Consumerism vs. the World
The alarms have been long ringing, yet no one seems to be responding. We’ve covered our ears, hoping that maybe, it’ll go away one day without us doing anything about it. But I think, deep down, all of us know the reality: climate change isn’t going away unless we take serious action.
Throughout the pandemic, I became increasingly alarmed by my own contributions to the climate crisis with the absurd amount of online shopping I was doing — whether it be new clothes, stationery, or shoes. The more I thought about the lifespan of the products I buy, the more concerning I found it. The shirt from a few weeks ago was already on its way to the black bag because I didn’t like its fit. The unopened pack of markers I threw out recently. It seems as if I buy things just to throw them out and to contribute to the already overflowing landfills.
What’s even scarier is, it’s not just me. We live in a society that buys things as quickly as it throws them away, and products designed to be quickly replaced are manufactured accordingly. The result? Fast consumerism.
As a society, together, we have an obligation to ourselves and our future generations: to leave them a habitable planet, resources they can use, and habits that will teach them to take care of this planet. Countries like the United States produce over 30% of the world’s waste, a country that doesn’t even make up 5% of the world’s population. Facts like these make it seem impossible to reach any of these goals. However, we have time to rewrite our future; we have the ability to create a beautiful future. But to do so, we must stop consumerism and its endless cycle.
We owe it to our future generations, we owe them the opportunity to enjoy the planet like we did. We need to end this linear process of consumerism, where we buy and throw things away without a second thought. We need to purchase products with the mindset that we will be using it for a long time, and to shop accordingly for durable products. Is it possible to buy the product second hand? Is this product made with quality items that will last me a long time? Do the reviews of this product comment on its durability? These are questions we must consider instead of falling into the trap of consumerism at the cost of our planet.
Furthermore, corporations and governments must also own up to their actions. The largest contributor to trash in America is packaging, making up roughly 30% of the trash America produces annually. This is just one of many examples in which large corporations are not being held accountable for their excessive trash production and the government must step in. Through strikes, petitions, voting and more, we must hold corporations and our government accountable (and it is possible, it’s happening around the world). We must both change our consumer habits, as well as change production habits of large corporations and the government. By choosing to do only one and not the other, we won’t win the fight against consumerism.
Consumerism vs. our planet. It’s in our hands to choose the winner.
This isn’t the time to be apathetic, it’s a time for change and for hope.