The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less is a 2004 book by Barry Schwartz. In his book, he explains how the ever-growing number of choices that we have to make on a daily basis are negatively affecting our levels of satisfaction and happiness. We inherently believe that a greater number of choices will mean that we are better off. Studies now show that the more choices there are, the more likely we’ll walk away empty-handed. And when we do finally decide, we are less likely to be satisfied with the decision we’ve made. The overwhelming selection of brands create unnecessary anxiety in choosing everything from jam and salad dressing to a car and investment opportunities.

I think about these theories each time I try to choose a shampoo or laundry detergent. There are so many choices, but no real options. It doesn’t help that these over-scented chemical soaps are stinging my nostrils and hindering my ability to decide even further.

The Paradox of Choice gives some advice on how to lessen the burden of buyer anxiety. It definitely helps, for example, to know exactly what you are looking for ahead of time.
Take soap, for example. If you set out to find a product that is absolutely free of chemicals, fair trade, not tested on animals and available in bulk, you won’t waste much time comparing products. When you find it, you’ll buy it and be satisfied with your decision.
I believe that this is an example of a real option - not just the same old product in a different bottle.

Check out this video of Barry Schwartz.
Or read his book:

Debranded Home has been featured on:

Design*Sponge
NotCot
Apartment Therapy

and lots of other great blogs in the past 24 hours. We’re absolutely thrilled that our little site is getting this much attention. The majority of this attention is really positive. Thank you everyone for the great response.

But we’ve noticed some trends in the negative comments that we want to address:

1. The glass containers
There has been some concern over the photos of the frame pack because they are shown on glass containers. It’s a totally justified concern - glass in the shower doesn’t seem like a great idea. We just liked the look of them for the sake of the photos - our mistake. Please find a suitable, unbreakable container.

2. The Branding
We realize that it may seem ironic that a company whose goal is debranding is, well, branded. Our purpose is to remove advertising and visual clutter from homes but we recognize the role that marketing plays and even have an appreciation for good design. The key is that you will never find a “Debranded Home” logo in fine print right on any of our products. If you would rather make your own labels or write on the bottle with a marker, go for it. We just want to provide an nice-looking option that is super durable. These vinyl labels are graded for outdoor use and will stand up to many a shower.

3. Recycling
There seems to be some confusion about the intended use of the labels. We are definitely not saying that you should buy a product, transfer it into a debranded bottle, and then throw away/recycle the original bottle. That would be very wasteful. What we’re suggesting is to buy products in bulk. We are from a very small town and we know of two places here that allow you to bring in your own bottles to refill. That way, you have one bigger bottle that you refill (maybe keeping it under the sink) and you can fill the debranded bottle as needed. Not only do you reuse your bottles, you save money buying in bulk.

These are valid concerns so hopefully this will help.

Thanks for all your great feedback!

I used to joke that some affluent activist should buy up all the billboard space in Calgary, where I used to live, and replace the ads with giant pictures of what is directly behind the billboard - be it sky, street, or brick wall.
In São Paulo, they’ve gone a slightly different route.
In January of 2007, the Brazilian city became the first to put into effect an almost complete ban on outdoor advertising. No more banners, posters, flyers, outdoor video screens, ads on buses and trains. Some skeletal billboard frames, many of which had been erected illegally in the first place, still stand, but the ads are completely gone.
Even signs on stores have been restricted to a maximum size of 1.5 meters for every 10 meters of store frontage.
The city’s mayor, Gilberto Kassab, explained, “It is hard in a city of 11 million people to find enough equipment and personnel to determine what is and isn’t legal, so we have decided to go all the way.”
The mayor was really the driving force behind the Clean City Laws. He made it clear that he didn’t have anything against advertising itself, just with its excess. Mayor Kassab said, “The Clean City Law came from a necessity to combat pollution . . . pollution of water, sound, air, and the visual. We decided that we should start combating pollution with the most conspicuous sector – visual pollution.”
After the three-month period, fines of up to US$4,500 were handed out to those who didn’t comply. Approximately $8 million dollars in fines were handed out.
There has been a lot of backlash and legal battles from the advertising sector that predicted that $133 million in advertising revenue would be lost, and 20,000 people would lose their jobs.

Has it been a success? Vinicius Galvao, a journalist with Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest newspaper, has said, “It’s amazing, because people on the streets are strongly supporting that. The owner of the buildings, even if they have to renovate a building, they’re strongly supporting that. It’s a massive campaign to improve the city. The advertisers, they complain, but they’re agreeing with the ban. What they say is that we should have created criteria for that to organize the chaos.” Surveys have indicated that the Clean City Laws have the approval of more than 70 percent of the city’s residents.

It was hailed by writer Roberto Pompeu de Toledo as “a rare victory of the public interest over private, of order over disorder, aesthetics over ugliness, of cleanliness over trash. For once, all that is accustomed to coming out on top in Brazil has lost.”

Sources:

Business Week: The City That Said No To Advertising
BoingBoing: Sao Paulo Goes Advertising-Free

Flickr: Sao Paulo No Logo