Four reasons why we must consume less and not only green
Imagine this scenario:
Maggie has been drinking her morning latte with straws in the past 5 years, not giving too much thought to sending heaps of plastic to the landfill. A few weeks ago however, she started dating a devoted environmentalist. What a twist! His passion rubbed on Maggie and now she started to realize that sustainability is somewhat…important. She decided to make a few lifestyle changes according to her newfound values. The first three options that come to her mind are: 1) start to put the straws in a recycle bin 2) switch from plastic to paper or 3) give up straws altogether and start lifting the cup to her lips.
Which one do you think is easier for her to do? Which one do you think is the best for the planet?
Obviously, option 1) and 2) are easier to implement since they require relatively small adjustment in behaviour. Option 3) on the other hand is a profound change based on deep reflection and self discipline. True, recycling and buying more sustainable alternatives is better for the planet than trashing plastic day in and day out, but reduction in consumption is the only option for long term sustainability. Here are the four reasons why:
1. Technology can’t keep up with our consumption patterns
Maggie might think:
“Plastic recycling makes sustainability so easy! I don’t have to change my morning routine, just simply put the straw in the recycle bin. Technology innovation has always saved our ass, it’ll do it again.”
That could be a legit argument, the only problem is that it is not the reality. We consume with such an insane pace that technological innovation doesn’t have the capacity to clean up our mess. How come? Because technological innovation doesn’t have an impact on a small scale(1), and it takes time, investment and consumer acceptance for innovative solutions to spread. Research shows that clean tech used to take 19–30 years to achieve wide use, and even with the ever pressing government regulations the lead time is not much shorter(2). Just imagine that there is only one recycling plant that can handle plastic straws, while millions of people use them every day. How impactful would that be? But if we have thousands of plants…now we are talking. Can you imagine how much time and money it takes to build thousands of recycling facilities? No wonder technological innovation can’t keep up with this consumer rat race.
In addition, we would like to raise another question: is it fair to put all the pressure of solving sustainability issues on scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, when as consumers we can do our fair share by buying less junk? We don’t think so.
2. Conscious consumerism is just another way for companies to sell stuff.
Maggie might think:
“I can switch to paper straws, that’s easy. And it’s so lucky that most of the fashion brands have green lines now. I don’t have to give up monthly hauls, just start buying from the sustainable section.”
Maggie, I’m sorry to disrupt your logic again, but eeeh…not exactly. (3) Conscious consumerism describes when consumers use their “dollar-votes” to show support for fair / ethical / eco / local / etc. products. That is great, companies must know that there is an increasing demand for responsible products. But unfortunately this opportunity is exploited to sell more “stuff” to make more money instead of making a real difference. Of course the picture is more nuanced than claiming every sustainable brand is a fraud. That is not our point, and we will expand on this topic in another article. What is important to see here though is that sustainability claims aside, the old market mechanisms are still in place: make customers buy more of what they don’t need. One study highlights: “Refusing to purchase a product (even when it is a green product) is usually more beneficial for the planet than buying it” (4). That is because…
3. We have finite resources
Planet Earth is beautiful and generous (for now), but let’s face it: we only have one. All the natural resources we use come from the finite reserve Earth stocked through millions of years. There are renewable resources (such as forests and water) but for some reason fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources that take hundreds or thousands of years to recover, are the basis of production. Yes, technology innovation might make production super efficient and might make it possible to capture all the CO2 emission there is, but it can’t change the fact that our resources are limited. The more we consume the sooner they run out. Here enters the concept of Circular Economy, where products are designed in a way that resources can be regenerated and reused without creating any waste or harmful impact on the environment. It is a beautiful concept from an environmental sustainability perspective, but it misses an important aspect….
4. Overconsumption also damages mental and physical well being.
Even if we could achieve a full Circular Economy and produce any number of goods without a single harmful impact on the environment, the question is: should we? As we discussed in our previous article, overconsumption does not only affect the environment but also hurts us mentally and physically. In the western consumer culture, we are programmed to express our values, solve problems and connect with others through material consumption. However, chasing the material affluence prevents us from taking time to reflect, looking inside and discover our real needs.
So Maggie I’m sorry to break the news for you but the problems caused by consumption can not be solved by more consumption. First and foremost there is a need for a shift in mindset. From “more is better” to “I want just enough”. It doesn’t mean that technological innovation and buying sustainable products are useless. On the contrary. They are key steps on the road towards a sustainable future, but they can only be impactful after taking the first leap: consuming less.
Resources:
(1) Runin, E. S. (2011). Innovation and Climate Change. Innovation. Perspectives for the 21st Century. Available: https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/innovation-and-climate-change/
(2) Rau A., Toker, R. Howard, J., (2010) Can Technology Really Save Us from Climate Change?. Harvard Business Review. Available: https://hbr.org/2010/01/can-technology-really-save-us-from-climate-change
(3) Grant L. K. (2011). Can we consume our way out of climate change? A call for analysis. The Behavior analyst, 34(2), 245–266. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3211385/
(3) Genovese, J. C. (2017) Tackling Materialism and Overconsumption on a Finite Planet: The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of an Educational Intervention to Decrease Materialistic Values and Excessive Consumption Behaviour. PhD thesis, Murdoch University. p 30. Available: https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/36312/
