Every time I open my social media apps, I am presented with “The best new lipstick!” or “This summer’s swimsuit that you absolutely need!” or some ad with a similar caption.
The bright colors, pop songs and familiar internet trends catch my eye. Immediately, I want to click the link and hand over my money to some multi-million dollar company for a piece of clothing that won’t last me more than a year. I have a problem with “consumerism.”
Consumerism, as defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary, is: “…a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods.” We as humans have a tendency to follow what those around us are doing; from a flocking crowd to a trending halter top, we are often inclined to take part. We prefer fitting in and feeling like we are a part of the majority, as “belongingness” is one of our basic needs. Don’t misunderstand me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with belonging or fitting it, but when it takes an unnecessary amount of money and unethically made products to feel a sense of belonging, you’re doing it all wrong!
With micro-trends coming and going and celebrities releasing a new makeup product every week, it gets hard to ignore all the things the coolest girls are using; however, there are ways to make it easier. Ask yourself these five questions before buying that new product.
Do I really need this?
How often do you buy something only to use it once or twice? You see a cool kitchen gadget, maybe it’s got a pink, frilly theme to it, it just has to go in the kitchen drawer! But you really only ever use it a couple times before it ends up sitting in the drawer untouched.
When it comes to clothing, a discount tag can be really enticing. A tank top priced at $3 is such a steal, but there’s nothing special to the tank top and you could probably find a similar one at home.
“Shopping therapy” is real and sometimes spending a little money is fun, but a lot of the time, that money goes to waste over a product that provides no real benefit to our life. Really ask yourself if the product is worth your money or if your money can go to something more useful.
Do I really want this?
This question goes with the one before.
It is a company’s job to market things towards our specific interests. Sometimes they do their job very well when catering towards a specific demographic; in our case, young women who probably spend too much time on the internet.
Trends are trends for a reason, they’re fun, create community and feed our shopping addictions. Sometimes trends can win us over even if we wouldn’t have participated prior to them becoming popular. There’s no doubt that many trends actually do find their way into casual use or wear, but many of them go in and out of style very quickly. People may buy something as they see it’s trending, but then don’t like the product as much as the internet makes it seem like they would.
When buying new clothing, think about how often you’re going to incorporate it into your wardrobe for you, not because other people are wearing it. Is this new style really you, or is it going to end up in the back of your closet after a couple of months?
How long will this last me?
Something we should really consider when buying new things is the product’s longevity.
Landfills are full of items that didn’t last long after purchasing due to poor manufacturing or cheap materials. Plastic food containers can easily stain and often get thrown away once they are no longer pleasing to the eye. Clothing gets tossed when threads become loose or fabrics deteriorate.
When buying clothing, check to see the material being used; different fabrics can be prone to trapping smells or losing durability quicker than others. When buying other daily-use items, consider its material to gauge resilience to wear-and-tear. Get the most out of what you’re buying and avoid having to replace things so often.
Can I find this second-hand or from a small business?
While shopping on Amazon or taking a quick trip to Target can be extremely convenient, it’s not the most ethical way of consuming. A basic t-shirt from Target may be easy to find, but that money is going to a huge company that gets millions of sales every single day.
Instead of going straight to the local mall for a simple shirt or other daily-use item, check the local thrift stores! There are tons of thrift stores that donate proceeds to those in need, so your money is going to a good cause.
You can find so many clothing basics at thrift stores for a smaller price tag. If you’re looking for something less simple, you can often find something unique that no one else has. There is more than clothing as well; from decorations, to cooking utensils, to a pair of heeled black booties, you can find so much!
While searching through unorganized clothing racks can be a bit of a hassle, you’re shopping ethically and often-times still finding what you need. Consider small local businesses too; many small businesses’ products are hand-made or made local.
This is a much more ethical way to shop as your money is going back into the community instead of a large corporation. There are also many online sellers that hand-make their products. While buying from small businesses can be more expensive than Target or Walmart, your money is going to a better place for something uniquely made.
Can I DIY this?
While this solution is a little more effort than simply shopping around, it can be much more fun and ethical.
Many clothing pieces can be very simple on their own, but then have a small graphic on them that makes them just a bit cooler. Although it’s easy to go ahead and buy the piece, why not make it? For basic items with small designs, you can easily find a similar piece second-hand and use your own paint or fabric paint to do a similar (or exact copy) design.
Bleaching or tie-dying can be a super fun way to make your own clothes as well. You can make cool designs and the results will never be the same as someone else’s. You can even create and customize things like desk organizers or decorations. All it takes is a little creativity.
If you see something in a store and think to yourself, “I could probably make that on my own” then you should! While making things can take more effort, you get to use creativity while spending less money than you would buying it right off the shelf.
Takeaways
Consumerism has many, many layers to it. Funny enough, we are at the top of those layers, we consume the products that are being made which is the ultimate goal of retail companies.
We aren’t the cause of consumerism, we are the victims.
Companies spend very little money on the materials used to make their products and sometimes even less on the employees who are in charge of making those products. CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies live luxurious lives without having to worry about going broke whilst selling over-priced, cheaply-made products to us. These products damage easily and go out of style very quickly, so we are on this never-ending cycle of buying the next best thing.
Let me reiterate that there is nothing wrong with wearing, using and buying “trendy” things. I do it all the time! Sometimes I even find myself enjoying that trend well after it has gone out of style. But it’s not the buying of the product that is the issue, it’s the frequency of how often we are buying. We don’t need a shopping spree every month, heck, we don’t even need a new item every month.
Big companies don’t need so much of our money, especially when it’s not being distributed fairly to those who truly earned it in the manufacturing process. It’s okay to buy something new every once and a while, but let it be a fun treat to yourself, not something you do every week. You’ll be saving yourself so much money as well as preventing your money from being spent unethically.