Consumer Creativity and Its Implications for Sustainability Marketing

Time is of the essence. Now is the time to encourage policymakers and consumers alike to adopt a creative mindset, allowing them to envision innovative ways of engaging in environmentally responsible consumption. Why seek more creative problem-solving approaches in the area of environmental sustainability? Despite the best efforts of environmental advocates, educators, and policymakers to encourage sustainable behavior, many parts of the United States struggle to meet their environmental goals. As an example, New York City "recycles about 16 percent of its residential trash, falling short of the 25 percent goal specified in its recycling law" (Navarro, 2009). The total amount of municipal solid waste discarded in landfill in the United States, after accounting for recycling efforts, was virtually the same in 2007 as it was 1960, approximately 2.5 pounds per person a day (EPA, 2007). Although the United States recycles more trash today than 50 years ago, more household waste is sent to landfill than in 1960 due to population growth and greater consumption. Experts and researchers alike believe "the seriousness of environmental degradation, the clear depletion of and constraints to natural resources" urgently require change (Press & Arnould, 2009).