Since early December, the Université de Sherbrooke is setting a tool so that we can follow the consumers’ tendencies, consumers who are ever more preoccupied by responsible goods consumption. From now on, the Medias will report these surveys and tendencies and will make a follow-up on this new responsible consumption indicator.
Indeed, the indicator tells us that most of the consumers have drasticly changed their consumption patterns during the last years, mostly buying much more eco-friendly, fair trade, organic products and this, by respect of the environment and their health. Quebecers have better consumption patterns and are also aware of recycling. The blue waste containers success shows people’s involvement, tendencies and their new environment awareness.
Surveys also show that consumers prefered to buy reusable, sustainable, recyclable, less toxic goods when they chose a product among many. Also, people are very preoccupied to reduce their energy consumption and give up ever more goods or services that do not reduce their ecological footprint. A lowest fuel consumption is an issue for most of the people.
In this line of thoughts and in this important tendency, every day people do their grocery with reusable bags, use their waste container, use compact fluorescent lamps, rechargeable batteries, make sure that their vehicle is less consuming, make sure that their new household appliances are Energy Star certified. They eat local and fresh fruit and vegetable, they use household roll towel and toilet paper made with recycled fibres, green, biodegradable, phosphorus-free domestic cleaning products. For their health, consumers ask for food without any trace of pesticides, for meat without any trace of antibiotics, etc…
All these new living habits bring up some inevitable denunciation of what is contrary to this tendency now agreed by a majority of people. The old noisy and smoky snowmobile is not tolerated anymore and is now the perfect target for this majority of consumers who are ever more environment responsible.
This is why the snowmobile industry and the snowmobilers must also follow this tendency and change their images. As for cars, products have advanced and will keep on technologically evolve. Not more than we are talking about eliminating cars, the snowmobile manufacturers offer products that are adjusted to respect these tendencies. They will not have the choice to go on; otherwise, snowmobile will be ever more contested.
Riding habits must also change. People’s tranquility respect by using more silent snowmobiles, the elimination of the aggressive riding outside race tracks, the respect of property, proximity, residents and animal reserves must now be a constant preoccupation for the user.
Fishermen have learned to respect their quota, then in a second wave, to put back in water part of their capture. They understood that it was a survey issue for their sport. Snowmobilers will have to go through such important changes and this, very quickly. Otherwise, access to lands will shut down and constraints will become unbearable, the wide network will become ever more divided then will disappear.
Adaptation is better than disappearance. Snowmobilers are sure no dinosaurs.
