Snow Shovels and Ethics

At first glance, one may wonder what snow shovels or snow blowers have anything to do with the ethics of the household and personal products industry. However, a closer look will reveal that one can actually reveal a lot about the other. Snow has always existed and has always been something that people have to deal with. It often traps people in their homes, keeps them from getting to work, and ruins travel plans. So what is being done to end this problem of large amounts of snow? Well, nothing can be done to change weather patterns or how could it gets outside, but something can be done about how we deal with the snow that falls. In the past people had two options, shovel the snow or let it melt. Now though, there exist a multitude of snow-clearing machines, such as "the Snow Joe, the Sno-Thro, the SnoBoss, [and] the Sno Wovel." More and more companies are coming up with new ways for people to get rid of snow quickly, easily, and less painfully. As people age, it often becomes more difficult for them to shovel snow, but now there are snowblowers with heated handles, new kinds of snow shovels that are easier to use, and even self-melting driveways and sidewalks for the bigger spenders. Consumers want products that make their lives easier. The household and personal products industry seeks to create prodcuts that consumers will buy and so it is their duty to produce products that will make life easier. It makes sense for them to create products that are helpful to their buyers because then their profits will increase. Rather than worry about creating a product that will cost more and earn them more profit, the industry faces challenges of coming up with products that will help people. One woman, Barbara Krashnack, "bought seven SnoBoss shovels--three for herself and four to give as gifts." The consumers will buy helpful products and they will buy a lot of them. There will be less consequences for the companies to face in the long run if they make better, more helpful products now.

Work Cited: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576089904229906370.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_HomeNGarden#articleTabs%3Darticle