On Target...or not.

[Mythsaje]

As many of you might know, my day job is as a sales floor team member at my local Target store. In general I don't mind the job. I enjoy the contact with people and, though they don't pay all that well, Target's a generally decent company to work for.

Tonight they had me in Health and Beauty, which is everything from cosmetics to the diapers. It's one of my least favorite places in the store to work, but I must admit I'm not alone in that. No one really likes that area.

One of the primary reasons, in my opinion, is the hair care and mouth care aisles. There are literally HUNDREDs of different varieties of shampoo out there. And toothpaste? Don't get me started.

Okay, I've already started.

Why do we need several hundred brands of shampoo, hand soap, and toothpaste? Well, to be honest, we don't. As far as I can tell, except for the occasional accidental poisoning incident, there's no noticable difference between Colgate and Crest. For example. They all have dozens of varieties, ranging from "tartar control" to "extra whitening," which, in my opinion, have yet to be validated. All I want out of a toothpast is general cleaning and fresher breath.

And shampoo? We have Nexxus, Suave, Pantene, Herbal Essenses, Dial, and several others I can't remember at the moment. All of them with THEIR varieties, for dry hair, oily hair, curly hair, straight hair, bodiless hair (which explains all that hair I see floating around unnattached to bodies day after day), and who knows what else kind of hair.

Bleh. We're drowning in a sea of consumable goods. Stuff we use, wash away, and then go out and buy again. Shampoo, hand-soap, body-soap, hair gel, hair-spray, deodorant, anti-perspirant (am I the only one bothered by the idea of preventing our bodies from perspiring?). And that's without even getting into the SEVERAL hundred different colors of hair dye under an assortment of brand labels.

We are drowning in a sea called "the illusion of choice." It's all clever packaging and advertisement, each product competing against one another with very, very little to separate them. No wonder most people don't get politics. On some level they have become little more than consumers, completely captivated by the packaging and assuming that the contents are more or less the same. In hair care products, that's pretty much the case. In human beings, not so much.

It's in looking down these aisles full of crap we don't need that I have my least comforting view of the human race, or, at the very least, this American society. We accept the illusion of choice over the real thing and ignore the things in which we really DO have a choice, and where it really matters.

Pretty sad when you think about it.

[Swamp Rat]

1. Great post.

I buy the cheapest shampoo - Suave. I'm not particlar about toothpaste, but if I can choose - Aqua Fresh.

If I were rich, I'd buy organic stuff.... I miss Brazil, where I could buy organic products for less than brand name crap here. :(

[emilyg]

2. R

By the time I get through looking at all the choices - am too damn tired to buy. Good post.

[saracat]

3. Well, I gotta tell Ya, there is a huge difference in products!

Especially tootpaste.I buy the "extra whitening kind that is in a locked case.I guess they steal it.Ity costs a bit more but it is worth it.It works.And I buy shapoo at Ulta because I need one that adds color.All products aren't equal.And as for anti perperent, I couldn't live without it and some of the chep brands make me smell like cat pp! I can only wear Mitchum or Dove.I don't know why.Must be chemical.I think we need many products because we all have differnt needs! Not everything works the same for everyione.Viva La Differeance!

[Mythsaje]

4. Well, it may be argued

that you DON'T need shampoo with hair color or the extra-whitening toothpaste. You've been convinced you NEED them, certainly. Quite well, it would seem.

Throughout most of history, people got by just fine without any of these things. There are natural products that work for soap and clean quite effectively. I know this because I happen to know a woman who makes her own soap. Sells it, in fact. She had her own shop until health issues recently forced her to close it.

[saracat]

6. Well, I want to look better than just "clean" and people had yellow

or black teeth for years and grey dull hair.My haircolr "washes" out if I use regular shampooand my teeth definately yellow without extra whitening power.I suppose I could live without them but I sure wouldn't feel as good, or look as good.I need all the help I can get! LOL!

[NeedleCast]

18. You don't need electricity, or lots of other things

but they're, you know, kinda nice to have.

I get what you're saying in your political comparison and agree with you. The older I get, the more and more I'm convinced that I'm voting for the same person with a different name (although, assuming Hillary wins the democratic nomination, it'll be what, 20 years since we had a president who didn't have one of two last names).

