Critical inquiry
Think of a recent purchase. Do you know the process that went into making it? Do you know how much it cost to make that item? Do you know how much the worker was paid to make it? Do you know if what you are purchasing was produced sustainably or justly? In a culture dominated by the “need” to consume, you are forced to make choices that are often unsustainable and socially unjust.
It’s very difficult to know the answers to these questions when you buy an item. Many manufacturing processes waste resources. Typically, only pennies of the amount that you purchased a product for goes to the worker who made it. It is hard to judge how long a product will last.
Humanity is currently using the resources and services of roughly 1.5 Earths. This means if we continue to consume the way we do, we would need another 1/2 Earth. This is largely because of our consumption system. The way we consume will need to be changed if we expect to gain or even remain at current population. The Earth is able to sustain a certain number of people, but it depends on the way those people consume. For example, if we all lived like those in low-income countries, on about $1,300 per year, the world could sustain roughly 13.6 billion people. However, if we all lived like Americans, this number would only be about 1.4 billion people. This is an issue of justice because as Americans we are taking more resources.
It is the richest people who have the biggest ecological impact because they have large homes, drive cars, fly, use large amounts of electricity, eat meat and processed food, and buy more stuff. The world’s richest 500 million people, roughly 7% of the population, currently emit 50% of the world's carbon emissions.
People who have more money have more ability to consume, they are less sustainable and socially just. However, this isn’t necessarily a personal choice. Business, media, and government all play a big role in why we consume. While they want us to believe that we have control over the market, we ultimately do not. We have been forced into a consuming culture that has had greater impact than many of us realize.
Businesses have made it very easy for people to consume with credit cards and installment plans. They target college students and recent graduates with credit card offers. This population is most vulnerable to the idea of spending now and paying later. When you are shopping, many times you are asked if you want to open a store credit card to save. Offers for credit cards also frequently arrive in the mail. So many credit cards also now give you rewards to spending. They have cash back, airline miles and other enticements. These further encourage overconsumption. Businesses have also encouraged their workers to take pay increases rather than time off. Pay increases have allowed for people to buy more with their extra money. Juliet Schor writes about this in two of her books, The Overworked American and The Overspent American. She argues that Americans are stuck in a work-spend cycle. Advertising and marketing by business make many products that are unnecessary feel like they are needed. These are products such as bread machines and fondue pots. The media reinforces this phenomenon. TV shows, songs, movies and magazines may highlight material aspirations and promote the wealthy lives of others. Social media has become more important because people know what other people have. This encourages them to feel like they need to have everything that others have. Governments have also encouraged overconsumption by providing policies that tell people to ‘go buy!’ They use tax cuts to manipulate the economy. For example, George Bush cut taxes after the 9/11-terror attack. Personal consumption expenditures increased sharply after that. Because of how surrounded we are in this culture people start to believe that consuming will lead to a better and happier life, but studies have shown that that is simply not the case. British researchers found that the average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 10 of them. This shows that they really are happy with just those few.
We simply cannot keep consuming at our current pace. The average American woman owns 30 outfits. That’s one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine. While we need a change at a systemic level, change must start from the grassroots level. Consumer movements will not start by people with money and power deciding that they are going to give up their money and power just for the good of society, no matter how much we would like to believe that. We need to start small. Consider how you can cut back on consuming. Consume only what you need. Did you need that Starbucks coffee today? Did you know that the traditional way of producing coffee was to grow the bean under a forest canopy that were habitats for various forms of wild life? In order to keep up with the demand, there has been a shift to sun cultivation. This means that in Central America alone 2.5 million acres of forest has been cleared for coffee production. There is also a waste of resources from the cup, the creamer container, and every other product that goes into your coffee. Americans spend $1.2 trillion on items they do not need. It is hard to not get sucked into the culture of consuming. But if we educate people on the harm of over consumption, it would be possible. One way would be to emphasize the personal benefits of less consuming, such as saving money, time and space. We must also remember that changing a culture will take a long time, but it is not impossible. It is necessary in order to sustain our planet and save resources for future generations.
Consumer culture has had a major impact for our planet and its people. The more we consume, the worse it becomes. While many people want us to believe consuming is necessary, it’s doing more harm than good. We need to fight back against the urge to buy things we really don’t need.