Why humans throw away so much: the rise of consumerism

By Ivan Chen

The world is packed with garbage. Plastic and consumerism have played a significant role in polluting the planet. (Credit: Karuvadgraphy/Pixabay)

Every year, the world generates over two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste. That number is expected to double to nearly four billion by 2050. Global waste production is currently at unsustainable levels, driven in part by the cultural desire to buy more, even when people don’t necessarily need to. 

Once goods are used or lose their appeal, they are thrown away simply because it’s convenient. But this way of thinking is not innate to humans. In fact, it’s a relatively new phenomenon that has been ingrained in human behaviour through factors like the invention of plastic and cultural conditioning.

The rise of plastics and consumerism

Modern plastic has its origins in 1907, when inventor Leo Baekeland created Bakelite. Dubbed “the material of a thousand uses,” Bakelite was a synthetic material that was durable, heat-resistant and could be shaped into nearly anything. Over time, more plastics would be invented. Plastic manufacturing and usage skyrocketed among the Allied forces during the Second World War, as it became a useful substitute for scarce natural resources that had to be preserved. Military equipment, attire and vehicles all used plastic in some form. 

After the war, plastic was mass-produced and entered civilian life, including in the manufacturing of cars, goods and furniture. The seemingly endless possibilities of plastic excited people, and many believed that a future abundant with material goods was on the horizon. This was a turning point, as plastic helped drive the cultural transformation that turned people into consumers.

However, the notion of people being “consumers” wasn’t entirely due to the rise of plastic. People have always needed to consume resources for their survival. Growing food, making clothes and building infrastructure necessitated consumption. But originally, people were much more frugal and thoughtful with their belongings, largely out of necessity. 

The inclination to buy more than needed began to materialize in late eighteenth-century Britain and nineteenth-century United States, when there was an increase in the commercialization of goods. Shops and department stores were expanding in quantity and physical size, and they openly displayed products for public viewing. While many of these stores primarily served a middle- to upper-class demographic, they cultivated feelings of envy and desire among people. There were growing perceptions that consumption and newness were means of achieving happiness. These ideas soon aligned with corporate strategies to foster more consumption.

As manufacturing continued to grow into the twentieth century, concerns arose that insufficient consumer demand would stall profits and lead to an overproduction crisis. Corporations realized they needed to stimulate consumption artificially. To address this, they turned to advertisement campaigns that began encouraging people to be less frugal and to put greater value on material goods. At the same time, products were being intentionally designed with shorter lifespans, a strategy known today as planned obsolescence. 

After the Second World War, consumerism took off in the West. People were eager to spend money. Plastic democratized material goods, making them cheaper and more accessible. Radios and television became widespread, allowing advertisements to reach people directly in their homes. 

There was a cultural shift: people were more materialistic and wasteful. This was highlighted in a 1955 LIFE Magazine article titled “Throwaway Living” and encapsulates the life people know today: the convenience of throwing away things after one use. While plastic and consumerism changed the way people lived, they also left behind a wasteful legacy.
​

An image from the “Throwaway Living” article highlighting the joy of single-use items. (Credit: TIME Magazine)

The impact today

These shifts and events laid the foundation for many of today’s problems. Excitement about plastic began to wane when plastic waste started to surface in the oceans around the 1960s. This raised alarms about the possible environmental impacts. 

By the 1980s, plastic was widely considered a major issue for the marine environment, just a few decades after it was introduced. Steps were soon taken to mitigate this problem, including the push for municipalities to start collecting and processing recyclable materials. 

But, despite these efforts, most plastics continue to enter landfills or the environment. Today, over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year, with about half of that being intended for single-use applications.

Consumerism continues to expand as well. With today’s technology, it has never been easier to sell or purchase something. People are inundated with advertisements on their devices. Social media and influencers are constantly raving about new trends and products. Online shopping makes getting products easy. Much like the decline in product quality decades ago, many of today’s goods are produced without durability and craftsmanship in mind. 

This is particularly evident in fast fashion, where clothes are cheaply produced with the intention of falling apart quickly or going out of style after a season or two. The unsustainable patterns of the past have not only persisted but been amplified, becoming the ideal business model.

Summary

The advent of plastic and the rise of consumerism have profoundly shaped society today. Convenience and abundance have led many people to value the idea of having more goods and replacing them as quickly as possible. But this puts strain on the planet’s already overstretched resources. And as global waste production continues to rise and the environment becomes more polluted, governments, corporations and individuals all share a responsibility in tackling this problem. 

By rethinking our approach to consumption, we can ensure that generations today and in the future live in a cleaner, more sustainable world.

​

Edited by Jess Blackwell, Lumida Creative Services