Consumerism & Growth - Haggard Earth

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Consumerism & Growth; Hits: 28

How Buying Stuff Drives Climate Change. Columbia Climate School Renée Cho December 16, 2020 Did you know that Americans produce 25 percent more waste than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, sending an additional one million tons a week to landfills? This COVID-19 holiday season, with online shopping the preferred gift giving method for many, we will likely generate even more waste mailing packages all over the country. In addition, over two billion Christmas cards are mailed every year, with enough paper to fill a football field 10 stories high. More than 38,000 miles of ribbon are thrown away and usually end up in landfills. Over the holidays, Americans discard half their total yearly paper waste, mostly holiday wrapping and decorations—about nine billion tons. And each person wastes almost 100 pounds of food.

What’s all this got to do with climate change?...... In fact, our consumer habits are actually driving climate change. A 2015 study found that the production and use of household goods and services was responsible for 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Not surprisingly, wealthy countries have the most per capita impact. A new U.N. report found that the richest one percent of the global population emit more than twice the amount than the poorest 50 percent; moreover, the wealthier people become, the more energy they use. A typical American’s yearly carbon emissions are five times that of the world’s average person. In 2009, U.S. consumers with more than $100,000 in yearly household income made up 22.3 percent of the population, yet produced almost one-third of all U.S. households’ total carbon emissions.As more people around the world enter the middle class and become affluent, the problem is worsening. After basic needs are met, consumers begin buying items for social status; as people try to acquire more and more status, expensive status products are needed. Producing all these things generates climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. and in fact, across its life cycle, the average product results in carbon emissions of 6.3 times its own weight, according to a study done by Christoph Meinrenken, associate research scientist at the Earth Institute’s Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management.To keep this engine running, companies intentionally plan obsolescence of their products by changing how they look, such as in the fashion industry, or updating the design or software of products and discontinuing support for older models. Prices are kept artificially low to encourage us to buy because the real costs of their creation—which should include their environmental and social justice impacts—are not figured in. So we keep buying, and as a result, only one percent of “stuff” is still in use six months from its purchase, according to Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff, the iconic 2007 film.

The psychology of consumption...... After World War II, consumer spending was encouraged because the U.S. economy needed to rebuild. People splurged on new appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, televisions and cars. Advertisers perfected strategies to keep people buying by exploiting our emotions, such as fears of what would happen if we didn’t buy a product, our need not to miss out, or our desire to be more attractive. By 1960, Vance Packard wrote in his classic book, The Wastemakers, “The lives of most Americans have become so intermeshed with acts of consumption that they tend to gain their feelings of significance in life from these acts of consumption rather than from their meditations, achievements, inquiries, personal worth, and service to others.” For many today, leisure time is often spent shopping, but the pleasure it provides — getting a thrill from newness or a bargain, escaping one’s problems, or reveling in the status of owning the latest thing — is fleeting. This is because it is linked to the act of buying, not the product itself. If we really loved the products we purchased, we would take better care of them and not want to replace them.

Becoming more conscientious consumers.......COVID-19, with its enforced restrictions on our usual activities, is showing many people that it’s possible to live happier, simpler and less materialistic lives. According to one Vox reporter’s survey, the number one change people said they wanted to maintain after the pandemic was to reduce their consumerism.To help change consumption habits, Sandra Goldmark, director of Campus Sustainability and Climate Action at Barnard College and theater professor, has adapted Michael Pollan’s advice about food (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) to stuff: “Have good stuff (not too much), mostly reclaimed. Care for it. Pass it on.” The tools people employ to change any habits, such as food or exercise, can be applied to consumption. Goldmark recommends starting small and setting realistic goals. “I always think that it helps to show people that they’re already engaging in a lot of these kinds of ‘healthy stuff’ activities,” she said. “For example, a lot of people already love buying used items in certain categories. So if you can just explain to them the incredible impact of shifting your ‘stuff diet’ from new to used, they might be like, ‘Wow, I’m already doing that.’ And then it becomes a question of turning up the volume on certain behaviors and turning down the volume on other behaviors.” Recognizing that one is already practicing some good habits makes expanding them feel achievable. People can be motivated to change their consumption habits for different reasons. For some, awareness of environmental impacts might be key, such as the pushback that occurred after the environmental impacts of fast fashion were exposed. For others, it might be saving money—for example, the ability to get a great deal on outdoor gear. “There are people whom I’ve spoken to about those used gear sites that are super excited, because they know they can get expensive high quality Patagonia or REI gear at a really low price,” said Goldmark. “They don’t really care so much about the environmental part, or for them, that’s just a bonus.”.

