Does consumerism affect climate change ?

Consumerism is an economic and social system that promotes the purchase of products and services as a means of achieving happiness. 

Jeff Bezos said that, at its worst, consumerism is getting people to buy things that "don't actually improve their lives". This is the same man who owns an online retailer which gives you 462 results when you search up "useless gifts". 

Here is a quick introduction to how consumerism impacts the environment:

  1. Consumerism motivates individuals to acquire more and newer things all the time, causing many people to discard their old ones, resulting in a large influx of waste.
  2. Due to the constant demand, companies need to manufacture these items at a rapid pace and at a larger scale. This means that companies use massive amounts of energy and resources to meet this demand.
  3. Minimising production cost usually takes priority when companies create products, meaning that the manufacturing of these products are usually outsourced to other countries where they can save money through the reduction in labour costs. 
  4. This leads to products going on a CO2-intensive international trip before a company can sell them to you. 


Source: here


One of the other big contributors to climate change is electronic waste (E-waste). If we think of our own experience with technological devices, they don't seem to last very long and the opportunity to trade in and upgrade has never been so easy. 

Source: here

Some products are designed to be difficult or impossible to repair when they break, either because they are glued together or because they contain unique pieces that involve the use of a specialised instruments to fix. Because of these limits, when the product breaks, it is virtually always bound for the landfill. To prevent this, Goldmark suggests that ensuring product repairability is a smart place to start.  


After reading this, you might be asking yourself 'Who's to blame for consumerism?', well that would be a great question ! If only someone posted a blog discussing this: Click me











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