“I wanted to raise awareness of the darker side of consumer behavior,” said Michelle DeMoss, Ph.D., Dennis C. McNamara Sr. Professor of Marketing, chair of the Marketing Department, and a specialist in marketing ethics, sustainable business practices, and marketing education. As part of her 300-level Consumer Dynamics course, DeMoss accompanied her class of 19 students to the St. Johns River Cleanup event to help make a difference.

Coordinated by Volusia County’s Environmental Management Division, the annual cleanup is designed to draw attention to the river’s importance in our environment and also to the environment of other animals. (Mallory Viera, general business major, and Claudia Redinger, management major, are pictured, right.)

“In my class we look at how consumers collect information, how they evaluate alternatives and how they select their overall purchase,” said DeMoss. “The river cleanup dealt with the way consumers improperly dispose of products.”

“More than 500 participants removed more than four tons of debris as they cleaned up 59 miles of the St. Johns River,” said Darrell Abrahamson, environmental specialist with Volusia County. “These cleanups are one way to raise awareness,” explained DeMoss. “My students didn’t realize the actual scope of the problem until they went out there and saw it with their own eyes.”

“As a class, we were able to see the life cycle of products,” said Miranda Fick, one of DeMoss’ students. “Many of the products that we found were common products that the average consumer carelessly disposes of, like bottles and cans. But there were also some unusual items: a garden hose, a Mac computer, chairs, grills, and more. To prevent this behavior, more bins should be made available in prominent places. It’s important, too, that the bins are emptied regularly. Also, children should be taught to correctly dispose of garbage at an early age.”

“The biggest concern,” explained Claudia Redinger (pictured above), “was all the fishing line and rope that we found, which was usually very tangled in the roots and branches of trees and can pose a threat to birds and other animals. I think consumers need to be made aware of their impact on the environment, and more emphasis needs to be placed on making products, and especially packaging, biodegradable and environmentally friendly products.”

“It is important to be environmentally aware,” said Brook Thompson, marketing major, “because we are the ones who have to live in this world that we are littering and I don’t think that we want to live in our own filth. In this respect, I am glad that I had an opportunity to do my part.”

(Pictured left, l to r: Marquis Wimberly, communications; Jozsef Nemeth, finance; Ashley Green, psychology.)

In the fall, DeMoss and her Consumer Dynamics class will participate in the international coastal cleanup event organized by Ocean Conservancy. The event is the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean up the ocean and waterways. “The beach is probably worse than the St. Johns River,” said DeMoss. “The amount of stuff we pick up is shocking and can be quite depressing. If we want to be a healthy community,” continued Demoss, “part of that means to have a healthy environment and to have measures to keep it that way. Plus it’s compassionate for other living things that are around us. I want people to be able to learn the value of our natural resources and to foster a responsibility as an individual to make the right choices when buying products and when deciding to dispose of them.”

For more information, contact Marketing Professor Michelle DeMoss at [email protected].

by George Salis