointed out.

“In addition, SDBEC will help theTudan community to test compost fortheir daily agriculture in the future.

We cannot wait to see whether thiscan improve productivity,” Suzuki said.

■ See PPage 112

Daily ExpressSunday, October 12, 2014 Special Report Your Local Voice 11

KKg Tg Tudan proves udan proves sustainable devt sustainable devt always possible,always possible,says Jica-SDBECsays Jica-SDBEC

Community researchers preparing household survey.

Above: Active motivated women support group of Kg Tudanwho play a key note in producing pesticide, free leafy crops.

Left: Participants of a training workshop on ParticipatoryRural Appraisal (PRA) held in Kg Tudan on August 27–28.

Nutritious Kampung fare from freshly-harvested vegetables.

Above: Young communityresearchers updating

satellite imagery.

Left: Heard of biochar? Afarmer holding a handful

of biochar produced from bamboo used

fertilise organic plots.Cleaning organic leeks with free flowing mountain free water.

Healthy organic Healthy organic vegetables grown vegetables grown in a sloping patch in a sloping patch

at Kampung Tat Kampung Tudan.udan.