Overconsumption is eating the world

Connecting the dots between consumerism and climate change

Please hit the Like button ♥️ at the end if you liked reading this post so that I can know if what I am writing is worth your time.

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Explain like I’m a memer 

Today we don’t need a meme, only a visual. 

⚠️Trigger warning: You may see your modern life flash by 

Image by Steve Cutts

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If the top half of the sand glass in the image above looks like a recurring episode from your life, you’re a consumer. A consumer consumed by consumerism. 

Consumerism in brief

Consumerism in simple words is a chain reaction in consumption which results in overconsumption. 

Eat. Sleep. Shop. Repeat.

Buying the latest iPhone, not because your current phone is out of order and beyond repair, but because it’s a cardinal sin to not keep up with the latest tech is consumerism. Snorting the cheapest deals of the year every Black Friday, not because you really need something, but because it’s too sweet a deal to miss, is cocaine…erm, consumerism. 

Genesis of overconsumption

The Industrial Revolution which made mass production possible and the tandem rise of capitalism created the perfect breeding ground for consumerism. Carefully targeting the human weak spots of lust, envy, greed, sloth, wrath, gluttony and pride (i.e. the seven deadly sins)¹ corporations have been successfully etching their imprints on our brains by getting us hooked on their offering and driving repeat consumption. Consider a few examples:

Gluttony: Zomato / Uber Eats

Envy: Instagram  

Pride: LinkedIn

Sloth: Netflix / Instacart / Blinkit

Wrath: Twitter 

Greed: Bet 365 / Mobile Premier League (real money gaming) 

Lust: Pornhub / Tinder

Illustration by Steve Cutts

Trivia: The concept of diamond engagement rings was popularized by the De Beers group (a diamond company) using the clever copy “A Diamond is Forever” in their ads to build a sustained, high value demand for diamonds 

Social media has further amplified the sweet ‘hallucinations’ of these figurative drugs through targeted ads and online influencers who dump the latest trends on us. And what’s funny is that consumers, unknowingly, publicly admit to being preys of consumerism when they flaunt hashtags such as #tiktokmademebuyit (TikTok made me buy it).

I recently came across a rather moving illustration which perfectly pictures this vicious cycle of force-feeding and happy-consumption.

Illustration by Steve Cutts

Trivia: The Diderot Effect is a distant cousin of Moore's Law in the game of consumption. It states that acquisition of a new possession spirals us into buying more new things, often those which our previous selves never wanted to feel happy or fulfilled. For example, when you buy a gym membership, you end up spending more on protein supplements, shakers, gloves, mat and a more expensive diet.

So, what? Why is overconsumption a problem?

Overconsumption is the foundation of exponentially increasing GLOBAL WASTE.

Satellite image of a dumping ground of discarded clothes in the Atacama Desert, Chile; Source: SkyFi

For context, The World Bank estimates that in 2020, humanity generated 2.24 billion tonnes of solid waste. In light of the current trends, this number is anticipated to rise by 73% to 3.88 billion tonnes by 2050. Interestingly, high income countries which house 16% of the world population, produce a whopping 34% of this waste². 

Higher income → more money to dispose → overconsumption → more waste

Have a look at the size of the largest landfills across the world. 

I’ve seen the one near Delhi (India) in person. I can vouch for the soul-trembling sight and smell.

Source: developmentaid.org with data from Statista

USA is home to one of the highest per capita incomes and the world’s largest landfill (it’s a Guinness World Record too) which is equivalent to the size of 1,250 football fields (2.4x of the next largest landfill😵‍💫). No wonder it is the global leader in trash production.

It is no news that most of the waste dumped around the world lands up either in landfills or water bodies or is incinerated. Only a miniscule is reused or recycled. So, what does the life of dumped waste look like? It rots and decomposes over hundreds of years (varies with material). Given it’s a chaotic mix of varied materials, synthetic and natural, the decomposition produces toxic chemicals which are released as a cocktail of harmful gases (including GHGs) into the atmosphere and liquids which leach into the soil. These chemicals upon invading the soil degrade its quality making it unfit for cultivation and also intoxicate the ground water with eventual leakages into marine ecosystems. The waste which directly lands into water bodies chokes marine life and degrades water quality. Waste incineration, again, is an invitation to GHGs (among other gases) which end up blanketing us in more heat. 

Source: OurWorldinData

In summary, 

Consumerism → more waste → climate change & resource degradation

Further, in the guise of enhancing quality of life, many products / ‘advancements’ sold to us operate as the perfect hallucinogens while they last, only to leave us depleted. Quick commerce, a.k.a, ‘15 mins delivery of any product’ is the perfect latest specimen of a narrative sold on maximizing customer convenience but actually depleting our patience (product delivery wait times) and making us lethargic. While depleting us, it also makes us buy more through impulse purchases given that scrolling screens is a new global favourite pastime. Similarly, all the fashion trends made viral by fast fashion brands push us down the slippery slope of seeking social validation on how we look and attaching our self worth to short lived vanity metrics.

Solution 

There’s just one solution to the menace of consumerism - cautious and mindful consumption. 

PAUSE and THINK before you hit “Order” or swipe your card at the store for that new shiny purchase. Similarly, every time something you own becomes unusable in its current state, PAUSE and CHECK if it can be repaired before heading for a replacement purchase. Taking a mental pause before a potential act of purchase can help you control your mind instead of it controlling you.

Trivia: Home to the fashion capital of the world, France, will soon start paying its citizens for getting their clothes repaired instead of disposing them off to reduce the burgeoning textile waste arising from a rampant ‘replace’ culture

Let me share a technique that has worked for me. Every time I feel tempted to make a purchase, I ask myself these two questions:

1. Do I really need it?

2. How long do I foresee myself using the purchased good?

This is the process I follow:

If there are any other tricks that may have worked for you, share them in the comments.

1. This is a borrowed thought that I came across somewhere on the internet but found highly relevant

2. The World Bank