Project pan — a new habit that has emerged from a viral TikTok trend — is based on one thing: the premise that you must have completely finished using the products you already own before buying others. It started focusing only on beauty and cosmetics items, but has been extended for all consumer kinds.
Besides consuming in a conscious way, the movement was to created to combat waste, reduce excessive accumulation, and promote more mindful choices. Its main goal it to end the vicious cycle of buying without truly needing it.
By a quick look it seems nothing but something beneficial — since influencers showing empty containers by the end of the month should, in theory, incentivize people to buy less and use what they have already. However, what was supposed to be a way to reduce shopping compulsively, revealed itself otherwise: an execuse to buy even more.
How Project Pan was distorted?
As in the name of the project, “pan” is a reference to when you get to the bottom of a container product, meaning that it has been fully used. It seems logical: to buy something and use it until its very last drop. Although the meaning behind is to appreciate and avoid purchasing another product until it is really necessary, the trend became an excuse to end it the fastest way they can.
In some cases, people use products in an excessive or forced way or even by throwing away a product prematurely. As a result, what was supposed to be a solution to reduce consumption turns into a vicious cycle of buying in a rush. Another manifestation of this distorted logic has been born with the idea of shopping a lot of new products just to be able to “pan” them later and join the trend.
From a psychological perspective of consumerism compared to Project Pan, Alexandre Michels Rodrigues, professor and consultant with experience in developing strategies in Neuroscience at the consulting firm DNA Corporativo, stated that finishing a product activates the brain’s reward system, “especially the dopaminergic circuit, which is associated with the feeling of achievement and cycle completion. This generates a positive reinforcement that can fuel compulsion”.
“The brain interprets this closure as a success, and in seeking to repeat that sensation, may induce immediate replacement behavior — not out of real need, but to relive the pleasure of accomplishment. This practice becomes a stimulus-response cycle, reinforced by mechanisms like the dopamine loop, which craves increasingly frequent stimuli”
Alexandre Michels Rodrigues
He also warns that even the minimalism aesthetic can become performative if internalized as a social identity: “At its core, is a practice of self-awareness and essentialism, but it can easily be co-opted by image and belonging dynamics”.
By this, people start seeking external validation and this movement turns into a new status symbol. “At that point, the behavior strays from authenticity and aligns with social comparison mechanisms, which, according to social neuroscience studies, are deeply rooted in human brain function”, concludes Rodrigues.
What does the internet have to do with it
The “backup culture” — when people stock their favorite items to avoid running out — is common and reinforces the issue. The consumer, guided by the fear of scarcity or missing out rather than actual need, often buys product duplicates just to have it. As a result, overconsumption is fueled.
Social media, especially TikTok and YouTube, greatly enhance the phenomenon of not reducing purchases, but buying even more. “I believe that not only among my clients and followers but across the internet, social media creates macro and micro trends that rapidly influence a large portion of the market, promoting mass behaviors that emerge and fade at the same speed”, says Gabriela Fraquete (@gfraquete), digital influencer and co-founder of Sorella and Totta.
When a user sees their favorite influencer showing a finished product and gives a positive feedback about it, the follower can be convinced to make a new purchase. Then, the item turns into a new momentarily must-have, going in the opposite way of Project Pan purpose. Of course the influencer’s goal is not to incentivize consumption more than necessary, but it can unintentionally turn into a reality, driven by a reverse psychology.
And the brands?
Since the movement became popular around the world, companies started using marketing strategies to mask consumerism and keep their sellings high. “Eco-friendly and sustainability are now part of marketing strategies, but not necessarily integral to retail operations”, affirms Caroline Cenatti (@carolinecenatti), CEO of her own beauty brand.
“Few companies take full responsibility. They might adopt certain stances to align with the concept, but not necessarily because it’s their truth”
Caroline Cenatti
“Pan-friendly” products have appeared on the market. More refillable packaging has started to be commercialized as a sustainable choice and have even launched limited project pan editions. The problem is: all of this goes in the opposite direction of reducing purchases.
“I think any brand claiming to have fully embraced conscious consumption is being disingenuous. The very nature of retail, with its reliance on collections, contradicts this. When we see major brands like Chanel or Louis Vuitton burning bags to avoid overstock or maintain exclusivity, it’s clear that the commercial side of the industry doesn’t prioritize conscious consumption” points out Cenatti.
