Over a century ago, consumer culture took off. Items were being advertised and promoted nationwide thanks to inventions such as the radio and television. At the time, consumer culture gave the country a vivid sense of unity and a much-needed sense of nationalism to connect the country. Nowadays, consumerism has contributed to devastating and catastrophic characteristics of the 21st century. Consumerism promotes the idea that happiness and joy are linked to materialistic goods. Furthermore, advertising and mass production have made it possible for products to appear everywhere through exploitation, an irresistible allure has been created around these products, making them feel as if they are necessary to buy.
Consumerism in the 21st century has led to an incredible amount of overconsumption and overproduction, creating incredibly high carbon emissions. While mass production of consumer items such as beauty products, health products and clothing stimulate the economy, there are drastic negative effects of mass plastic production. Manufacturing companies that mass-produce plastics are emitting incredible amounts of carbon gases into the atmosphere. A 2018 report from the United Nations Environment Program stated that over 10 percent of global carbon emissions are products of the fashion industry. Furthermore, non-renewable resources contribute to the production of fossil fuels and pollute the environment. There needs to be an important shift to focusing on more sustainable consumption shifting away from the focus on producing materialistic goods that have plagued the environment.
A study from the Journal of Consumer which focuses on consumer behavior, culture and policy, shows clear correlations between people who value material goods and higher levels of anxiety. Furthermore, for many, consumerism promotes an idea of success that is attached to certain levels of material wealth. Often this is now amplified through social media and promoting people to attain materialistic goals . However, many people feel out of place in popular culture as they cannot afford certain products.. The strain of keeping up with consumer society should not be something that young people deal with. Consumerism provides many young adults with thoughts that everything has to look a certain way, making many people feel outcast. This must come to a stop as simple activities of promoting consumption through advertisement shouldn’t drive up people’s stress and anxiety levels.
Supply chains for these consumer products have devastatingly exploited their workers and consistently paid them minimally for their jobs. In order to meet the consumption demands they turn to production in low-wage countries. Additionally many companies exploit their workers so that the wealthy corporations and elites can guarantee the maximum success for their business. For example, companies like Shein, Forever 21 and H&M produce their products in countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, where they pay workers salaries of around 96 dollars per month on average. Furthermore, the conditions in many of these workplaces are the opposite of sanitary and extremely dangerous. Many consumerism companies are mistreating workers all over the globe and that needs to stop.
Ultimately, consumerism has many problems that need to be addressed. Consumerism no longer brings people together. In fact, it does the opposite. Consumerism fails to have any positive impacts besides stimulating the economy. In return, consumerism causes mental health problems, environmental problems and the exploitation of workers. Overall, it’s time for us as a society to move on from consumer products and start to have our own opinion on what we like and dislike.
