Esmeralda Garrido-Reyes shares why they feel overconsumption is an issue.
After seeing Labubu dolls all over the internet, I thought “I want one too.” But I decided against it when I realized that over consumption is clearly prevalent in today’s world. Viral marketing, making trend chasers want to rush over, buy the newest, hottest products never sat right with me.
Although I feel this way, I won’t deny that I have participated in some trends as well. I’m influenced by what I see and what’s popular at the moment. The problem is, many of us buy things we don’t necessarily need. Micro fashion trends, Labubu dolls, Stanley cups, or similar products skyrocket in popularity and after time, quickly become unpopular as people move on to the next trend. For many people, it becomes a cycle. A cycle of waste and over consumption is created, which leads to unused and unwanted products that could end up harming the environment in the long run.
Like me, a lot of people are influenced to participate in trends pushed by the media we see. Online, we see videos of social media influencers with cabinets full of makeup products they’ll never use or have promoted only once. Some influencers make videos of opening packages receiving free products to possibly promote to viewers, and often these packages come in large cardboard boxes or plastic containers, only to be thrown away without a second thought.
The products, like the packaging it comes with, end up in landfills and in oceans. Getting more plastic in the water not only further harms animals, but humans too. Realizing that we participate in overconsumption is not a hard thing to do. The hard part is stopping or at least pausing to think, and if everyone can stop themselves from buying what they truly don’t need then, maybe we can lessen our damage to the Earth. With a Perspective, I’m Esmeralda Garrido-Reyes.