Overcoming Consumerism

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Overcoming consumerism

- What is Consumerism

Consumerism is a social ideology in which it is

encouraged to buy as many products as possible and replace them because of the

smallest flaws or simply to have a newer version.

- Inequality

of consumption

·

Wealthiest

20% are responsible for 76.6% of consumption

·

Poorest

20% are responsible for 1.5% of consumption

·

Part

of the reason for this gap is Globalization and the income gap it creates

between 1st and 3rd world countries

- Effects

of consumerism

- Negative

·

Planned

obsolescence, a practice in which products are made with the goal to break or

make them unusable after a period of time, is becoming more and more popular

among manufacturers and accepted by the masses.

·

The

amount of trash a household throws out is accelerating at an alarming speed

because of the easy and cheap access to new products and planned obsolescence.

·

Trash

is often not properly disposed and ends up littering the environment and even

if it is it can end up in 3rd world countries where it is

disassembled by the inhabitants for scrap metal in a laborious and harmful

process.

·

Production

is shifted towards 3rd world countries, where wages are lower and

safety standards are non-existent, to be able to offer them cheaper to 1st

world countries.

·

Many

of the planets resources are being used to fuel consumerism

·

More

advertisement since manufacturers need to stand out in the masses of products.

- Positive

·

Higher

growth rate of the economy

·

More

diversity in goods

·

More

jobs to match the massive production demands

- What can

we do

·

Use

products as long as possible before replacing them

·

Only

buy products you really need instead of giving in to the newest trend

·

Donate

things you don’t need instead of throwing them away

·

Distance

yourself from as much advertising as possible

·

Recycle

your trash