It's Easier When We Work Together

A recent experiment has shown people are more likely to take green actions when they believe others are taking these measures as well. This study, which will be published in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, tested hotel guests' willingness to reuse their bath towels.

As all you green people know, using your hotel bath towels once and then leaving them to be washed is a big waste of resources like water and electricity. Just because it seems like a clean new towel appears like magic doesn't mean that it is magic. A green-minded individual will save his or her towel for reuse, and many hotels have been encouraging this practice because it saves them resources and saves the environment as well.

In this study, some hotel bathrooms reminded guests to save their towels with a card that said, "Help Save the Environment." Other rooms included a card that said, "Join Your Fellow Guests in Helping to Save the Environment."

Guests that believed others were reusing towels as well saved their towels 44% of the time, compared to 35% of guests who received a generic message. Rooms with a card that stated 75% of guests reused their towels reused at an even higher rate. 

Going green with others makes every action you take that much more meaningful. Guests in this hotel no longer saw their decisions as affecting a single towel, but as part of a collective action that was making a real difference. 

Source:

http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=FC1B957F-ECE5-FA78-69885F8 93...