No one can deny that the internet is obsessed with aesthetics and the idea of being aesthetic. There’s a new aesthetic trending every week from Clean Girl to Y2K to Dark Academia, and every single reel seems to be created with aesthetic in mind. However, there’s one aesthetic that at first glance seems to subvert this trend: the aesthetic of sustainability. Living more sustainably has the potential to be the stylish solution to the rampant culture of consumerism on social media. However, the aestheticization of sustainability seems to instead encourage consumption rather than supporting consuming less. This begs the question, does “aestheticization” inherently encourage consumption? Or, can it be a tool to inspire positive lifestyle change for both the planet and our wallets?
Every time you open social media you’re met with portraits and clips of edited and glamorized lives, often accompanied by whatever sound and material items are the most trendy, from those new ballet flats you feel like you just have to have, to the new kindle accessory everyone is obsessed with, or a stack of accessories that look effortlessly cool. Each new aesthetic or aesthetic-looking content seemingly encourages viewers to buy the newest hottest items and repeat the process for each new trend, creating a cycle of overconsumption. Surprisingly, I’ve found that the aesthetic of sustainability uses similar patterns and formulas and has similar outcomes as this kind of aesthetic-forward content. For example, using language consistent with other aesthetics like the phrase “must haves,” when talking about and displaying products that are supposedly better for the environment. While I think it’s great to educate viewers on sustainable swaps they can make, it can quickly create another cycle of overconsumption because you don’t need to buy something new to be sustainable, you just need to keep using what you already have. The way that this kind of “must haves” or “swaps” content highlights certain kinds of products that often share an aesthetic is also in line with other aesthetics because of its centering of new material items and mentality that everything must go together to create a cohesive look.Â
Interestingly, the sustainability aesthetic also emphasizes looking a certain way, similarly to other aesthetics. In reality, there is no way to “look” sustainable or like you care about the environment. Sure, a Patagonia backpack, a Hara the Label set, and an extensive collection of mason jars may socially signal that you value the environment because of the items’ earthy tones or company marketing, but it creates a miscommunication about the main point of sustainability: consuming less. While there can be an upside to this, including drawing in people who maybe didn’t know about or were interested in sustainability previously, it makes sustainability seem much less accessible as these items are often unnecessary and expensive.Â
However, one type of content surrounding the sustainability aesthetic that I really like is “underconsumption core,” which I’ve seen pop up more and more in 2026. These videos are much less stylized than other sustainability content, and typically feature the speaker holding up different items or clips of their life to demonstrate their lifestyle. Often the creator is highlighting something they still use even though it’s no longer trendy, or certain hobbies they practice that don’t require buying material things such as going on long walks. These videos still use trending sounds and are often visually appealing, but they don’t rely on a visual product and coordinated aesthetic which align more accurately with sustainability.Â
Honestly, it’s hard to be sustainable and to practice underconsumption, especially as a college student. Not only is social media so prevalent in our culture that aestheticization of all kinds is really hard to get away from, but I’ll admit that consuming aesthetics-focused content is fun. There’s a big part of me that loves the beautiful grids and the highly stylized reels on my feed. Not only are they appealing to look at, it’s fun to get inspiration from aesthetics, and in the case of sustainability, it’s comforting to think that if I just buy all these sustainable “must haves” and align with the aesthetic, that the environment will be fixed. In the future I’m hoping to see more “underconsumption core” content that influences how we perceive sustainability.Â