Still, choice is a good thing. It's choice that means your local library and bookstores are stocked with thousands of titles. It's choice that means I can decide if I want my canned peas in the 6 oz, 12 oz or 24 oz can. It's choice that allows me to decide if I want my Coca-Cola without caffine, without caffine and calories, with lime, with lemon, with cherry, or with cherry and vanilla.

Throught history people have gotten by fine without lots of things. That doesn't mean they would chose to have gotten by without them if given a choice.

[RebelOne]

13. There are so many shampoo choices at Ulta

that it makes your head spin.

[Neoma]

5. Materialistic values suck.

[Nicole]

7. Need vs. Want

Maybe people don't need all those choices but they want them.

I'm sure you don't need your computer but you want it.

[Mythsaje]

8. Without a computer, I would have never been published...

Considering it's all I ever wanted to do in life...

If it's merely "want," it's sure as hell bordering on "need."

[Nicole]

9. Why not?

Plenty of things were published before computers were invented.

[Mythsaje]

10. Let's just say

I wouldn't have written and published five books in less than five years. Everything my publisher does is through e-mail, including the whole editing process.

And since most of the big houses are either ONLY concentrating on their current stables, or trolling the small press and e-publishers for new talent, the chances of me having been published without this particular technological marvel are pretty damned slim.

[Nicole]

11. That's still a want though.

Your publisher wants to do everything through email, they don't need to. If email didn't exist they would find other ways to do it wouldn't they?


Or in the words of a better writer than me ;)


"Throughout most of history, people got by just fine without any of these things."


That said, I know the computer makes it easier, faster, etc. I wouldn't want to give up mine.
I also don't want to give up my choice for minty fresh breath or extra body shampoo.

[tblue37]

15. No, they are persuaded that they want them,

but since they didn't want them until they were forced to make so many choices. . . .

Besides, almost everyone I ever talk to complains that they DON'T want so many choices. I have even gotten essays from the occasional student in my English 101 classes complaining about the frustration of all those choices.

[David__77]

12. Um, as a former Target employee...

...I must say that I think it's fine that there's a large selection of items in that section. The things I like, say, for antiperspirant, are not the most popular. We really should have 12 fragrances, and aerosol, solid stick, gel stick, and so on. There are reasons for all. If there were not consumer demand, the product will fail, as did, for instance, non-antiperspirant deodorants, which didn't survive the 90s, except in health outlets.

In the early 90s I used to scan the shelves for out of stock items and I'd stock just those items if we had backstock. It always made me mad how disorganized health and beauty was, but I never minded straightening it out.

[tblue37]

14. The myriad of "choices" in these products is even more

frustrating because even when you figure out which variety of a product you prefer, the brand goes and changes all the varities and their names--or it discontinues the one you are accustomed to, and you have to take the time and trouble to figure out which of the newly named versions you want.

This happened with my hair color and my shampoo and conditioner. It takes time I can't spare out of my busy day to stand there and red ingredients and what each product is supposed to do. And if I choose wrong, I end up with hair like straw, colored like a clown.

Same with toothpaste. I hate the taste of the ones with peroxide. My stomach is always a bit delicate in the mornings, and that taste can actually make me throw up. But a lot of times I will get home with the wrong toothpaste and end up having to throw it out, because it has peroxide or some other flavor that makes me queasy.

Also, when I brush my teeth, I want my mouth to feel fresh, not as though I have just chewed a mouthful of cinnamon candies!

[Mark Twain Girl]

16. "There's no noticable difference between Colgate and Crest" - the illusion of choice

Choice between a couple of huge corporations, lots of stuff from the same couple of companies on the shelves, 10 different fragrances, we have choice, we are free, what's on television tonight?

[leftofthedial]

17. commie

[formercia]

19. A Nation of Stuff

The more varieties they have, the more you try, the more they sell. 'Bout the time you find the one you like, they change it or cease to produce it and you have to start over. Gotta find the 'one'.

[ThomCat]

20. "the illusion of choice"

Very well said.

