Our Story
It all started at an In-N-Out in Palo Alto, California.
Napkins. Everywhere.
That’s right. It began at the home of the no-so-fast fast food. Home of one of the most messiest and delicious burgers around. So there I was at In-N-Out waiting for my food. Just another hungry customer sitting at their table impatiently waiting for their number to be called. Looking at their phone, drooling over trays of melty cheese covered fries as people walk past, and that’s when I noticed the napkins. Everywhere. Unused napkins on trays that were being emptied into the trash bins. Unused napkins left behind on tables in the hopes that someone else might use them (but we all know no one’s touching them…ew, right?).
We Get It.
Paper napkins are free! No one wants to stop eating that delicious burger, and get up from their table with greasy, sauce-laden hands, and go get more napkins. So we ask for extra napkins, or take extra napkins—just in case. And maybe we feel a tinge of guilt for tossing a stack of unused napkins in the trash when we’re done, or maybe we just don’t stop to think about it at all because there’s nothing there to remind us that these are not “free”.
Or what about when you’re standing right in front of the paper towel dispenser in the restroom, and instead of just taking one paper towel and seeing if that gets your hands sufficiently dry—which is the likely case—you take two or three or four?
The Solution.
That's what was amazing thing about this situation. If you asked someone if they cared about trees, most people would say, “Yes. Of course.” If you asked them after the fact if it bothered them to throw away unused napkins or paper towels, most people would, if they were being honest, would say, “Yes. Of course.”
So what if you could gently remind people that resources like napkins and paper towels are not “free”, so they would stop and think for a beat about how many they were taking and maybe just take a few less? What if it was just a subtle nudge that said “hey there, we’re not judging you, but we just wanted to remind you that these come from trees, and we know you like trees, so do you really want to take that many?”