Technology can provide energy efficiency measures that help combat climate change, but “consumption (and to a lesser extent population) growth have mostly outrun any beneficial effects of changes in technology over the past few decades,” according to a June paper. The research concluded that it is not enough simply to “green” consumption by buying more sustainably produced goods—it is essential to reduce consumption. This is because 45 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come solely from the production of the things we use and buy every day.

The problem with stuff.....While large oil companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions, we consumers are complicit. We demand the products and energy made from the fossil fuels they provide. One scientist found that 90 percent of fossil fuel companies’ emissions are a result of the products made from fossil fuels. The accepted wisdom about the economy has been that consumption is essential to economic growth, since our demand for things makes companies profitable and provides employment.......[ed. and this article is from 2015 and currently the situation is even worse.......read on https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/12/16/buying-stuff-drives-climate-change/

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Consumerism & Growth; Hits: 59

What your cheap clothes cost the planet. A global supply chain built for speed is leaving behind waste, toxins, and a trail of environmental wreckage.Grist Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, Rebecca Egan McCarthy 15 Dec 2025 The Atacama desert in Chile is one of the most beautiful and forbidding places on Earth, so dry that it’s sometimes used by scientists to test run Mars missions. Most years the area sees less than half a centimeter of rain, but this past September unusually heavy precipitation brought forth a desert bloom, blanketing the ground with delicate purple flowers that disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared. It was a rare treat for locals used to grimmer ornamentation: Since 2001, colorful mountains of used clothing have been the main feature growing across the Atacama. By the time the largest mound was set on fire in 2022, it contained some 100,000 tons of discarded fabric, roughly the weight of an aircraft carrier. Today, piles like it continue to grow. This fashion graveyard has become so large that some outlets have dubbed it the “great fashion garbage patch.” It owes its growth to the nearby duty-free port of Iquique, where Chile imports all manner of international goods without customs or taxes — including heaps of used clothing from the United States, Europe, and Asia. While the best items are resold to international markets, overwhelming volumes of cheap fast-fashion pieces don’t make the cut. Instead, they are dumped in the desert — an open secret that the government largely ignores. The burnings, whether they’re intended to destroy the evidence or make more space, fill nearby towns with smoky, unhealthy air. Activists have been fighting against this desert dumping for years, documenting the burnings and suing both the federal and local governments to stop it. But the real blame for Chile’s mess lies beyond the country’s borders. From the moment these garments are spun from fibers to the time of their undignified disposal, they are part of a vast global pollution machine — one that has grown massively as the world economy has globalized and factories have begun pumping out ever-cheaper, ever-faster styles to customers half a world away.

This new hyper-vast, hyper-fast-fashion system is phenomenally destructive. Today, the clothing trade generates some 170 billion garments a year — roughly half of which wind up being thrown out within that year, and almost all of which despoil the world’s land, air, and seas. In the process, it generates as much as 10 percent of all planet-warming emissions, making it the second-largest industrial polluter, while also holding the distinction of being the world’s second-largest consumer and polluter of water. When all its many offenses are cataloged and counted, fashion is the third-most-polluting industry on the planet, after energy and food.

Things weren’t always this bad. While fashion has long left trails of environmental devastation in its wake — just ask the poor snowy egret, sacrificed by the thousands to decorate a generation of women’s hats — it was kept in relative check, even as globalization ramped up, by a 1974 trade agreement known as the Multi Fibre Arrangement. This agreement allowed nations to regulate the number of textile and clothing imports allowed into their countries, thereby protecting domestic production. But its expiration on January 1, 2005, essentially heralded fashion’s NAFTA moment. Low-cost goods from countries such as China and Bangladesh began flooding the United States and the European Union, which undercut domestic production in developing countries by saturating those markets with used clothing. The loosening of the century-old de minimis loophole in 2016, which allowed packages under $800 to enter the United States without tariffs, allowed Shein and Temu, the notorious Chinese e-commerce giants, to grow exponentially. Some observers of the fashion industry have speculated that it might be on the cusp of a reckoning. The elimination of the de minimis exemption, together with Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, has sent shock waves through the industry, rattling U.S. consumers — and with them, major brands like Shein and Temu. Both have already begun to compensate for the drop in U.S. sales by redirecting their efforts toward Europe and Australia while moving their operations to other countries. Other companies, meanwhile, have simply begun offsetting their losses by trimming their sustainability efforts, raising serious fears of an even faster race to the bottom.

All of which raises the questions: How did we get into this situation? And, more important, how do we get out?

