The Dangerous Effects Of Consumerism And How We Can Combat Them

A representation of how consumerism makes people “drown” in unnecessary products.

Consumerism is the pinnacle of 21st-century production efficiency and environmental degradation. It is an economic ideology promoting conspicuous consumption, creating positive feedback of manufactured desires, overproduction, and exploitation. By persuading consumers that such consumption enhances social status and well-being, consumerism justifies the ubiquity of nonessential products, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and significant strain on Earthʼs geophysical limits for unsustainable economic growth.

Central to consumerism is the principle of consumersʼ free choice to inform producers when, what, and how to produce; this comprises the basis of consumerismʼs microeconomic implications. However, consumerism inhibits free choice through persuasive advertisement and social pressure, as demonstrated by Americans spending 21-25% of their annual income on nonessential items. 

De Beersʼ “A Diamond Is Forever” advertisements are a prime example of consumerism driving demand for nonessentials. The year before the campaign, in 1947, only 10% of American brides received diamond rings; in the 1990s, it increased to 80% because of the campaignʼs social expectations that convinced the public that diamonds are symbols of commitment and not affluence. De Beers gained monopolistic power over rough diamonds by manufacturing a cultural expectation that painted diamonds as a necessity, not a luxury, for all relationship milestones. In the 20th century, De Beers controlled 85-90% of the global rough diamond market; they then began to practice cartelism and rationing supply. In general, by artificially producing a shortage, De Beers regulated diamond prices to the detriment of the consumer.

In South Africa, open-pit diamond mining accumulates tailings on the surface, causing pollution, deforestation, and environmental degradation. Additionally, metallic and radioactive dust released during mining pollutes the atmosphere, significantly contributing to the national average PM2.5 concentration of 19 mg/m³, 3.8 times higher than the World Health Organizationʼs guideline on air quality. However, the global demand for diamonds, fueled by “A Diamond Is Forever,” brought immense economic prosperity; in 2023, diamond mining contributed $10.9 billion to South Africaʼs GDP, generating jobs, infrastructure, and government revenue, reaffirming the blessing and curse of consumerism. Consumerism pushes developing countries to meet macroeconomic goals by overwhelmingly boosting demand for goods and services, fueling fast fashion, and dropshipping. The lower production costs in developing countries means that more companies are incentivized to start manufacturing there to maximize profits. For example, Bangladeshʼs low wages have attracted more foreign investment, allowing the development of fast and low-cost garment overproduction. Although the monthly minimum wage for garment workers is Tk12,500, the monthly cost of living is Tk38,620, and the inflation rate is 9.92%, surpassing the wage growth of 8.10%. As a result, Bangladeshi workers continue to face poverty and rising living costs.

In 2023, Bangladesh had a GDP growth rate of 5.8%, primarily due to fast fashion and consumerism, which generates 83% of net exports, boosts output, and creates millions of jobs. However, a resident in the Dhaleshwari River noted, “When I was young, there were no garment factories here. We used to grow crops and loved to catch different kinds of fish.” The same river now suffers from pollution to the point of ecosystem collapse, and the water is black from contamination, posing a serious health hazard to communities. Developing countries achieve macroeconomic success under metrics of growth, productivity, and lower unemployment while incurring an immeasurable environmental and human cost.

Consumerism seeps beyond material goods into the virtual world, as algorithmically generated content and data-driven marketing produce an endless cycle of desire and disposability. Websites track histories of what individuals browse, social networks, and even biometric responses to provide ultra-targeted advertisements, eroding the difference between true need and manufactured desire. World electronic waste in 2021 alone was over 57 million metric tons, but only less than 20% of it was formally recycled, giving way to toxic components leaking into the ground and water bodies. Meanwhile, carbon embedded within cloud services running these ecosystems is out of sight for end users, hiding the environmental price of streaming, storage, and on-demand consumption.

To combat all of this, the circular economy is a strategic way to unbundle growth from resource destruction by prioritizing reuse, repair, and regeneration. The circular economy involves minimizing waste, especially of resources that could be remanufactured or reused with ease, through activities such as upcycling clothes, recycling plastic containers, and repairing damaged goods at home. Firms that employ remanufacturing cycles and service paradigms reduce their environmental impact while accessing resilient revenue streams immune to raw material price fluctuations. Redirecting consumerism into environmental stewardship finally requires one in all: policymakers must implement legislation for responsibility, corporations must design with sustainability in mind, and consumers must practice reflectiveness rather than spontaneity in consumption.

Economist Daniel W. Bromley states that “a market economy plays into the idea of democracy in its emphasis on choice and the freedom to choose.” Ethical consumerism encourages consumers to support companies committed to economic, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and boycott those that exploit people or nature. Such practice aligns superior ESG performance with profitability because innovative ESG efforts can cut the cost of capital by 0.5% and boost share prices by as much as 6%. Recently, Apple achieved 16.5 gigawatts of renewable capacity, with levelized energy costs and avoided fossil fuel price risks, thus increasing its profit margin. Not all producers can invest millions of dollars when operating on tight margins. Morals do not dictate consumerism, but with competitiveness, and when prioritizing ESG, producers face ethical, regulatory, and financial barriers that lower production and efficiency. This is why some are skeptical of bearing this risk without substantial shifts in consumption trends.

While consumerism promotes disposability, ESG principles guide moral judgments that balance responsibility and profitability. Consumers can yield their dollars to forge a sustainable future through ethical consumerism, where well-informed choices steer the economy and reform the current consumerism cycle of overproduction, unnecessary consumption, and exploitation into long-lasting, sustainable economies.