What kind of environment will our children, grandchildren and future generations grow up in? That depends first and foremost on how we treat the environment and whether we put our well-being before the interests of the planet. What is consumerism, or consumer behaviour? The purpose of consumerism is to buy all the time. In order to make a profit, manufacturing companies and retailers have to sell us new products all the time.
The illusion of scarcity
The basic idea is to create the idea that we need a given thing. If we don’t have these clothes, we will no longer be trendy, if we don’t have a new phone, we will no longer enjoy its benefits. Today’s market is oriented to induce the joy of shopping and preferably to make people shop all the time. These are in fact worthless items that will lose their value the moment something new appears on the market and we no longer enjoy the old thing. Today, we are massaged intensively with advertising from all sides, on the streets, in magazines, on the Internet, on television and on the radio. From all sides we have incentives to spend.
How to combat consumer behaviour?
Consumerism does not only lead to spending on things we do not need, it also creates a huge amount of waste. People have more than they need and they keep buying more stuff. People tend to fit in and think that without many things they won’t fit in. If the people around you are living a consumer life and you know it’s bad, don’t be afraid to be the black sheep. Eventually you will find that people like you are growing in number and form a global community that cares about our future. If you’re already addicted to shopping, prioritize. Is it important that you come to a clean beach and a clean forest or that you have useless stuff and wade through garbage? It may seem like an exaggerated statement, but the future of the planet does not depend on big companies, but on consumers; every responsible person can become an inspiration to others.
What points to focus on:
- Don’t buy things you don’t need.
- Learn to recycle waste.
- If you throw things away, could someone else use them?
- Learn to borrow or buy some things second hand.
- Don’t criticise other consumers, but be an inspiration to them.