Step 1: A dirty, bloated underbelly........To understand how our garments got so noxious, it helps to go back to the beginning: to how our clothes become clothes in the first place. Take any item of attire — from Lululemon athleisure leggings to the summer of 2024’s viral Uniqlo baby tee; from the swankiest gowns to the most nondescript knockoff jeans — and the story is almost always the same: Most clothes start their lives deep in the ground, either as seeds of cotton or in the nearly 342 million barrels of crude oil that go into the making of synthetic fabrics every year. Most of the problems start with one of these two origin stories.Today, synthetic fibers make up nearly 70 percent of all textile production. Polyester has become particularly ubiquitous across styles and brands, whether those brands are fast-fashion behemoths or rarefied luxury houses.......ed: Waada Mess!!! Read on...... https://grist.org/business/what-your-cheap-clothes-cost-the-planet/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Consumerism & Growth; Hits: 77

******David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington December 7, 2023

In the Western world, year-end celebrations were once observed to give thanks, to mark the coming of brighter days and to enjoy the company of family and friends. Now, they’ve become little more than consumer orgies. David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington December 7, 2023 From Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to Christmas shopping, it’s hard to escape the frenzy. Corporations from small to large count on the increase in spending. Governments rejoice at the economic boost.Many products end up in landfills after little or no use. It’s all part of the rampant consumerism fuelling the climate crisis. Wealthy nations, especially the wealthiest people in those nations, are the biggest drivers of this climate-altering consumer madness. A recent Oxfam report, “Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%,” shows the top one per cent of humanity is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the poorest 66 per cent. Those emissions are “enough to cause the heat-related deaths of 1.3 million people over the coming decades,” **the Guardian reports,** noting that, “The suffering falls disproportionately upon people living in poverty, marginalised ethnic communities, migrants and women and girls, who live and work outside or in homes vulnerable to extreme weather.”

Many products end up in landfills after little or no use. It’s all part of the rampant consumerism fuelling the climate crisis.The super wealthy — mostly white males in North America and Europe, with their superyachts, private jets, massive mansions and lavish lifestyles — have the most devastating footprint. They “also wield enormous and growing political power by owning media organisations and social networks, hiring advertising and PR agencies and lobbyists, and mixing socially with senior politicians, who are also often members of the richest 1%. The report “reveals a perverse reality: those who have done the least to cause the climate crisis are the ones who are suffering the most. And those who have done the most will likely suffer the least.”Prominent French economist Thomas Piketty argues that progressive carbon pricing based on income and ability to reduce emissions is needed, along with banning high-emission goods and services such as large vehicles, private jets and short-distance flights. The oversized impacts and influence of the excessively wealthy don’t let the rest of us off the hook. “We have to put class and the studies of inequality between social classes right at the centre of our analyses of environmental challenges in general,” Piketty told the Guardian. As the Oxfam report notes, we must recognize “that a radical increase in equality is a precondition to ending climate breakdown and poverty.” It argues, “A tax of 60% on the incomes of the super-rich 1% of earners globally would cut the carbon equivalent of more than the total emissions of the UK and raise US$6.4 trillion to fund renewable energy and a transition away from fossil fuels.” “The focus on economic growth of any kind and endless extraction and overconsumption at any cost must end,” Oxfam says. “People should be put back in charge of their destiny, and democratically elected governments, not corporations, should shape our economy.”

The oversized impacts and influence of the excessively wealthy don’t let the rest of us off the hook. Oxfam confirms what others have found: that high income countries are responsible for 100 times more emissions than low-income countries. But as Piketty notes, middle and upper classes are responsible for most of those emissions........read on https://davidsuzuki.org/story/rampant-consumerism-fuels-climate-catastrophe-and-inequalities/

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A Circular Economy — an economy where waste is designed out — might work. When I first heard about the idea of circularity, I thought it was a load of hogwash, a lofty buzzword that corporations across several industries have latched onto to sell their latest products or trick consumers into believing they’re operating ethically for people, animals, and the environment. As my colleague Sam Delgado reported for Vox, voluntary corporate social responsibility programs are notorious for being vague about the actual impacts of their supply chains (and lately, some companies pledging to be more environmentally friendly have abandoned efforts to do so). International regulation certainly isn’t where it needs to be to ensure the rights of workers and those who bear the burden of living near factories and landfills. Yet according to industry experts, designers, activists, and even the United Nations, a circular economy would help separate consumption from some of its ills and get us back on track to meeting key climate goals. (About 3.3 percent of global emissions originate from the waste sector, but that’s not including the emissions during the production process in the textile, plastics, and technology industries. Textiles, for example, are responsible for about 2-8 percent of emissions, according to the UN.) It’s not a far-off idea, either: There are government-led initiatives and programs dedicated to solving how circularity would work. Scientists are figuring out how to recycle synthetic fabrics and lithium batteries and all sorts of materials. Brands are trying to design products that take end-of-life into consideration. These are all steps in the right direction. There’s just one question: Is this really possible?

