New Image Plants = Business Paradox
July 25th, 2006 by Alex
In Greenfield, Massachusetts there is a company called New Image Plants that manufactures and sells “realistic looking marijuana & hemp plants made from synthetic polymers”. On the surface, this seems like an innovative business idea that has found a niche in a small to non-existant market. The media can, and does, use all the catch phrases available to describe New Image’s products - Counterfiet Cannabis, Lifelike Botanicals, and more.
Below the surface, there is a paradoxical ideology that should trouble not only the founder of NIP, Joseph White, but also every one of his customers.
A chipper intro line describing the company and its founder goes something like this:
White - a trim 51-year-old with thinning hair and a small stud in his left earlobe - has rolled his pro-pot activism and business savvy into New Image Plants, a startup company that sells the make-believe marijuana online.
When you visit the corporate website their product line and some positive quotes are proudly displayed. The products page shows all New Image offerings - which compose of:
- - Marijuana Buds
- - Medical Marijuana Plants
- - 2′ Marijuana or Hemp Plants
- - 3′ Marijuana or Hemp Plants
- - 4′ Marijuana or Hemp Plants
- - 6′ Marijuana or Hemp Plants
Not exactly the largest selection of choices, but that’s understandable. The issues arrive when you look at New Image Plant’s customers and who they compose of. They can easily be split into 3 main groups - Pro-Pot, Anti-Pot, and Neutral. A good example of a neutral customer would be the set designer for the Showtime TV series Weeds. An example of pro-marijuana customer would be Joseph White’s very own non-profit organization, Change the Climate. The last, and easiest, example of the anti-marijuana customer would be … hmmm … any law enforcement agency in North America.
The problem here is that Joseph White and his company are a complete contradiction. On one hand, he supports the legalization and taxation of marijuana. He’s even started a non-profit organization promoting this cause. On the other hand, he sells large amounts of his products to law enforcement officials from Canada to the United States. This helps the process of identification and incarceration of anyone caught with marijuana.
It’s hard to judge someone without knowing all the facts, and in the end you have to pay the bills and feed your family somehow. Still, I have a hard time seeing how White can put the phone down after confirming a $1,000+ order to the Ontario Police College and then pick it up again to arrange details promoting the legalization of marijuana. Personally, I would not support this company in any way. You create a message - a persona for yourself, company and brand - and stick to it come hell or high water.
Please, share your thoughts with me on whether you would support or don’t support the ideology behind New Image Plants.
