Yossi Sheffi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
InterContinental Hotels Group plans to switch miniature toiletries for bulk products, but it isn’t likely to do as much for the environment as activists might think.
Airbnb is a growing threat to the major hotel chains.
Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
It’s natural to feel powerless against climate breakdown. But transforming pain into action can be infectious, and might just tip the balance towards a healthy climate.
John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech inspired the modern consumer rights movement.
AP Photo/Bill Allen
JFK pushed consumer rights to the top of the national agenda in 1962, leading to a raft of new laws offering new protections. But without enforcement, such rights are meaningless.
The sharing economy is often romanticised as a shift away from the evils of capitalism to a more communal and socially conscious way of life. But is this simply clever marketing?
The government has been partially closed since Dec. 22, making it the second-longest shutdown on record. A finance professor who studied the 2013 shutdown explains the economic impact.
A ‘Mickey Mouse’ Christmas tree at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The commercial aspects of Christmas have assisted its embrace in non-Christian countries.
Fazry Ismail/EPA
Many people become more forgiving of poor service if there are Christmas symbols around.
Don’t fret if your kids are starting to doubt Santa’s magic. Coming to disbelieve is not particularly distressing for them and most come to their own conclusions.
Christmas is hectic, and it can be easy just to go with the flow and vow to cut your plastic use in the new year. But here are some easy steps you can take now to make your Christmas plastic-free.
Be mindful of what you get excited about, as children will model your lead.
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Hide the credit cards and instead build traditions with your kids. Supporting a child through gift disappointment is important to their emotional, cognitive and social development.
Can I get away with this amount of presents?
Voyagerix/Shutterstock
The average consumerist suburban lifestyle is unsustainable. But what if affluent suburbanites and battlers alike ditch the rat race and embrace economic ‘degrowth’? Here’s how it might unfold.
Record companies released stereo demonstration albums that showcased how sound could move from left to right, creating a sense of movement.
From the collection of Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder
Sixty years ago, stereo promised to forever change the way people listened to music. But how could record companies convince customers to buy a new record player, speakers and amplifier?
The internet makes it easier for discarded stuff to land in someone else’s home instead of the dump.
Roxy Jacenko and daughter Pixie (centre) at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in 2016. Pixie’s Instagram account has more than 100,000 followers and she has a signature line of hair bows.
Dan Himbrechts
A growing number of parents are making money out of their children by turning them into social media celebrities. But the chimera of corporate branding is no antidote for lives lived in precarious times.
Do you distrust the companies that profit from the goods and services you buy? Research suggests most of us do.
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