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Source: ONE News -
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Saving money during the recession may actually help the planet.
It appears that New Zealanders green values are not going down the drain as the recession hits Kiwi pockets.
A marketing and social trends company did a survey last year of nearly 800 households nationwide, as the recession started to hit home. It showed two thirds only bought "eco friendly" products if the price was right.
"What we see as a trend to eco frugality where people are looking for a kind of a win-win situation, good for me, good for the planet," says Jill Caldwell, a social trends analyst.
Anecdotal evidence suggests more Kiwis are growing their own veges, driving more economical cars, using public transport and bartering goods - in general Kiwis are "consuming" less.
"The less we use, the more we resuse, the more we repair the better the more we recycle the better," says Cath Wallace, environmental economist.
One of those benefiting from the recycling is Geeks on Wheels. Repairs are keeping the computer fix-it company on the road during the recession.
"Rather than spending several thousand dollars on a new computer package they would rather spend a couple of hundred dollars on getting their system spring cleaned and upgraded," says Matthew Carr-Gomm, Geeks on Wheels.
They are having to recruit more technicians to keep up with unprecedented demand.
With people doing a lot less shopping as people repair their goods rather than replace them, it means less waste at the country's landfills.
But is the recession an opportunity to change for the better?
"I think what we need to do now is to think about how do we
green our way out of the recession and that means changing both our
consumption and our investment decisions to be more sustainable,"
says Wallace.
