Live Earth and Incipio

Today is the day the biggest names in music reached out to the rest of us in an attempt to bring light to what I think may be the most important issue we face as a population, Global Warming. The climate crisis we all face and how we can do simple things in our everyday lives to better our chances of survival.  That’s right – I didn’t say “guarantee our chances” or “maybe prevent global warming”  I said to better our chances for survival – I’m convinced that we as a species, are on our way out and the only thing we can blame are ourselves.

Fun stuff huh?  Not really – It makes me angry to see what we – yours truly included, have done to everything around us.  From the products we buy to the way we make those purchases, from the homes we live in to the vehicles we drive and to the way we care for and dispose of these items.

See, we are in the business of producing accessories for devices that we as a population feel are “indispensable” – many of the accessories we make are designed to prolong these gadgets life by protecting them from the elements.  Most people purchase accessories because they made an investment in a device and they don’t want to see that investment go to waste prematurely .  I would say very few people purchase our cases because by prolonging the life of their mobile phone or MP3 player it’s going to keep the landfills that much emptier.  But it would be nice if that’s how it worked and that was the way people viewed the devices they owned.  Now, I speak mostly for the people in the US.  This job, what I do, has afforded me the luxury throughout the years to travel extensively.  With that said, I’ve seen how people in Europe, the UK, Asia, South America (basically everywhere) make purchases and live their lives.  We, in the US and A like to buy multiple this and multiple that and dump our perfectly fine stuff in the trash as soon as a new one comes out. I’m as guilty of this as anyone else.  

People in other countries own one   “1”   device - Not and MP3 player, a phone, a digital camera, a video camera, a PDA and an alarm clock.  It’s weird to see people in other countries make purchases of mobile devices – They take time, ask questions, read and get help from an in store expert and use their devices till they are basically dead and then get them serviced.  We in the USA run through Best Buy and grab whatever is on ad or the newest thing on the shelf and if it gets a scratch or begins to act funny, we toss them in the trash.

I don’t want to preach at you or anyone for that matter, but I do want people to know that it’s something we should think about and consider as we make purchases and decisions.  Throughout the years I’ve done very little to lessen the impact of my ways. Like I said before, I’m just as guilty as anyone that’s ever walked the face of the earth.  However, reducing my “Carbon Footprint” from this day forward is something that is going to be a priority for me and Incipio.  We will work towards less packaging, reusable bags, more “earth first” products like our eco|CASE for iPhone and hopefully a few products aimed directly at the issue of global warming. If this, or the day has had any affect on you, I commend you and hope we keep in mind what’s really happening around us.