She further highlighted that “conscious consumption movements aren’t favorable to retail”, because if we think in a sustainable way, it leads to reducing consumption. Consequently, the capitalist structure and business profits gets challenged, since “the constant desire for something new fuels this cycle”.
From a contrasting point of view, Fraquete returns and says: “There are exceptions. Some ‘slow fashion’ brands promote consistent consumption to uphold their pillars of quality and exclusivity, often accompanied by higher costs. But there are other brands that offer versatility, market adaptability, timeless fashion, accessibility, and still support conscious consumption principles”.
The problem with the minimalist aesthetic
It may not seem like it, but companies releasing new products with a “clean” aesthetic and simple visual appearance are aiming to attract consumers that are searching for this minimal lifestyle. This way, people are shopping not because of necessity, but to be part of a trend, turning a lifestyle in which “less is more” into a disguised way to purchase more items.
Rodrigues explained that initiatives end up being absorbed by the consumerist logic because “consumption is not just an economic act — it is a symbolic construct. It communicates belonging, identity, power. Thus, any discourse that gains cultural traction ends up being commodified by the market. ‘Less is more’ becomes a slogan, a brand aesthetic, a competitive advantage”.
Through these business strategies, by the end, the same logical cycle with the traditional idea of consumption the most as you can that is still being maintained. But why do contemporary societies struggle so much to practice true conscious consumption?
“It is motivated since not being a victim of consumerism requires a deep deconstruction of what we understand as value, happiness, and success. And this deconstruction causes discomfort — something the brain instinctively avoids”, the specialist explains.
“To truly live with less, one must confront internal voids that are often masked by the act of consuming. This demands emotional maturity, self-knowledge, and, above all, a social environment that values being over having — something we are still far from achieving”
Alexandre Michels Rodrigues
The truth behind Project Pan
Although project pan has some irony to it, the trend’s purpose is still valuable and brings light to an important side of how we can support sustainability behaviors in our daily life.
Besides trying to stay focused in conscious consumption and avoid falling into disguised new consumption patterns, some psychological strategies that can help people in the purpose are:
- Metacognition: developing the ability to observe one’s own thinking and consumption patterns;
- Emotional self-regulation: training the ability to tolerate the discomfort of “not having” or “not buying” immediately;
- Decision rituals: creating reflective pauses before purchasing, such as the 48-hour rule;
- Narrative reframing: replacing the mindset of “less to impress” with “less to live better”;
- Consumption planning: using lists, monthly goals, and regular reviews of what one already owns.
In addition, Rodrigues suggests that adding these new attitudes and approaches to the behavior is a way to “help to de-automate consumption and reconnect individuals with their real values and needs”. On the other hand, it also reinforces that consumerism is deeply part of our society culture, since, even though we try to go against this idea, we may be subtly swallowed by the market.
With this problem, the question that shows up is: is it possible that a practice originally aimed at sustainability could turn into a new cycle of compulsive shopping? The answer, to the professor, is yes.
“This happens when the focus shifts from the ‘why’ to the ‘what’. By turning sustainability into an aesthetic trend or personal brand, the market offers new supposedly green, eco-friendly, or conscious products. Yet, still rooted in the logic of consumption. The compulsion doesn’t go away; it just changes its appearance. What should be a mindset transformation becomes merely a change of objects”, he concludes.
Cenatti has summarized exactly how the world is working nowadays: “Gradually, companies are adopting more sustainable practices. It’s evident that people are becoming more aware, and that’s important. Brands are beginning to see the need for change. It won’t happen overnight, and it might not directly impact customer consumption levels, but acknowledging the need for attention to detail is a good start.”
Project Pan’s essence is not about to forbid buying stuff, but to think about a new way to see the world without being caught by so many new releases all the time and with temporary trends that affect human behaviour intensely.
“Consuming consciously means making good choices, not treating clothing, for example, as disposable, caring about the production chain, understanding what you’re consuming, and knowing the process stages”, confirms Fraquete. It proposes a big challenge for us, the generation of speed and innovation: to slow down.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Cyrino.
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