Meaningless consumer choices are emphasised so that people won't notice the lack of political and economic choices we have left. The people at the top make sure we are so buried in choices we don't notice that none of them matter.

This also supports the myth of the free market. "See, letting the market control everything puts you in charge." But you're still spending money, to get even basic needs met. The profit still rises to the few people at the top. And you're left with nothing but marketting and advertising to inform you of what your choices are and what it all means.

x(

[Dora]

21. Happy to K&R.

More and more people are waking up to this. Thanks for putting it out there.

:hi:

[Zookeeper]

22. K&R. Excellent. n/t

[never cry wolf]

23. I had a very similar thought a few months ago

I was in the toothpaste aisle and it suddenly dawned on me that the R&D budget for the scientists and chemists who develop the product must be dwarfed in comparison to the budget put forth for marketing and packaging. Why does a person choose to purchase one brand over another? They would all seem to do the trick but the packaging and marketing is what sells the product, for the most part, moreso than the product itself.

[formercia]

25. and we all pay extra for marketing and packaging.

The actual toothpaste is a small fraction of the total cost.


Then we have to get rid of the packaging.


How about good quality generics in a plain, biodegradable wrapper.

Tom's had a good product, they became successful and sold out to the big boys.

[zippy890]

24. But I HAVE to have System Biolage shampoo with xtra

conditioning for color-treated hair with gingko extract for highlights.

Why? well, because its there in that beautiful package, and it will make me beautiful.....
:silly: <---hmm, must get some Bedhead radical hair control gel with ultra slickening

But seriously,

The aging boomer generation, especially women (I am one of them) are a mighty market force to be TARGETED by cosmetic companies. I am a bit appalled when I hear the amounts of money we (aging female boomers) are dishing out for cosmetics, cosmetic surgery etc.What price beauty? Come on sisters, can't we grow old gracefully without shelling out millions of dollars on this unnecessary crap?

...Well, thanks for the post- gave me a way to get THAT out!

[SoCalDem]

28. I must be the epitome of the anti-consumer..

Right now I am using up some old shampoo I found in the back of a cupboard.. has a 79cent sticker on it.. (I just want clean hair..don't much care what it looks like :)..)
We do swear by Dial yellow soap, though..

We still have 2 "wedding present towels" left too
(wedding was 3-1-70)..and a few sheets too from wedding presents

My tee towels are from my mother-in-law's stash..circa 1950-something..

I am still using bakeware that my aunt gave me in 1970-something..

Consumerism is the ONLY thing that makes our economy run, folks.. If more people were like me, there would be NO Targets, Walmarts etc,,

[saracat]

30. Sorry but I will NEVER "grow old gracefully"They will have to drag

me kicking and screaming! And I honestly don't see anything great about being a frump.But hey that just me.I await the flames saying I am vain and egocentric.

[K8-EEE]

26. Household cleaning products = the dumbest aisle in any store...

Especially since vinegar and baking soda will clean just about any surface in your house. No, you need a special cleaner for the toilet, another one for the floor, and one for countertops. And all the perfumey stuff to put in the laundry -- it can give you a rash!

I have to admit I love the sandalwood spray cleaner from Trader Joes....but you can use it for everything, windows included. I just can't get behind a cleaner that is marketed for one purpose!

[Mythsaje]

27. Another fine example of rampant overkill...

Thank you

[K8-EEE]

29. Thanks for your post

We are so bombarded with messages to consume, consume, consume that it is lovely to see a down-to-earth post such as yours. Very well written too.

Happy Friday to you!

[DemGa]

31. Deodorant Stones

They're cheap, they last forever (okay, a really long time), and they make you scentless without chemicals. If you don't already know about these, you can thank me later.

[blues90]

32. One more reason I hate shopping

It's not that I don't what I want , it's that it takes forever to find each product hidden within the thousands of others like it . I get dizzy looking .

I recall the days where things were a hell of alot simpler . I doubt each product is much different than another . I will never understand why they need 5,000 choices in tooth paste . Just put all the best of one brand in the same damn tube . Then there is gel and paste to add to it all .

The world has gone crazy , no doubt about it .

[KingofNewOrleans]

33. The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

A pretty prominent book has been written on this topic

http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005688