media rants: Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy

The visuals in Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy are disgustingly realistic - the visual where it highlights how many shoes, phones, etc. are bought every year. It highlights well the sheer volume of unnecessary consumption that contributes to waste, climate change and overall environmental degradation. 

I have always been someone who has been interested in consumption how it relates to environmental impact. This was multiplied during the pandemic where I discovered project panning for the first time as to how much the beauty industry is pushing new products on us. Yet it is very difficult to completely use up products in their entirety before they expire. Buy Now really opened my eyes to more of the fashion industry, and other industries such as electronics that I didn't realise.

Whilst it may look all doom and gloom, it is important to acknowledge the power that we have as consumers to enact change. Ultimately, these businesses have poor labour, environmental and ethical practices as their priority is to maximise profit. Acting unethically and inconsiderately allows them to save on costs and therefore increase their profits. 

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. But what if everyone consumed less and/or were more mindful of where their money was going towards? 

A lot of the work will need to be done by governments to hold businesses to standards and keep them accountable however, as consumers we can influence businesses through how we spend, or how we don't spend our money.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to reflect on your own consumption and the role that you can play to help you think about the role you want to play as an individual

• Do I use all of my possessions regularly? this helps you reflect on whether you actually use all your things, consider whether you really need more stuff 
• Do I need or want this item? you probably already have a white tshirt, do you really need another one? why do you shop? is it a defensive mechanism for something in your life?
• Can I buy this item secondhand or borrow it from someone? if you need an item, consider how we can reduce our wastage through buying secondhand or even borrowing it from someone/a rental business. The amount of times I've bought something because I thought I needed it, but ended up using it once or twice is more than I can remember. Reusing items that have already been bought is a way for your need to be met whilst limiting environmental impact.