- "Consumerism is a social and economic order in which the goals of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those that are necessary for survival or for traditional displays of status."
Consumerism has significant environmental and social impacts, including resource depletion, pollution, and social inequality.
Environmental Sustainability: This is the practice of using resources in a way that preserves the environment for future generations.
Climate Change: The gradual increase in global temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities.
Pollution: The presence of harmful substances in the environment, such as air, water, and soil pollution.
Waste Management: The collection, transportation, and disposal of waste in an environmentally safe and responsible manner.
Ecological Footprint: The impact of human activities on the natural world that result in depletion of natural resources.
Biodiversity: The variety of living organisms in a particular area, including plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Human Rights: The basic rights that all people are entitled to, including the right to life, liberty, and security of person.
Labor Practices: The practices of companies and organizations regarding employee rights and fair labor standards.
Social Equity: The fair and just distribution of resources and opportunities among all members of society.
Sustainable Consumption: The practice of consuming goods and services in a way that preserves the environment and supports social and economic goals.
Corporate Social Responsibility: The responsibility of corporations to operate in an ethical and sustainable manner.
Circular Economy: The practice of reducing waste and maximizing the use of resources through closed-loop systems.
Fair Trade: A social movement focused on supporting producers in developing countries and ensuring fair compensation for their goods and services.
Stakeholder Engagement: The involvement of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, and local communities in decision-making processes.
Ethical Consumerism: The practice of making purchasing decisions based on ethical and sustainable considerations.
Greenwashing: The misleading or false promotion of a product or service as environmentally friendly.
Environmental Justice: The fair treatment of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status, in the creation and enforcement of environmental policies.
Sustainable Development Goals: The 17 goals set forth by the United Nations to promote sustainability in economic, social, and environmental areas.
Life Cycle Assessment: The analysis of the environmental impact of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle.
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of human activities, including consumption, transportation, and energy use.
Environmental degradation: Excessive consumption leads to the depletion of natural resources, deforestation, and pollution of air, water, and soil.
Climate change: Large-scale extraction of natural resources and the burning of fossil fuels for production and transportation increase greenhouse gas emissions, causing global warming and climate change.
Waste generation: Consumerism results in the production of massive amounts of waste. This includes the disposal of products and packaging materials in landfills, oceans, and other public spaces.
Health impacts: Many consumer goods contain harmful chemicals and other toxins that can cause serious health problems in the long run. Exposure to these substances can lead to respiratory problems, cancer, and other chronic diseases.
Economic inequality: The consumption of goods is often associated with social status, which creates a disparity between the rich and the poor. This is because the wealthy have more money to buy goods and services than the poor, leading to a growing gap between the two groups.
Human rights abuses: The production of goods often relies on cheap labor and exploitation of workers in developing countries. Many products sold in developed countries are made by underpaid workers who work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
Cultural erosion: Over-consumption can lead to the erosion of cultural practices and traditions. For example, when people are encouraged to purchase mass-produced products instead of locally made goods, they may lose touch with their unique cultural heritage.
- "Consumerism has historically existed in many societies, with modern consumerism originating in Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution and becoming widespread around 1900."
- "In 1899, a book on consumerism published by Thorstein Veblen, called The Theory of the Leisure Class, examined the widespread values and economic institutions emerging along with the widespread 'leisure time' at the beginning of the 20th century."
- "Veblen 'views the activities and spending habits of this leisure class in terms of conspicuous and vicarious consumption and waste. Both relate to the display of status and not to functionality or usefulness.'"
- "Experts often assert that consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment, including direct effects like overexploitation of natural resources or large amounts of waste from disposable goods, and larger effects like climate change."
- "Consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment, including direct effects like overexploitation of natural resources."
- "Consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment, including direct effects like [...] large amounts of waste from disposable goods."
- "Consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment, including [...] larger effects like climate change."
- "Consumerism has been widely criticized by both individuals who choose other ways of participating in the economy [...] and experts evaluating the effects of modern capitalism on the world."
- "Experts often assert that consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment."
- "Similarly, some research and criticism focuses on the sociological effects of consumerism, such as reinforcement of class barriers and creation of inequalities."
- "Veblen 'views the activities and spending habits of this leisure class in terms of conspicuous and vicarious consumption and waste."
- "In an abstract sense, it is the consideration that the free choice of consumers should strongly orient the choice by manufacturers of what is produced and how, and therefore orient the economic organization of a society."
- "Consumerism has historically existed in many societies, with modern consumerism originating in Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution and becoming widespread around 1900."
- "In 1899, a book on consumerism published by Thorstein Veblen, called The Theory of the Leisure Class, examined the widespread values and economic institutions emerging along with the widespread 'leisure time' at the beginning of the 20th century."
- "Consumerism is a social and economic order in which the goals of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those that are necessary for survival or for traditional displays of status."
- "Similarly, some research and criticism focuses on the sociological effects of consumerism, such as reinforcement of class barriers and creation of inequalities."
- "In an abstract sense, it is the consideration that the free choice of consumers should strongly orient the choice by manufacturers of what is produced and how."
- "Veblen 'views the activities and spending habits of this leisure class in terms of conspicuous and vicarious consumption and waste."
- "Consumerism has been widely criticized by both individuals who choose other ways of participating in the economy [...] and experts evaluating the effects of modern capitalism on the world."