Circularity, explained...... I like to think of the circular economy as a jacked-up “reduce, reuse, recycle” system. The hope is to keep materials in use for as long as possible with minimal waste, and to do so on a much wider scale. Right now, there are two main reasons why a lot of what we recycle doesn’t ever actually get made into new things: It’s either prohibitively expensive to do, or we just don’t know how to recycle that material yet (like most plastics). A circular economy also would aim to prevent waste from happening in the first place by designing products made to be recycled. “At the end of the day, it’s very much a system infrastructure change because you need to demonstrate resources, reverse logistics, and all these things,” said Hilde van Duijn, managing director of the Circle Economy Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to double global circularity by 2032.

“The most tricky part about the transition to surface is the mindset.”Consumption, or the purchasing of new goods to satiate some need or desire, is a cornerstone of the modern economy for privileged countries and especially for the US. When quality of living goes up, so does consumption. And the production of consumer goods, for many low-income countries, allows for a chance of upward mobility through wages, at least in theory. In practice, however, the speed at which goods are made today has normalized cutting corners in quality and in wages for the people who make these items possible — all while the average consumer becomes trained to expect that a shirt should cost less than a dollar or a pillowcase should sell for $3.78. This dynamic is what helped push the US to become a top producer of garbage.

“Consumption is like a drug,” argued Peter Majeranowski, the CEO of Circ, a materials innovation company. “It’s a very tough thing to change because you’re working against psychology and you’re working against, frankly, very good marketers.” If the circular economy is going to change this pattern, then there are four areas for it to address: extraction, production, consumer use, and waste, with each area requiring different approaches and bringing up different questions. What would it mean to slow down extraction in place of reusing existing materials? What happens to the displaced labor? How are things (or energy) made? Who makes them? Can we design things to be efficient, long-lasting, and desirable? How can products be made so that they can be recycled? Where do you even start?.....read on https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/370626/consumerism-circular-economy-single-use-recycling-landfill-garbage

Speaking of Circular Economies there is a methodology that addresses this challenge.......What on Earth is the Doughnut?…..Humanity’s 21st century challenge is to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet. In other words, to ensure that no one falls short on life’s essentials (from food and housing to healthcare and political voice), while ensuring that collectively we do not overshoot our pressure on Earth’s life-supporting systems, on which we fundamentally depend – such as a stable climate, fertile soils, and a protective ozone layer. The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries is a playfully serious approach to framing that challenge, and it acts as a compass for human progress this century. The Doughnut offers a vision of what it means for humanity to thrive in the 21st century - and Doughnut Economics explores the mindset and ways of thinking needed to get us there. First published in 2012 in an Oxfam report by Kate Raworth, the concept of the Doughnut rapidly gained traction internationally, from the Pope and the UN General Assembly to Extinction Rebellion.Kate's 2017 book, Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist, further explored the econo mic thinking needed to bring humanity into the Doughnut, drawing together insights from diverse economic perspectives in a way that everyone can understand. This 2018 TED talk gives a summary of the book's core messages, and you can read Chapter One here. The environmental ceiling consists of nine planetary boundaries, as set out by Rockstrom et al, beyond which lie unacceptable environmental degradation and potential tipping points in Earth systems. The twelve dimensions of the social foundation are derived from internationally agreed minimum social standards, as identified by the world’s governments in the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Between social and planetary boundaries lies an environmentally safe and socially just space in which humanity can thrive.If you want to look deeper into the Doughnut, and Doughnut Economics, join us at Doughnut Economics Action Lab where we dive into much more detail on what it means for transforming our economies.......See you in the Action Lab! https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/ https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics

Haggardearth is introducing the Donut (Doughnut),a new category on the Home Page under CLIMATE & ECOLOGY and will be combined with the Recycling sub- category.

