It has been around for a long time but it seems that charity is increasingly being built into consumer products, services and interfaces, writes Guerilla Innovation.
“Perhaps, a sign that materialism is no longer an aim in itself - consumer lifestyle must also match our increasing need for holistic meaning.
Apple’s special edition iPod RED (a part of the joinRED business model) is an example reflecting the trend. It’s cleverly designed to let consumers support a good cause, while making a fashion statement about it.
And as of February 2007 you can also get yourself a climate conscious credit card, which align your consumer behavior with a compensation mechanism. Dutch bank Rabobank is about to launch the ‘climate card’, which will look at the type of purchase you make (consumer goods, petrol etc.) and channel a proportionate sum into projects run by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The more you sin, the more you pay.”
Comments
@ 09:51
Until the early eighties, there were only two ways to commit to a humanitarian cause: fund it as a private donor or work as benevolent in a non-profit association.
Two major events have happened since them - both of them in the IT area, which is everything but a coincidence.
1.the Open Source trend
2.Bill Gates’ story
…
http://www.wouarf.com/blogtk/index.php?2006/12/21/323-a-new-framework-for-altruistic-action