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Consumerism & Growth; Hits: 51

Consumerism is Key to Solve the Climate Change Equation. Greenly Earth Stephanie Safdie 28 Jul 2024 Consumerism has become the new norm – but it wasn’t always this way. If you showed someone in 1959 the newest Apple Watch, they would be in awe of its ability to track your heart rate and answer phone calls – but someone today would realise that it is only a precedent for future gadgets to come. An enormously productive economy demands political and economic power, which in turn – usually means further economic expansion through the development of consumer culture and encouraging people to purchase superfluous consumer goods. This type of consumer spending perpetuates economic growth, serves only a restricted population, and encourages a target consumer. In 2024, consumerism has become the new norm – but it wasn’t always this way. If you showed someone in 1959 the newest Apple Watch, they would be in awe of its ability to track your heart rate and answer phone calls – but someone today would realise that it is only a precedent for future gadgets to come. An enormously productive economy demands political and economic power, which in turn – usually means further economic expansion through the development of consumer culture and encouraging people to purchase superfluous consumer good r market to be developed for conspicuous consumption. However, what is most concerning about consumerism today is how it will continue to have an impact on climate change – but why?

What is consumerism?...... Consumerism refers to an economic theory that without the inclination to purchase goods and services one does not need, that economic growth would never flourish. This is because if people only bought things when they needed them, businesses would never see the revenue that they currently do – such as Nike selling sneakers. In fact, the immense productive powers created by consumer demand meant that U.S. consumer credit rose to $7 billion dollars by the 1920s – demonstrating how the economic system's orientation towards profit instead of survival may have awakened a new beast of mass production. “Consumerism can most easily be recognised and defined as whenever someone has the desire to purchase something that is already working fine – such as a new winter jacket or watch.” It is viable to presume that the excessive consumerism that we know today started with the Industrial Revolution – as it ignited the belief and passion amongst human beings that more productivity and creating will bring success and happiness.

After WWI, the U.S. tried to increase it's production rate to help urban middle class people to have access to a better economic life and to develop a steady state economy capable of allowing people to work less and make more to buy all their wonderful stuff. Therefore, instead of allowing people to work less to allot more time for their creative or educational pursuits or other spiritual and pleasurable activities – many business leaders viewed such a trajectory as a way to push for rampant consumerism.However, it is important to note that consumerism gradually made its way into society – such as with ads during World War II that would entice Americans to buy products that convinced them would be useful in the midst of war. “Think about it – how many times have you gone into a Nike store because the soles of your shoes are completely worn out and the laces entirely frayed? Odds are, you went into the store because you saw some shoes that caught your eye – and not because you were in dire need of a new pair.” “Consumerism can most easily be recognised and defined as whenever someone has the desire to purchase something that is already working fine – such as a new winter jacket or watch.”

It is viable to presume that the excessive consumerism that we know today started with the Industrial Revolution – as it ignited the belief and passion amongst human beings that more productivity and creating will bring success and happiness. After WWI, the U.S. tried to increase it's production rate to help urban middle class people to have access to a better economic life and to develop a steady state economy capable of allowing people to work less and make more to buy all their wonderful stuff. Therefore, instead of allowing people to work less to allot more time for their creative or educational pursuits or other spiritual and pleasurable activities – many business leaders viewed such a trajectory as a way to push for rampant consumerism. However, it is important to note that consumerism gradually made its way into society – such as with ads during World War II that would entice Americans to buy products that convinced them would be useful in the midst of war.

What are some examples of consumerism?...... Consumerism refers to any purchase that is made when it is not absolutely necessary – which means that practically anytime you go shopping to the mall when you have some “cash burning a hole in your pocket” can qualify as practicing consumerism. For instance, if you are one of the people that follows fashion or make-up trends and sets out to buy a new jacket or mascara even if your old jacket isn’t worn out and the old mascara tube is still full – you are subject to consumerism. “It is important to note that just because you are an avid shopper, it does not mean that you are contributing to consumerism – some people may shop smart and only when necessary, which doesn’t make them subject to excessive purchasing.

What is the relationship between consumerism and climate change?.......The relationship between consumerism and climate change may not be evident. However, the reality is that even if you aren’t a business owner responsible for hundreds of tonnes of carbon emissions on an annual basis – your consumerism habits probably still contribute to climate change. Psychology isn’t off when it claims that much of our behavior is learned rather than intrinsic to our genetic being. In other words, humans have learned to consume in excess – it isn’t a trait we are biologically born with......read on https://greenly.earth/en-gb/blog/ecology-news/consumerism-is-key-to-solve-climate-change-equation

How Buying Stuff Drives Climate Change.

What your Cheap Clothes Cost the Planet. A Global Supply Chain built for speed is Leaving behind Waste, Toxins, and a trail of Environmental Wreckage.

In the Western world, Year-end Celebrations were Once observed to Give Thanks, and to Enjoy the company of Family and Friends. Now, they’ve Become little more than Consumer Orgies

Consumerusm What to with all the Waste? A Circular Economy where it's designed out ?

Consumerism is Key to Solve the Climate Change Equation.

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